The word "Hopi" means "peaceful people". They did not resist strongly against the Pahana (Whites) in the "Indian Wars," and many of the Hopi have been jailed for draft resistance. They number less than 10,000 and live in the Four Corners area, which is where the borders of New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Utah meet, 100 miles from the Grand Canyon and the Painted Desert.
According to carbon-dated prehistoric rock drawings, Hopi culture dates back 22,000 years. Their oral history deals with even older times, describing three other worlds prior to the present one, which is the fourth world. In the first world, humans turned away from spiritual principles and misused their powers for selfish purposes. This world was destroyed by major earthquakes, and only a handful of people survived.
The people of the second world repeated the same mistakes again, and the world was destroyed by freezing (the Ice Age).
The third world lasted a long time, and was the time of the Atlanteans, whose destruction was brought about by those Atlanteans who had become "two-hearted people." A two-hearted person is someone who listens only to their right side, considered by the Hopi to be evil because it is clever but lacks conscience. The left side, though awkward, is wise, and is predominant in a "one-hearted person."
Among the survivors of Atlantis was a great chief who had two sons. When the chief had passed on, the younger son went west to a new land, while the elder one traveled east where he was to remain unless the younger brother's way of life was threatened.
The descendants of Younger Brother, the Hopi, made a covenant with the Great Spirit 1,100 years ago to keep the world's balance, and if their tradition was lost, it would be catastrophic for all humanity.
The Hopi prophecies warned that the white men or "Pahana" would come to their land and try and lead them into evil ways. The Hopi were told that they must hold onto their tradition and their land, though always without violence. If they succeeded, their land would become a center from which Spirit would be reawakened, resonating throughout the world.
Frank Waters, author of "The Book of the Hopi," wrote in 1963 that "when the 'heart' of the Hopi land trust is dug up, great disturbances will develop in the balance of nature, for the Hopi holy land is the microcosmic image of the entire planet; any violations of nature in the Four Corners region will be reflected and amplified all over the Earth," and that what is dug up there (uranium) would be used for destructive purposes. Thomas Banyacya also wrote of the Four Corners area: "Great Spirit told Hopi [that Four Corners is] the backbone of the United States. Hopi must hold land till Human Beings live in harmony."
This sacred area is being strip-mined for coal and uranium, reducing the water table and causing radioactive pollution. According to Quail Littlefield of "People Concerned with Mother Earth," recent discoveries show that the Four Corners area is not only rich in coal and uranium, but is also a main source of positive and negative ions in the atmosphere. It is also said to be one of the few key focal centers in the world where the energy current must be kept in balance to maintain a life-giving biosphere. According to some Hopi Elders, if this center is disrupted, then the atmosphere will become unstable and all life will perish.
The Hopi and Navajo have co-existed peacefully on these lands (Four Corners) for many generations. A "range war" was fabricated to allow the Bureau of Indian Affairs, through the Hopi Tribal Council, to grant exclusive mining rights to Peabody Coal Company, which called for the eviction of Navajo elders to an area that is barren and 60 miles downstream from uranium-poisoned waters. Forcible removal of the Elders begins in February, 2000.
Hopi Elders Thomas Banyacya and Grandfather Evehema, as well as many others, have opposed this forced relocation. People from not only the United States but all over the world have sent letters to Janet Reno, and other government officials to stop this eviction, which violates the American Indian Religious Freedom Act 17 and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act 18.
The situation at Four Corners has brought to the surface a division amongst the Hopi themselves, something that Hopi prophecy said would occur three times. The first occurred in 1906 between the Traditionalists (one-hearted Hopi) and Modernists (two-hearted Hopi), the Traditionalists leaving the mother-village Oraibi to establish a new home in Hotevilla. The Traditionalists have strived to protect their way of life and to keep the covenant with the Creator to perform the ceremonies necessary to hold the world in balance. The Traditionalists also believe that the Hopi are obligated to the Great Spirit (Masaau) never to cut up their land, or to sell it.
The second division occurred in 1970 amidst a spectacular lightshow of unknown origins. The third division has recently taken place between progressive Hopi belonging to the Hopi Tribal Council and the Traditionalists.
The Hopi Tribal Council was created in part by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. At the urging of the Department of the Interior of the Untied States, the Hopi Tribal Council has signed several leases with Peabody Coal Company, allowing them to strip-mine the sacred mesas, resulting in the destruction of several ancient burial sites.
In 1996, the Modernists had another victory as sewer and power lines were brought to Hotevilla. Many considered these to be disruptive to the sacred prayer ceremonies. In 1997, the sacred prayer bundle was unearthed -- another desecration. Possibly as a result of these actions, Grandfather Dan Evehema, considered to be one of the last traditional elders, left Hotevilla in protest. He passed away less than a year later, at the age of 108.
Grandfather Dan Evehema had met with many world leaders as
well as Native American ones, and was a respected healer who has
spent his life praying for world peace and upholding the Hopi truth
of "Together with All Nations We Hold This World in Balance." He
spoke at the United Nations several times, and last winter met with
the UN Human Rights Violations and Religious Rights inspectors who
recently investigated human rights violations taking place on Native
American reservations. He co-authored "Hotevilla Shrine of the
Covenant" and the "Hopi Survival Kit," and worked on the traditional
Hopi newsletter, the Techqua Ikachi for many years. In the "Hopi
Survival Kit" he stated that fuel shortages will bring technology to
a stop -- people will either learn to live in sacredness with the
Earth, or they will perish when "Mother Earth will hide her
nourishment."
Grandfather Dan was also one of the Elders involved in bringing the Hopi message to the United Nations, which was finally accomplished in 1992.
The Hopi had prophesied that the world leaders would gather in a Great House of Mica to try and find peaceful solutions to world problems.
In 1948, Hopi elders ranging in ages from 80 to 100, tried to bring their message to the newly formed United Nations, but were unsuccessful. They had seen the "gourd of ashes" (atomic bombs) many years ago, and knew that it was time to bring their message to the world. Thomas Banyacya of the Wolf, Fox and Coyote clan, was one of four messengers chosen by the Elders, and in 1992 he finally succeeded.
In his 1992
address to the United Nations, Banyacya predicted increasing floods,
stronger hurricanes, climate changes and earthquakes, which are
warning signs from the Creator for us to wake up spiritually.
He spoke of a possible third world war, which some Hopi believe almost began with the Persian Gulf War, something that is looming on the horizon yet again. They say this is a time for all to choose peace.
Banyacya also brought up the sanctity of the Four Corners area, and said it had "a special purpose in the future in order for humankind to survive."
Another part of the Hopi message spoke of the importance of conducting ceremonies to prevent terrible earth changes. Singing, dancing and fasting are all part of the necessary work to help heal Mother Earth. Banyacya spoke of conducting ceremonies in each of the four directions -- something Chief Arvol Lookinghorse has been doing for the last three years with the World Peace and Prayer Day ceremonies.
Last year, Banyacya spoke with some Peruvian Elders who wanted to share their prophecies that soon all indigenous people would come together as one nation.
Unfortunately, he will not see this dream realized in this lifetime, as he passed away this past February at the age of 89.
Another elder involved in the United Nations message was Dan Kachenogva, the Chief of the Sun Clan who passed away in 1972. He was one of a six-man delegation which planned to travel to the United Nations in 1959 to try and deliver their message of prophecy. Their mission was cut short when a crisis erupted in the Hopi motherland because of the betrayal of Indian-U.S. land treaties.
Two years before he died, he gave a public talk regarding the prophecies. Regarding the third and decisive event of the prophecy he stated, "This [third] event will depend upon the Red Symbol, which will take command, setting the four forces of nature (Meha) in motion for the benefit of the Sun. We know certain people are commissioned to bring about the Purification. It is the universal Plan from the beginning of creation, and we are looking up to them to bring purification to us. It is in the rock writings throughout the world, on different continents. We will come together if people all over the world know about it. So we urge you to spread this word around so people will know about it, and the appointed ones will hurry up with their task..." (from "The Return of Pahana: a Hopi Myth," by Robert Boissiere, Bear & Co., 1990.)
On Prophecy Rock near Oraibi, a pictograph depicts the emergence of the present world (Fourth World) progressing into the future.
The Great Spirit is represented by the large human figure on the left. The bow in his hand represents the instructions he left the Hopi to lay down their weapons.
The present world is separated into two paths. The lower path is followed by the One-Hearted people,and leads into a Paradise on Earth. The upper path is that of the Two-Hearted people and leads to self-destruction. It is the path of technology without spirituality. Three world-shaking events (believed to be World Wars I and II, and a third event to come) are depicted by the two circles and half-circle. The last circle is an event known as the "mystery egg" or Day of Purification, the severity of which will depend on how many spiritual people are working toward peace when it occurs. The one-hearted people will try to lead the two-hearted people (shown as the headless people) back to the eternal path (lower path). If the two-hearted people persist in living in ignorance, it will lead to chaos and self-destruction (jagged path).
The lower path is symbolized by a farmer who lives a long and happy life -- as Thomas Banyacya stated in his 1992 address to the UN: "Through a direct relationship with the Earth, self-reliance becomes the basis for health, peace, justice and freedom."
The two symbols beneath the lower path represent the two helpers of Elder Brother. The solar symbol and swastika represent his masculine helper, and a red cross with lines in between (representing female life blood) represents his feminine helper. The word for the two helpers is a word that designates a population, meaning that the two helpers could be two large groups of people.
Elder Brother and his helpers will arrive to help the Hopi and others who stay close to traditional ways. If they come from the west, the battle will be terrible -- the sky will turn red and the earth will shake for days. This time is known as the Day of Purification, when it is said that common people the world over will become disillusioned with the world leaders, and band together to fight for world peace.
According to Chief Dan Evehema when Purification Day nears, we will see a halo of mist around the heavenly bodies. It will appear four times around the sun, a warning that people of all color must unite, "that we must uncover the causes of our dilemmas."
Some, like Roy Little Sun, believe that the Purification can come about peacefully, by listening to the one heart, and using techniques such as sacred eating, and synchronizing one's heart with the Sun through meditation and other techniques. The choice is ours. Let's hope we make the right one.
The following was read to the UN General Assembly and to the UN Peoples Assembly:
