# Indigenous Messengers of God

*Exported from [Holy-Writings.com](https://www.holy-writings.com/) on 2026-06-22 — 1 clipping.*

---

> Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Christopher Buck, Indigenous Messengers of God, bahai-library.com.
> ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
> 
> Indigenous Messengers of God
> By Christopher Buck & Kevin Locke
> 
> Co-authors:
> Bitahnii Wayne Wilson
> Paula Bidwell
> Nosratollah Mohammadhosseini
> 
> Edited by David Langness
> 
> Compiled by Arjen Bolhuis from essays posted at
> bahaiteachings.org/series/indigenous-messengers-of-god
> 
> 2014 – 2020
> 
> Note: The views expressed reflect individual perspectives and do not represent the
> official views of the Baha'i Faith.
> 
> Contents
> 1. Na5ve American Messengers of God .......................................................................................................1
> 2. Quetzalcoatl, the “Plumed Serpent” ........................................................................................................4
> 3. The Return of White Buffalo Calf Woman ................................................................................................7
> 4. The Return of Viracocha, the Prophet of the Incas ................................................................................10
> 5. Comparing the Teachings of Two Peacemakers .....................................................................................12
> 6. The Great Law of Peace..........................................................................................................................15
> 7. Two Great Peacemakers: Deganawida and Baha’u’llah .........................................................................18
> 8. Iroquois Confederacy (Six Na5ons) and World Federa5on (All Na5ons) ................................................21
> 9. Na5ve Messengers of God: One Baha’i Perspec5ve ..............................................................................24
> 10.Na5ve Messengers of God: Another Baha’i Perspec5ve .......................................................................27
> 11.Na5ve Messengers of God: One Na5ve Baha’i’s Perspec5ve ................................................................30
> 12.Manifest Des5ny and Na5ve American Religion ...................................................................................32
> 13.Deganawida Converts Hiawatha: From Cannibalism to Compassion ....................................................34
> 14.In Spiritual Mabers, Handsome is as Handsome Does ..........................................................................36
> 15.God Has Sent Messengers to All People ................................................................................................38
> 16.White Buffalo Maiden: Sacred Rites, Dances, Songs, Values .................................................................40
> 17.Want Peace? Teach the Children First ...................................................................................................44
> 18.The Power and the Great Power Bring Peace ........................................................................................47
> 19.White Buffalo Maiden’s Sacred Songs ...................................................................................................50
> 20.The Fourth Answer: Recognizing Na5ve Spirituality..............................................................................54
> 21.Has God Sent Prophets to Every Culture? .............................................................................................57
> 22.Two Spiritual Suns: Deganawida and Baha’u’llah ..................................................................................60
> 23.White Buffalo Calf Woman: Messenger of God .....................................................................................63
> 24.Recognizing and Respec5ng the Sacred Lakota Tradi5ons ....................................................................65
> 25.White Buffalo Calf Woman, The Peacemaker, and Baha’u’llah .............................................................68
> 26.When Indigenous Beliefs and the Baha’i Faith Meet.............................................................................73
> 27.White Buffalo Calf Woman’s Spiritual Message.....................................................................................76
> 28.The Ten Commandments of Lakota Life ................................................................................................79
> 29.Connec5ng, Unifying and Fulfilling Indigenous Spiritual Tradi5ons ......................................................83
> 30.Sweet Medicine: Cheyenne Messenger of God .....................................................................................87
> 31.Recognizing and Respec5ng Indigenous Messengers of God ................................................................91
> 32.Quetzalcoatl and Indigenous Spiritual Truth .........................................................................................95
> 33.Australian Aboriginal Iden5ty and the Baha’i Faith ...............................................................................99
> 34.Bunjil the Aboriginal Deity and Why You Should Learn More About Him ...........................................103
> 35.What Does the Aboriginal Rainbow Serpent Symbolize? ....................................................................107
> 36.Aboriginal and Baha’i: Merging Tradi5onal and New ..........................................................................111
> 37.Do All Peoples Have a Prophet? ..........................................................................................................114
> 38.The Indigenous Prophets: Lone Man in Mandan Sacred Tradi5on ......................................................118
> 39.Na5ve Messengers: Lone Man and the Mandan Sacred Values ..........................................................122
> 40.Breathmaker and Seminole Sacred Tradi5on ......................................................................................126
> 41.Why Baha’is Respect Indigenous Sacred Tradi5ons ............................................................................130
> 42.How to Be An Upholder and Defender of the Vic5ms of Oppression .................................................134
> 43.Indigenous Spiritual Tradi5ons and Cultural Colonialism ....................................................................138
> 44.What Can We Do About Cultural Appropria5on? ................................................................................141
> 45.The Navajo Spirit: The Diné Tradi5on and the Baha’i Faith .................................................................144
> 46.The Connec5ons Between Navajo and Baha’i Spirituality ...................................................................147
> 47.The Sacred Covenant of the Navajos—and the Baha’is.......................................................................150
> 48.Pressing on to Meet the Dawn: Patricia Locke ....................................................................................154
> 49.Spiritual Traveling on the Rainbow and Corn Pollen Path ...................................................................158
> 50.Twin Spiritual Perspec5ves: the Navajo and Baha’i Teachings ............................................................161
> 51.The Right to Cultural Iden5ty ..............................................................................................................164
> 52.Remembering “Forgoben” Indigenous Religions ................................................................................168
> 53.How Navajo Tradi5ons Lead to the Baha’i Faith ..................................................................................172
> 54.Baha’u’llah and the Navajo Talking God ..............................................................................................176
> 55.Keeping Indigenous Languages – and Adop5ng a Universal One ........................................................180
> 56.The Legend of the Eastern Algonquian Holy Man Gluskap..................................................................183
> 57.Gluskap the Indigenous Messenger: Tall Tales, or Timeless Truths? ...................................................187
> 58.Gluskap: Ancient and Modern Teachings ............................................................................................191
> 59.4 Indigenous Steps to “Enlighten the Whole World” ..........................................................................196
> 60.The Spiritual Des5ny of Indigenous Peoples .......................................................................................200
> 61.Advance Permission, Appropria5on and Sacred Indigenous Knowledge ............................................203
> 62.Sacred Council Fires and the Baha’i Spark ...........................................................................................207
> 63.Preserving Spiritual Seeds for Posterity and Prosperity ......................................................................211
> 64.Honoring Indigenous Customs: Promo5ng Reciprocal Respect...........................................................214
> 65.How Baha’is Promote the Recogni5on of Indigenous Beliefs..............................................................217
> 66.To “Reverence the Profound Spiritual Truths” in Indigenous Religions ...............................................221
> 67.Listening to the Wise Ones – Voices of the Great Spirit ......................................................................225
> 68.Why the Indigenous Messengers of God Maber .................................................................................229
> 1. Na5ve American Messengers of God
> 
> March 7, 2014
> 
> Morning and night, I read the daily news to Nahzy, my dear wife of thirty years. When
> politics gets too dismal, sometimes I read her news highlights from the world of science.
> A short while ago, I read an “abstract” (summary) of a “perspective” (scientific editorial),
> “Out of Beringia?” published online on February 28, 2014.
> You may know “Beringia” as the Bering Land Bridge that once linked Siberia and
> Alaska. This report details the “Beringian standstill” and the spread of Native American
> founders from Siberia to Alaska, during what is called the “Last Glacial Maximum,” some
> 30,000–16,000 years ago.
> What do the Baha’i Writings say, if anything, about this theory? Baha’i scriptures offer a
> treasure trove of wisdom. The sheer wealth of these texts staggers the imagination:
> • For Baha’u’llah, nearly 20,000 unique works have been identified, comprising over six
> million words.
> • For the Bab, over 2,000 unique works have been identified, comprising almost five
> million words.
> • For Abdu’l-Baha, over 30,000 unique works have been identified, comprising over five
> million words.
> That’s one big “Bible”!
> In this ocean of Baha’i wisdom, there is a drop, a single “Tablet” from Abdu’l-Baha,
> which has been called the “Tablet to Amir Khan.” It’s very short, and to the point. Here’s
> an excerpt, in translation:
> He is God! …
> In ancient times the people of America were, through their northern regions,
> close to Asia, that is, separated from Asia by a strait. For this reason, it hath been
> said that crossing had occurred. There are other signs which indicate
> communication.
> As to places whose people were not informed of the appearance of Prophets,
> such people are excused. In the Qur’án it hath been revealed: “We will not
> chastise them if they had not been sent a Messenger” (Q. 17:15)
> Undoubtedly, in those regions, the Call of God must have been raised in ancient
> times, but it hath been forgotten now.
> 
> Abdu’l-Baha’s Tablet to Amir Khan is remarkable, and unique in the history of religions,
> because it authenticates the appearance of Messengers of God — i.e. “culture heroes,”
> “wisdom bearers,” “Prophets of God” — to ancient North America. This is one good
> example of Baha’i universalism.
> The “Tablet to Amir Khan” offers no names of any of these Native American Messengers
> of God. But we don’t have to look far to find them. Let me give one example:
> Deganawida, “the Peacemaker.”
> Space does not permit me to say much about Deganawida here. You can read more
> about this great, pre-Columbian American in chapter 2 of Religious Myths and Visions of
> America.
> There is a Baha’i prophecy regarding the future of Native Americans. In what has been
> characterized as the sole “specific racial prophecy in all of the Baha’i scriptures,”
> ‘Abdu’l-Baha gives us this glimpse into the future:
> Attach great importance to the indigenous population of America. For … there
> can be no doubt that they will become so illumined as to enlighten the whole
> world.
> Perhaps this prophecy will become realized when both the ancient wisdom of the Native
> Americans is brought into scintillating harmony with Baha’i wisdom.
> Here’s a similar prophecy from an authentic text of Deganawida’s teachings:
> Thereupon Tekanawita [Deganawida] stood up in the center of the gathering
> place, and then he said:
> First I will answer what it means to say, “Now it is arriving, the Good Message.”
> This, indeed, is what it means: When it stops, the slaughter of your own people
> who live here on earth, then everywhere peace will come about, by day and also
> by night, and it will come about that as one travels around, everyone will be
> related…
> Now again, secondly I say, “Now it is arriving, the Power,” and this means that
> the different nations, all of the nations, will become just a single one, and the
> Great Law will come into being, so that all now will be related to each other, and
> there will come to be just a single family, and in the future, in days to come, this
> family will continue on.
> Now in turn, the other, my third saying, “Now it is arriving, the Peace,” this means
> that everyone will become related, men and also women, and also the young
> people and the children, and when all are relatives, every nation, then there will
> be peace… Then there will be truthfulness, and they will uphold hope and charity,
> so that it is peace that will unite all of the people, indeed, it will be as though they
> 
> have but one mind, and they are a single person with only one body and one
> head and one life, which means that there will be unity …
> When they are functioning, the Good Message and also the Power and the
> Peace, these will be the principal things everybody will live by; these will be the
> great values among the people.
> P.S. I’ll read the news to my dear wife, Nahzy, tonight — just like when she used read
> me untranslated Persian Baha’i Writings some 30 years ago, when she first introduced
> me to the Tablet to Amir Khan.
> 
> 2. Quetzalcoatl, the “Plumed Serpent”
> 
> March 18, 2014
> 
> Native American Messengers of God also appeared in what is now Mexico, in the
> southernmost part of North America.
> Before returning to Deganawida, let’s look at one great “culture hero” (as
> anthropologists say) who came before him: Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl of Tollan. (His name
> means “Our Young Prince, the Feathered Serpent.”)
> Unquestionably, Quetzalcoatl is Mesoamerica’s most celebrated sage–sovereign. The
> historical and religious saga of Quetzalcoatl has been recounted in pictorial histories,
> oral historical tradition, narrative chants and epic poems, such as the Códice
> Chimalpopoca, the Nahuatl Quetzalcoatl narrative.
> Born in 1123 CE, Quetzalcoatl ruled over Tula, the Toltec capital, between 1153 and
> 1175 CE.
> This enlightened emperor inaugurated the “turquoise age” (i.e. golden age) in ancient
> Tollan, the archaeological site of Tula in the Central Highlands in the heart of ancient
> Mexico. Toltec civilization flourished from approximately 950 to 1150 CE, before the
> Mexica (“Aztec”) conquest.
> A leading authority on Quetzalcoatl — Henry B. Nicholson, acclaimed as America’s
> greatest scholar of the Aztec civilization — wrote Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl: The Once and
> Future Lord of the Toltecs. With a considerable degree of scholarly confidence,
> Nicholson is utterly convinced that some degree of historicity attaches to Quetzalcoatl:
> First, and most importantly, I believe that it is quite possible that there was an
> “original” Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl, an actual person who lived on this earth but who
> later apparently became inextricably fused (and confused) with more than one
> deity—and probably with later rulers as well. – p. 259.
> Based on sacred indigenous traditions, Nicholson further relates what little is known
> about Quetzalcoatl’s religious reforms: “Under his benevolent rule no human sacrifice
> was permitted, only that of quail, butterflies, snakes, and large grasshoppers.” – p. 10.
> Quetzalcoatl challenged the “sacrificial logic” and militarism of ancient Mexican culture,
> by abolishing the entrenched practice of human sacrifice. Founding a functionally new
> religion, Quetzalcoatl taught (and exemplified) prayer and penance. Upon this social
> and moral foundation, Quetzalcoatl established a new, flourishing civilization.
> 
> Quite naturally, this incurred the wrath of powerful shaman–sorcerers, guardians of the
> old religion. His arch-nemesis, Tezcatlipoca (“Obsidian Mirror”), tricked and shamed
> Quetzalcoatl, and forced him into exile from Tollan, never to return. Or would he?
> Yes. According to long-held prophetic tradition, Quetzalcoatl would one day return to
> reclaim his throne and reinstate Tula as the state capital. David Carrasco, author
> of Quetzalcoatl and the Irony of Empire: Myths and Prophecies in the Aztec Tradition,
> writes:
> In one of the amazing coincidences of history, the Cortes expedition arrived in
> the year 1519, known to the Aztecs as the year 1 Reed (ce acatl), which was the
> birthdate and calendar name of Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl.
> – David Carrasco, Daily life of the Aztecs: People of the Sun and Earth, p.
> 216.
> In the “Europeanization” of the Quetzalcoatl prophecy, Motecuhzoma (Montezuma,
> 1502–1520), the last Aztec emperor of Mexico, tragically mistook the Spanish
> conquistador, Hernán Cortés, for the return of Quetzalcoatl. The Conquest, a collision of
> two worlds, would one day be reversed, according to the prophecy of Quetzalcoatl’s
> return.
> At the core of the complex legend and mythology that surrounds him, Topiltzin
> Quetzalcoatl was once a historical figure:
> Mesoamerica was clearly an area where a combined religious–secular
> leadership pattern had evolved to an unusually high degree. It provided an
> exceptionally favorable cultural climate for a gifted individual of high station to
> make his historical mark on society. Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl may well have been
> such a person. I am not suggesting that we might be confronted here with a
> Mesoamerican Buddha, Zoroaster, Jesus Christ, or Mohammed, for no
> comparable systematized body of religious doctrine seems to have stemmed
> from his life or teachings, but his impact on cult activities in Mesoamerica may
> have been considerable.
> – H. B. Nicholson, Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl: The Once and Future Lord of
> the Toltecs, p. 264.
> This is a fair estimate of the cultural and religious importance of Quetzalcoatl. Yet the
> absence of a “comparable systematized body of religious doctrine” — lost in the mists of
> antiquity — does not mean that it didn’t exist.
> Like Deganawida, who came centuries later and who did leave behind laws and
> teachings, Quetzalcoatl stopped the unnecessary shedding of human blood (whether by
> ritual or warfare), and promoted a fresh and vibrant civilization.
> 
> Popularly, although unofficially, Baha’is widely believe that Quetzalcoatl may well be
> comparable to Buddha, Zoroaster, Jesus Christ, or Mohammed. These same Baha’is
> believe that Baha’u’llah represents the return of the spirit and power of Quetzalcoatl.
> Like the metaphor of the “Feathered Serpent,” Baha’u’llah refers to each Prophet and
> Manifestation of God as the “Royal Falcon”:
> I am the Sun of Wisdom and the Ocean of Knowledge. I cheer the faint and
> revive the dead. I am the guiding Light that illumineth the way. I am the royal
> Falcon on the arm of the Almighty. I unfold the drooping wings of every broken
> bird and start it on its flight.
> – Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 169.
> While respecting the ethics of representation, most indigenous Baha’is believe that
> Baha’u’llah is the spirit of Quetzalcoatl revived — not by conquest, not by hegemonic or
> triumphalistic appropriation, but by embrace, in a metaphysic of symbolism and
> synchronicity, of mediation and connection to the global metropolis, the new Tula.
> The Resplendent Quetzal is crimson-breasted, with iridescent, emerald plumage that
> shimmers with golden-green to blue-violet light in the sunlight. Baha’u’llah, many
> Baha’is believe, may be the return of the spirit and power of Quetzalcoatl for having
> brought new teachings that restore the dignity of indigenous peoples, with respect for
> their cultures and sacred traditions, while establishing a connection with the wider world,
> in a true “unity in diversity” — where the Royal Falcon, as the Resplendent Quetzal,
> radiates spiritual light in the cloud forests of purity and wisdom.
> 
> 3. The Return of White Buffalo Calf Woman
> 
> March 22, 2014
> 
> Did the Native Americans have their own Prophets? Baha’is believe they did. Abdu’l-
> Baha’s Tablet to Amir Khan declares that “the Call of God must have been raised in
> ancient times” among the “people of America.” The “people of America” refer not just to
> North America, but to the entire New World. The “Call of God” refers to the messages
> raised by Messengers of God.         Already we’ve covered two previous examples:
> Deganawida of the Iroquois; and Quetzalcoatl of the Toltecs. Next: White Buffalo Calf
> Woman. Arvol Looking Horse, 19th-generation Keeper of the Original Sacred White
> Buffalo Calf Pipe of the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota Nation of the Sioux, tells the sacred
> story:
> Nineteen generations ago the beautiful spirit we now refer to as Ptesan win-yan
> (White Buffalo Calf Woman) brought the Sacred C’anupa to our People. … Pte-
> san win-yan gifted us with the Seven Sacred Rites that still sustain our People
> today. The I-ni-pi (Purification ceremony), Wi-wanyang wac’i-pi (Sun Dance
> ceremony), Han-ble-c’i-ya (Vision Quest ceremony) Hun-ka kag’a (Making of a
> relative), Ta-pa kah’-g’o-ya (Throwing of the sacred ball) Wi-yan Is’-na ti
> (Womanhood ceremony), Na-g’i glu-ha (Keeping of the Spirit ceremony).
> … Before she left, Pte-san win-yan told the People [that] her Spirit would return
> to help us one day in times of great hardship, and that we would recognize her.
> In 2005, Patricia Locke (1928–2001), whose Lakota name was Tawacin Waste
> Win (“She of Good Consciousness“ or “Compassionate Woman“), was inducted into
> the U.S. National Women’s Hall of Fame. A highly respected Lakota activist, Locke
> embraced the Baha’i Faith late in life, and in 1993, was elected to the National Spiritual
> Assembly of the Baha’is of the United States, as its first Native American woman
> member. 1993 marked the United Nations’ “International Year of the World’s Indigenous
> People.” That same year, Patricia Locke attended the nine-day Parliament of the
> World’s Religions in Chicago. She was part of a 55-member Native delegation. On the
> last day, the Native delegation presented a “Declaration of Vision” to the general
> assembly, calling on the world’s religions to support the struggles of First Nations
> peoples. The Declaration proclaimed, in part:
> We, as Indigenous Peoples and Native Nations, honoring our ancestors and our
> future generations, do hereby declare …
> 
> Our spiritual and physical survival continues to be threatened all over the
> hemisphere, we feel compelled to ask you to join us in restoring the balances of
> humanity and Mother Earth in these ways:
> A. Acknowledgement of the myriad of messengers of the Creator, the Great
> Mystery, to the peoples of the Western Hemisphere.
> B. Support in promoting, preserving and maintaining our Indigenous languages
> and cultures.
> This clarion call for the world’s recognition of “messengers of the Creator, the Great
> Mystery, to the peoples of the Western Hemisphere” includes the Baha’is as well. Now,
> the rediscovery of Abdu’l-Baha’s Tablet to Amir Khan provides an authoritative text on
> which to base the principle of “Messengers of God to First Nations.” This principle is
> explicit — the principals implicit. For example, in a Tablet to Ahmad Quli Khan,
> Baha’u’llah declares:      “Unto the cities of all nations He [God] hath sent His
> Messengers.” – Gleanings, p. 145. This Baha’i universalism applies to the New World —
> the Americas — as well as the Old World and the Third World. In 1994, David S. Ruhe,
> MD (former member of the Universal House of Justice), stated, in a speech:
> To the warring tribes 700–800 years ago there came an astonishing Prophet of
> Peace — Deganawidah united five, later six, mutually hostile tribal groups in a
> federal union based on democracy, the first in the Western Hemisphere. He
> cemented this union with a “Great Law of Peace,” a constitution which
> propounded one expansive human family. … And of course the Iroquois
> foreshadowed, in their Longhouse of sky and earth, the planetary message of the
> Bahá’í Faith for today.
> – “A New Evolution: Religious Bonding for World Unity,” Journal of Baha’i
> Studies 6.4 (1994/95): p. 45.
> What about the return of White Buffalo Calf Woman? Another prominent Lakota and
> Baha’i woman, Counsellor Jacqueline Left Hand Bull (interviewed by Patricia Locke in
> 1989) publicly stated her belief that Baha’u’llah was the “return” of White Buffalo Calf
> Woman:
> First of all our name Lakota means peace, amity – harmony – balance. We
> perceive the universe as being interrelated and interconnected – that’s our most
> significant prayer, mitakuye oyasin – “all my relations” … This world view is
> sacred and is based on the teachings of the White Buffalo Calf Woman. This
> Lakota world view meshes with the Baha’i world view. … So it’s not difficult for
> me to reconcile the teachings of the White Buffalo Calf Woman and Baha’u’llah. I
> see it — Baha’u’llah’s teachings — as the next step of Lakota ways. Only now we
> take our place in the world community, with all Indian people united.
> 
> — Prophecy of Lakota
> (http://bahai-library.com/newspapers/1995/000089.html)
> Baha’u’llah wrote:
> 
> O peoples of the heavens and of the earth! … Be ye fair therefore in your
> judgement concerning His upright Religion, for the love of this Youth who is riding
> high upon the snow-white She-Camel betwixt earth and heaven; and be ye firm
> and steadfast in the path of Truth.*
> — Tablets of the Hair (authorized translation;
> http://bahai-library.com/bahaullah_alwah_shaarat)
> “White Buffalo Calf Woman” and “snow-white She-Camel” — similar symbols, same
> spirit. Mitakuye oyasin.
> 
> 4. The Return of Viracocha, the Prophet of the Incas
> 
> March 28, 2014
> 
> The supreme deity of the Incas — Ilya-Tiqsi Viracocha Pachayachachiq (“Ancient
> Foundation, Lord, Teacher”) — incarnated and dwelled among men, as the Inca prophet
> of God. Strange to say, Viracocha promised to return one day. That hope persists
> among the descendants of the Incas to this very day.
> Pedro Sarmiento de Gambo (1532–1592) was a highly accomplished explorer, naval
> captain and royal cosmographer. Ordered by Don Francisco de Toledo, Viceroy of “the
> kingdoms of Peru,” to write The History of the Incas (1572), Captain Sarmiento took
> measures to ensure its authenticity and accuracy. So, in a public reading, on February
> 29 and March 1, 1572 he had his manuscript read, chapter by chapter, to an
> assemblage of forty-two knowledgeable Incas for their commentary and correction.
> Sarmiento described the light-skinned Viracocha this way:
> Be that as it may, in the end all agree that the creation of these people was the work of
> Viracocha. They report that he was a man of medium height, white, and dressed in
> white clothing, secured around his body like an alb, and [that] he carried a staff and a
> book in his hands.
> — Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa, The History of the Incas, p. 51.
> Now for Sarmiento’s account of Viracocha’s promise to return:
> Returning to the subject of the fable, Viracocha continued his journey, carrying out his
> deeds and teaching the people he created. In this way he arrived at the region where
> Puerto Viejo and Manta now are, on the equator, where he was joined by his servants.
> Wishing to leave the land of Peru, he spoke to those he had created, telling them of
> things that would befall them. He told them that people would come, some of whom
> would say that they were Viracocha, their Creator, and that they should not believe
> them. Moreover, in times to come, he would send his messengers to protect and teach
> them. This said, he and his two servants entered the sea, and they walked over the
> water, as if on land, without sinking. … These barbarians have this ridiculous fable of
> their creation, and they state it and believe in it as if they had actually seen it happen
> and take place. (pp. 54–55.)
> The Incas evidently had a rich oral tradition, consisting of prayers, hymns, epic poems,
> drama, and songs — most of which was destroyed. In his celebrated work on Inca
> religion, Historia del Nuevo Mundo (1653), Father Bernabé Cobo preserves this Incan
> prayer:
> 
> O most happy, fortunate Creator, you have compassion on men and take pity on
> them! Behold your people here, your children, poor, unfortunate, whom you have
> made and given life; take pity on them and let them live safe and sound with their
> children and descendants; guide them in the ways of good health and let them
> not perceive or think about bad and harmful things; let them live for a long time
> and not die in their youth; let them eat and drink in peace.
> – Inca Religion and Customs, p. 120.
> In Part 3 of this series, we saw how, on November 8, 1519, Spanish Conquistador
> Cortés pretended to be the return of Topiltzin Ce Acatl Quetzalcoatl, (which, translated,
> means “Our Prince One Reed Quetzalcoatl.”) On August 13, 1521, Cortés captured the
> Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, the site of present-day Mexico City. Not long after, Francisco
> Pizarro, the Spanish conqueror of Peru, began his conquest. At first, Inca leaders
> explained Pizarro and his soldiers’ arrival as the return of Viracocha. The Inca elite soon
> realized that they were sorely mistaken.
> Fast forward now to 450 years later, in August, 1975: the picture below, which has
> inspired my research on the return of Viracocha, is worth a thousand words:
> This photograph was taken during the historic Quechua Baha’i “Tandanakuy,” the
> International Quechua Baha’i Conference, held August 20–24, 1975, attended
> by Baha’is from Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador. The entire conference was conducted in the
> Quechua language, the ancient tongue of the Inca Empire. The guest of honor was
> Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum (1910–2000), wife of Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of
> the Baha’i Faith.
> These Quechua Baha’is firmly believe that “Baha’u’llah is the return of Viracocha.” What
> does this “return” mean? “Return” is not reincarnation, as Abdu’l-Baha explains:
> If he [John the Baptist] was not Elias, why did Christ say that he was? The
> explanation is this: not the personality, but the reality of the perfections, is meant
> —that is to say, the same perfections that were in Elias existed in John the
> Baptist and were exactly realized in him. Therefore, John the Baptist was the
> promised Elias. In this case not the essence, but the qualities, are regarded.
> — Some Answered Questions, p. 134.
> Quechua Baha’is believe that Baha’u’llah came in the spirit and power of Viracocha. In
> honoring and promoting Quechua language and culture, it can be said that Baha’u’llah
> is restoring dignity to the descendants of the Incas, devastated and oppressed for
> centuries.
> It is in this sense that Baha’u’llah credibly may be said to be the “return of Viracocha.”
> 
> 5. Comparing the Teachings of Two Peacemakers
> 
> April 2, 2014
> 
> Deganawida, reverently referred to as the “Peacemaker,” not only made peace among
> the warring nations of the Iroquois, but also brought ethical and moral teachings to the
> tribes.
> Let’s try an experiment: Why don’t we compare the teachings of two Peacemakers,
> Deganawida and Baha’u’llah? Then we can determine, from two different points of view,
> whether the Baha’I teachings agree with those of the Peacemaker and, conversely,
> whether the Peacemaker’s teachings resonate with those of Baha’u’llah.
> Perhaps a better way is to ask is this: Can the Peacemaker’s followers recognize the
> harmony between Deganawida’s teachings and Baha’u’llah’s? And can Baha’is
> recognize the harmony between Baha’u’llah’s teachings and Deganawida’s? Same
> question, but from two different perspectives.
> Okay. Let’s begin our experimental comparison with one of the most celebrated
> passages from Baha’u’llah, given in the form of advice to one of his sons:
> Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity. Be worthy of the trust of thy
> neighbor, and look upon him with a bright and friendly face. Be a treasure to the
> poor, an admonisher to the rich, an answerer of the cry of the needy, a preserver
> of the sanctity of thy pledge. Be fair in thy judgment, and guarded in thy speech.
> Be unjust to no man, and show all meekness to all men. Be as a lamp unto them
> that walk in darkness, a joy to the sorrowful, a sea for the thirsty, a haven for the
> distressed, an upholder and defender of the victim of oppression. Let integrity
> and uprightness distinguish all thine acts. Be a home for the stranger, a balm to
> the suffering, a tower of strength for the fugitive. Be eyes to the blind, and a
> guiding light unto the feet of the erring. Be an ornament to the countenance of
> truth, a crown to the brow of fidelity, a pillar of the temple of righteousness, a
> breath of life to the body of mankind, an ensign of the hosts of justice, a luminary
> above the horizon of virtue, a dew to the soil of the human heart, an ark on the
> ocean of knowledge, a sun in the heaven of bounty, a gem on the diadem of
> wisdom, a shining light in the firmament of thy generation, a fruit upon the tree of
> humility.
> – Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, p. 285.
> 
> Now let’s take the very first teaching: Generosity. (“Be generous in prosperity.”) What
> does the Peacemaker teach about generosity? Consider this excerpt from the
> Peacemaker’s epic, Concerning the League:
> Then Tekanawita’ [Deganawida] said, “Who is helping you to guard the field?”
> Thereupon the man came there, and then Tekanawita’ said “Are you the person
> who guards this field?” and the man answered, saying, “It is I, indeed, I am the
> person who stands guard at night at the cornfield;” then Tekanawita’ said, “How
> do you do it, customarily?” and the man said, “This, generally, is how: when it just
> dawns, I am roaming about all over the field; sometimes I find corn cobs lying on
> the ground and I pick up as many as I can find. Then I take them back to the
> chief’s house, and that is how we do it throughout the harvest. Actually
> everything is owned jointly, and when the task is done, the way our chief
> distributes it is in equal shares for them to receive it, all of the people in the
> settlement.” Thereupon Tekanawita’ said, “Now I understand what your work is,
> so this shall be your name, they will address you calling you
> Kanuhkwe’yotu’ [Growing Corn Cobs] and that is what everyone will live by. This
> is what your work will be now, the newly arriving Good Message and the Power
> and the Peace.
> – Deganawida, Concerning the League, pp. 193–196.
> Now let’s take the second teaching: Thanksgiving. (“thankful in adversity.”) What does
> the Peacemaker teach about thanksgiving? Consider this excerpt from the
> Peacemaker’s epic:
> Thereupon Tekanawita’ stood up, saying, “The Great Power came from the sky,
> and now it is functioning, the Great Power that we accepted when we reached
> consensus. So now our house has become complete. Now, therefore, we shall
> give thanks, that is, we shall thank the Creator of the earth, that is, he who
> planted all kinds of weeds and all varieties of shrubs and all kinds of trees; and
> springs, flowing water, such as rivers and large bodies of water, such as lakes;
> and the sun that keeps moving by day, and by night, the moon, and where the
> sky is, the stars, which no one is able to count; moreover, the way it is on earth in
> relation to which no one is able to tell the extent to which it is to their benefit, that
> is the people whom he created and who will continue to live on earth. This, then,
> is the reason we thank him, the one with great power, the one who is the Creator,
> for that which will now move forward, the Good Message and the Power and the
> Peace, the Great Law.
> – Deganawida, Concerning the League, pp. 294-296.
> These two teachings, by the Peacemaker and by the world’s newest God-sent
> Peacemaker, are one in spirit.
> 
> If you have any doubt, just imagine a meeting between Deganawida and Baha’u’llah.
> They would honor and respect each other. If that is true, then shouldn’t we do likewise?
> Let’s give thanks for these noble teachings. They are timeless. They ring true today, as
> they did in days gone by.
> 
> 6. The Great Law of Peace
> 
> April 23, 2014
> 
> Halito! (Choctaw for “Hello!”)
> Many people think of the United States Constitution as the “world’s oldest living
> constitution.” But the first democracy in the New World used an even earlier
> constitution. No career politician founded this historic democracy. It was founded by
> what anthropologists call a “culture hero” — or, according to Iroquois sacred tradition, by
> a Messenger of the Great Spirit.
> The Iroquois tribes practiced this time-honored democracy religiously — quite literally,
> because they consider this way of governing sacred. It is still alive, albeit in attenuated
> form, among Iroquois Nations today.
> You can feel an epic sense of legendary drama in reading Concerning the League, by
> John Arthur Gibson (translated from the original Onondaga by Hanni Woodbury in
> 1992). This is no ordinary book. It covers the founding of the Iroquois Confederacy by
> Deganawida — respectfully and reverently referred to as “the Peacemaker” — with the
> assistance of Hiawatha, the former cannibal, whom Deganawida converted to his new
> faith.
> Legends are historically rooted and culturally bound. As such, Deganawida is not an
> ethnographic curiosity, but a living, cultural presence. The great overmastering fact in
> the history of the Iroquois is the dominance and centrality of the “Longhouse” tradition
> based upon the Deganawida epic. In that way, Concerning the League compares
> favorably with the sacred scripture of the world’s great religions and, as such, belongs
> to the pantheon of great world literature.
> The Iroquois Confederacy began as the union of five Iroquois Nations, to which a sixth
> was later added. It eventually included a total of ten Nations at later points in history.
> The Iroquois league of Nations first united the Mohawks, Onondagas, and Senecas (as
> “Elder brothers”) and the Oneidas and Cayugas (as “Younger Brothers”) into the “Five
> Nations.”
> In 1714, the Five Nations became Six Nations by adopting the Tuscaroras, and, in 1753,
> the Confederacy incorporated the Nanticokes and Tuteloes, expanding the League into
> eight Nations. Evidence tells us that the Saponi and Conoy Nations were added later,
> enlarging the League into ten Nations, with the Delawares being given Iroquois
> protection, but without formal adoption.
> 
> While his teachings on good governance have long been studied, Deganawida’s ethical
> and spiritual teachings have received scant attention. In the previous article, we began
> a comparison of the ethical teachings of “Two Peacemakers,” Baha’u’llah and
> Deganawida. We will continue that comparison and see how much the teachings of
> these two Peacemakers really do have in common.
> In ethical advice given to one of his sons, one of Baha’u’llah counsels this:
> “Be worthy of the trust of thy neighbor, and look upon him with a bright and
> friendly face.”
> We don’t have to look far to find comparable ethics in the teachings of the Peacemaker:
> Thirdly, this is what ‘Peace’ means: now it will stop, the massacre of humans and
> the scalping and bloodletting among themselves, specifically, among the people
> of the various nations. Now as to that, it will end, the human slaughter, because
> the Great Spirit never planned for humans to hurt one another nor to slaughter
> one another. So now it will end, the warpath, and everywhere it will become
> peaceful; the different nations’ villages are as neighbours and as to the localized
> families and their children, what will happen is that they all will be very close
> relatives; and it will come to pass that they will become just like one family which
> will encompass every nation and every language. And this: when everyone can
> travel from village to village, then it will end, the danger and terror, and everything
> will be peaceful, and they will rejoice by day and by night as the family continues
> on, there being no end to peace; that is what it means, the Great Law of Peace,
> and everyone will be united; now I am finished.
> – Deganawida, Concerning the League, pp. 105–108.
> You will stop it because it is sinful for people to hurt one another; you especially,
> for you are all relatives, and so it is necessary for you to be kind to one another,
> as well as to other people, those you know, and those people you do not know;
> and you should respect them equally—all of the people—you should be kind to
> everyone.”
> — Deganawida, Concerning the League, pp. 27–28.
> No question about it — these ethical teachings are on a par with the great religions of
> the world.
> On March 9, 1961, the late Ruhiyyih Khanum (a.k.a. Mary Maxwell), prominent
> Canadian Baha’i and beloved wife of Shoghi Effendi, wrote:
> “I could see the American Indians straighten their shoulders when I asked their
> forgiveness for the injustices my race had done them and when I praised their
> great past.”
> – Letter to the United States and Canada on Racism, 1961
> 
> Let’s follow Ruhiyyih Khanum’s example and do likewise.* Yakoke! (Choctaw for
> “Thanks!”)
> •   For a historic apology to Native Americans that also made history, please see:
> •   Video of Kevin Gover’s speech, “Never Again” (Sept. 8, 2000), a formal apology
> to Native Americans, on behalf of the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs.
> (http://christopherbuck.com/video/Kevin_Gover_BIA_Speech.mpg)
> “Never Again” (http://www.bahai-library.com/pdf/b/buck_gover_never_again.pdf)
> 
> 7. Two Great Peacemakers: Deganawida and Baha’u’llah
> 
> April 25, 2014
> 
> In 2010, the U.S. Mint issued its Native American $1 Coin, with a reverse design
> featuring an image of the Hiawatha Belt with 5 arrows bound together, along with the
> inscriptions UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, $1, HAUDENOSAUNEE and GREAT LAW
> OF PEACE. (Haudenosaunee means “People of the Longhouse.”) This coin honors the
> Iroquois Confederacy, its unity and its highly-developed civilization – and it honors, by
> extension, the teachings of the Iroquois prophet Deganawida.
> Deganawida is a legend, not a myth. A legend forms around a historical core of facts.
> The fullest account of Deganawida and Hiawatha (the former cannibal whom
> Deganawida converted) is Concerning the League: The Iroquois League Tradition as
> Dictated in Onondaga by John Arthur Gibson, translated by Hanni Woodbury (1992).
> Deganawida and Hiawatha established the Iroquois Confederacy. Consider this
> statement from a Scientific American article on the Confederacy: “Five tribes of the
> Iroquois confederacy were, from west to east, the Senecas, the Cayugas, the
> Onondagas, the Oneidas and the Mohawks. At the beginning of the 18th century their
> power extended from Maine to Illinois and from southern Ontario to Tennessee. The
> Tuscaroras became the sixth after being ousted by white settlers in the Carolinas.”
> – James A. Tuck, “The Iroquois Confederacy,” Scientific American, Vol. 224, No. 2
> (February 1971), pp. 32–42 [36].
> According to the Haudenosaunee Guide for Educators, published by the National
> Museum of the American Indian, The Peacemaker Story, which explains how the
> Confederacy came into being, is “the civic and social code of ethics that guides the way”
> for the Iroquois.
> With that context in mind, let’s continue our comparison of the ethical teachings
> of Baha’u’llah and Deganawida:
> Baha’u’llah advises us to
> “Be a treasure to the poor.”
> Deganawida says:
> You shall be a good person, and, especially, you shall be kind to all of the people,
> not differentiating among them, the people who are wealthy, and the poor ones,
> and the good natured ones, and the evil ones who sin readily; all of them you
> shall treat kindly, and you shall not differentiate among them. And as to your own
> 
> fireside, never consider only yourself, you must always remember them, the old
> people, and the younger people, and the children, and those still in the earth, yet
> unborn, and always you will take into account everyone’s well being, that of the
> ongoing families, so that they may continue to survive, your grandchildren.”
> – Deganawida, Concerning the League, pp. 698–700.
> Baha’u’llah goes on to ask us to be
> “an admonisher to the rich.”
> In the same vein, Deganawida says:
> “As to you, they have chosen you to work on the Great Law of Peace. This is
> your name, this is what they will call you: Shakokehe,’ which means, your name,
> that you will treat them all equally, the people of this group, and you will give
> them the Good Message which they will accept, and that is what will save them
> from trouble.” Thereupon Deganawida said, “As to you, indeed, they have
> chosen you to help with the League, and this is your name, this is what they will
> call you: Sahawi, which means it is your work now that all of the families will be
> established as a single house, to see that one will use it to live by, the power
> which will be functioning for peace.
> – Deganawida, Concerning the League, pp. 370–372.
> Here, Deganawida admonishes the leaders of the Iroquois Confederacy, who were
> typically among the rich and powerful.
> Baha’u’llah asks humanity to be
> “an answerer of the cry of the needy.”
> Deganawida says:
> Moreover, at present it is young as the day is when the sun is rising and lights up
> the earth; just as it causes warmth all over the earth for all the people, we will
> help the people of every nation. And just as all of the many things grow on earth
> and sustain the people, the newly arriving Great Law will come to shed light on
> the minds of the people, the elders and the younger people, everybody, even the
> children, and this is what you will work at: everyone shall become related to one
> another, so that it will become a single-family consisting of every tribe; and they
> will be kind to one another, all of the people; and this is what will unite them: the
> Good Message, and the Power, and the Peace.
> – Deganawida, Concerning the League, pp. 127–129.
> Baha’u’llah asks all people to be
> “a preserver of the sanctity of thy pledge.”
> 
> Deganawida says:
> All Lords of the Five Nations Confederacy must be honest in all things. They
> must not idle or gossip, but be men possessing those honorable qualities that
> make true royaneh. [Literally, “Noble,” i.e. Lord or Chief. – CB]
> – Deganawida, in Arthur C. Parker, The Constitution of the Five Nations or
> the Iroquois Book of the Great Law, p. 38.
> These two Peacemakers, Deganawida and Baha’u’llah, brought universal ethical
> teachings to humanity. Although their social laws are attuned to the requirements of the
> respective historical settings in which they lived, their ethical teachings coexist in
> splendid, reciprocal harmony. Like a laser, their lights intensify each other.
> We close with this prayer from the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address:
> We gather our minds to greet and thank the enlightened Teachers who have
> come to help throughout the ages. When we forget how to live in harmony, they
> remind us of the way we were instructed to live as people. With one mind, we
> send greetings and thanks to these caring Teachers. Now our minds are one.
> – Qtd. in Haudenosaunee Guide for Educators, Preface.
> 
> 8. Iroquois Confederacy (Six Na5ons) and World Federa5on (All
> Na5ons)
> 
> May 2, 2014
> 
> Did the Iroquois Constitution influence the United States Constitution?
> Proponents say, “Yes.” Opponents say, “No.”
> Among the proponents: Historians Bruce Johansen, Donald Grinde, Jr., Gregory
> Schaaf, J.N.B. Hewitt, Felix S. Cohen, Jack Weatherford, Oren Lyons, John C. Mohawk,
> and Robert W. Venables, among others.
> Among the opponents: Elizabeth Tooker, Erik M. Jensen, and Samuel B. Payne, Jr.,
> among others.
> Whether or not the “Iroquois influence thesis” is a proposition grounded in quicksand, on
> October 4, 1988, during the 100th Congress, the U.S. House of Representatives passed
> House Concurrent Resolution 331 (H.Con.Res. 331) onto the Senate by a vote of 408–
> 8. Then, on October 21, 1988, the Senate approved Senate Concurrent Resolution 76
> (S.Con.Res.76, identical to H.Con.Res. 331), by unanimous voice vote. The joint
> resolution reads, in part:
> Whereas the original framers of the Constitution, including, most notably, George
> Washington and Benjamin Franklin, are known to have greatly admired the
> concepts of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy;
> Whereas the confederation of the original Thirteen Colonies into one republic
> was influenced by the political system developed by the Iroquois Confederacy as
> were many of the democratic principles which were incorporated into the
> Constitution itself . . .
> RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (THE SENATE
> CONCURRING), That —
> (1) the Congress, on the occasion of the two hundredth anniversary of the
> signing of the United States Constitution, acknowledges the contribution made by
> the Iroquois Confederacy and other Indian Nations to the formation and
> development of the United States; . . .
> Advocates of the “Iroquois influence thesis” point to anecdotal evidence. For instance,
> on March 20, 1751, Benjamin Franklin offered the example of the “Six Nations” of the
> 
> Iroquois Confederacy as a model for the union of the original thirteen colonies, which
> formed the United States of America on July 4, 1776:
> It would be a strange thing if Six Nations of ignorant savages should be capable
> of forming a scheme for such an union, and be able to execute it in such a
> manner as that it has subsisted ages and appears indissoluble; and yet that a
> like union should be impracticable for ten or a dozen English colonies, to whom it
> is more necessary and must be more advantageous, and who cannot be
> supposed to want an equal understanding of their interests.
> – Benjamin Franklin to Parker, Mar. 20, 1751, The Papers of Benjamin
> Franklin, vol. 4, pp. 118–119.
> As further evidence, in 1744, Onondaga Chief Canasatego addressed the British
> colonists at the Treaty of Lancaster, and spoke of the power of unity in forging an
> alliance of confederate colonies:
> We heartily recommend Union and a good Agreement between you our Brethren.
> Never disagree, but preserve a strict Friendship for one another, and thereby
> you, as well as we, will become the stronger.
> Our wise Forefathers established Union and Amity between the Five Nations; this
> has given us great Weight and Authority with our neighbouring Nations.
> We are a powerful Confederacy; and, by your observing the same Methods our
> wise Forefathers have taken, you will acquire fresh Strength and Power.
> – “A Treaty Held at the Town of Lancaster . . . In June 1744,” in
> Cadwallader Colden, The History of the Five Indian Nations of Canada, p.
> 200.
> Okay. Instead of influence, let’s talk about confluence of ideas, by asking a broader
> question: “Are Deganawida’s ‘Great Law’ and Baha’u’llah’s ‘Most Great Law’ similar in
> principle?”
> One leading proponent, Dr. Lee Brown (Cherokee, Director Institute of Emotional
> Health, Vancouver, BC), says “Yes:”
> Those who have a knowledge of the Great Law can clearly hear the words of the
> Peacemaker echoing in the voice of Baha’u’llah. And that voice began to move
> upon the land in the form of Native Councils as it once did when the
> Peacemaker, as a young boy, left the camp of his Mother and Grandmother, in a
> carved white stone canoe and began his journey of speaking, teaching and
> bringing the Great Law of Peace of the Iroquois.
> Through the Law, the Peacemaker established peace among the Nations of the
> Iroquois Confederacy and through the Law, the Kitab-i-Aqdas, Baha’u’llah will
> establish peace among all the Nations of the earth.
> 
> This yearning for peace, especially among Native people, so long assaulted by
> the bitter winds of colonialism, was felt again in the birthplace of the Peacemaker
> in the hearts of Jim and Melba. They became the first Aboriginal ambassadors
> bringing this blessing to the Native world and to all humanity through their
> sacrifice and efforts. Jim and Melba had the knowledge of mind to the see the
> relationship between Baha’u’llah and the Peacemaker . . .
> – Return to Tyendinaga: The Story of Jim and Melba Loft,
> Baha’i Pioneers: Review (2013).
> bahai-library.com/brown_watts_verge_tyendinaga
> In 1873, Baha’u’llah proclaimed:
> “O kings of the earth! The Most Great Law hath been revealed in this Spot, this
> scene of transcendent splendor.”
> – The Most Holy Book, p. 49.
> Dr. Brown has written a comparative legal study of Deganawida’s “Great Law” and
> Baha’u’llah’s “Most Great Law.” Dr. Brown’s book awaits publication. Let’s hope that it
> shows us how Deganawida’s “Great Law” and Baha’u’llah’s “Most Great Law” resound
> in splendid harmonics, one with the other, despite being a world apart, in culture and
> context.
> 
> 9. Na5ve Messengers of God: One Baha’i Perspec5ve
> 
> July 30, 2014
> 
> One of the primary principles of the Baha’i Faith, expressed in many places in the
> teachings, holds that God leaves no person or culture bereft of spiritual guidance:
> God is kind to all; He is the giver of bounty to all alike, even as Jesus Christ has
> declared that God “sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust”—that is to say, the
> mercy of God is universal. All humanity is under the protection of His love and
> favor, and unto all He has pointed the way of guidance and progress.
> – Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 142.
> So did God send Prophets and Messengers to the Native Americans and Native
> Canadians? Yes, according to their own sacred traditions, as kept by their respective
> (and respected) Elders.
> If you are interested in learning more about the heritage of The Great Peacemaker, who
> was responsible for bringing peace to the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee, “People of the
> Longhouse”) Nations, watch this video entitled “Peacemaker” courtesy of Historica
> Canada: https://www.historicacanada.ca/content/heritage-minutes/peacemaker.
> But what do the Baha’i Writings have to say about that? Are they in harmony with Native
> American and Native Canadian perspectives?
> Let’s explore these important questions by looking at the following brief “Tablet” from
> Abdu’l-Baha. These tablets, usually in the form of short written responses to questions
> posed by Baha’is, came from Baha’u’llah and Abdu’l-Baha, and often illuminate subjects
> not explicitly covered elsewhere in the Baha’i writings.
> First, let me introduce the person who asked the questions about Messengers of God
> sent to America. During the time of Abdu’l-Baha, there was a Baha’i named Amir Khan
> Ahan. In Persian, “ahan” means “iron.” According to Dr. Iraj Ayman, Amir Khan owned a
> shoppe at the beginning of Naser Khosrow Street in Tehran. This store had a sign in
> front that read, “Maghazih Ahan.” (In Persian, “maghazih” means “shoppe.”) So Amir
> Khan’s store was called the “Iron Shoppe” (that is, a crafts shoppe and hardware store),
> which made him known in Tehran as Amir Khan-i-Maghazih Ahan. Renowned as an
> inventor, Amir Khan actually traveled to Russia, as well as to parts of Europe, where he
> sold some of his inventions. Amir Khan also met Abdu’l-Baha in the Holy Land.
> Amir Khan received a famous tablet from Abdu’l-Baha in response to his questions
> asking for advice on which of several arts and crafts to pursue. Abdu’l-Baha advised
> 
> Amir Khan to concentrate on one pursuit and to perfect his mastery over that craft–
> otherwise his talent and energies would be spread too thin. Dr. Ayman, as a youth
> accompanying his father, met Amir Khan on a number of occasions. According to Dr.
> Ayman, Amir Khan was full of fascinating ideas and constantly making new devices and
> solving technical problems.
> So here’s a “provisional translation” of Abdu’l-Baha’s “Tablet to Amir Khan,” in full:
> He is God!
> O servant of God! You had complained about [your] inability to attain perfection in
> more than one craft (dar ṣanāyi‘-i muta‘addidih). A multiple number of crafts
> cause [one’s] perceptions to become scattered. Endeavor in one of these crafts
> and strive and exert yourself to attain perfection therein. This is better than
> having a number of crafts (all) remain in a state of imperfection.
> In ancient times the people of America (ahl-i Amrīk) were, through their northern
> regions, close to Asia, that is, separated from Asia by a strait. For this reason, it
> hath been said that crossing had occurred. There are other signs which indicate
> communication.
> As to places whose people were not informed of the appearance of Prophets,
> such people are excused. In the Qur’ān it hath been revealed: “We never
> chastise, until We send forth a Messenger.” (Qur’an 17:15.)
> Undoubtedly, in those regions, the Call of God must have been raised in ancient
> times, but it hath been forgotten now. Transliteration: (al-battih dar ān ṣafahāt nīz
> dar azmanih-yi-qadīmih vaqtī nidā-yi-ilāhī buland gashtih va-lākin hāl farāmush
> shudih ast.)
> I will supplicate God to confirm you in attaining perfection in one of the crafts.
> And upon thee be greetings and praise.
> We don’t have access to the original letter, but based on internal evidence, it appears
> that Amir Khan had asked Abdu’l-Baha four questions:
> 1. How can one become more skillful in arts and crafts?
> 2. Did the ancestors of Native North Americans cross over the Bering Strait?
> 3. What is the fate of people who do not know of God’s latest messenger?
> 4. Were Messengers of God sent to North America?
> In the next article in this series, we will look at these questions in more detail.
> For those who read Persian, the Tablet to Amir Khan is published in its entirety in
> Muntakhabátí az Makátíb-i-Ḥaḍrat-i-‘Abdu’l-Bahá, volume 6 (Hofheim: Mu’assasi-yi
> Maṭbú‘át-i-Bahá’í-i-Álmán, 161BE/2005), pages 177–178. (Courtesy of Omid
> 
> Ghaemmaghami, PhD.) To download a copy of this Tablet in the original Persian, please
> click the link at the end of this article.
> In closing, I’d like to thank my dear wife of 30 years, Nahzy Abadi Buck, for introducing
> me to Abdu’l-Baha’s “Tablet to Amīr Khān,” shortly before we were married in North
> Vancouver, British Columbia. It’s one of the many reasons why I fell in love with her.
> Printed version of Tablet to Amir Khan in Persian:
> https://bahaiteachings.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/
> Printed-version-of-the-Tablet-to-Amir-Khan-in-Persian.pdf
> Facsimile of original Tablet to Amir Khan in Persian:
> https://bahaiteachings.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/
> Facsimile-of-original-Tablet-to-Amir-Khan-in-Persian-.pdf
> 
> 10.Na5ve Messengers of God: Another Baha’i Perspec5ve
> 
> August 5, 2014
> 
> Men at all times and under all conditions stand in need of one to exhort them,
> guide them and to instruct and teach them. Therefore He hath sent forth His
> Messengers, His Prophets and chosen ones that they might acquaint the people
> with the divine purpose underlying the revelation of Books and the raising up of
> Messengers, and that everyone may become aware of the trust of God which is
> latent in the reality of every soul.
> – Baha’u’llah, Tablets of Baha’u’llah, p. 161.
> In the Tablet to Amir Khan, which we discussed in the previous essay in this
> series, Abdu’l-Baha answers Amir Khan’s four questions:
> 1. How can one become more skillful in arts and crafts?
> 2. Did the ancestors of Native North Americans cross over the Bering Strait?
> 3. What is the fate of people who do not know of God’s latest Messenger?
> 4. Were Messengers of God sent to North America?
> I asked Baha’i scholar Dr. Necati Alkan: “What is your independent understanding of
> Abdu’l-Baha’s answer to Amir Khan’s fourth question?” Here’s his fascinating answer:
> Abdu’l-Baha says that the “Call of God” was raised in America in ancient times.
> The Persian construct, nidā-yi ilāhī (“Call of God”) uses two Arabic words (for
> “Call” and “God”). The Arabic word for “call” is al-nidā’.
> As commonly used in the Baha’i Writings, the expression, the “Call of God”
> almost always means a Revelation by God through a Prophet/Messenger (which
> Baha’is refer to as a “Manifestation of God”).
> In addition to this, the Qur’an says: “Every nation has its Messenger.” (Q. 10:47a,
> Arberry’s translation.) This verse continues with: “Then, when their Messenger
> comes, justly the issue is decided between them, and they are not wronged.” (Q.
> 10:47b, Arberry.) The very next refers to a future event: “They say, ‘When will this
> promise be, if you speak truly?” (10:48, Arberry.) This verse clearly indicates that
> Messengers of God will come after Muhammad.
> In Baha’i interpretation, the Bab and Baha’u’llah appeared. So why should God
> not have sent a Prophet/Messenger also to the Native American/Native Canadian
> “nations” (peoples)?
> 
> Besides, according to Abdu’l-Baha, only 28 Prophets are mentioned in the
> Qur’an by name. There are Prophets that the Qur’an does not mention by name,
> such as Zoroaster. This being the case, we cannot exclude Prophets/
> Messengers sent to other “nations.”
> Lastly, there is a statement by Baha’u’llah in his Commentary on the Sura of “The
> Sun.” (A “Sura” is a chapter of the Koran, which has 114 Suras.) Baha’u’llah
> states that every nation on earth has been enlightened by one of these “Suns,”
> i.e. Prophets of God.
> Based on a combination of the above statements by Baha’u’llah, Abdu’l-Baha
> and the Qur’an, and since we also know that there were more than one
> “nation” (meaning a “people,” rather than a political state), the more likely
> interpretation is that Abdu’l-Baha refers to more than one Manifestation of God
> sent to North America.
> Then I asked Dr. Alkan: “You know of my interpretation, which is that Abdu’l-Baha was
> telling Amir Khan that God sent Prophets and Messengers to the indigenous peoples of
> North America. Would you have arrived at the very same conclusion? In other words, do
> you read this text in much the same way?” He said:
> Abdu’l-Baha’s statement in the Tablet to Amir Khan is unambiguous. Who else
> than Prophets or Messengers can raise the “Call of God?”
> As the Qur’an (which, although not a Baha’i scripture, provides important
> background to Baha’i terminology), says: “O believers, respond to [the Call of]
> God and the Messenger when He calls you unto that which will give you life.”
> Here, the “Call of God” is spoken through the Messenger of God, who serves as
> God’s mouthpiece or interlocutor with humankind.
> As I just explained above, we can interpret the “Call of God” raised in America as
> referring to at least one Messenger/Prophet of God in that region–and probably
> more, since there were a number of Native American and Native Canadian
> “nations.”
> In a way, it’s quite revolutionary because we could add (unofficially) at least
> another Manifestation of God to the Ones that exist in the Baha’i Faith. We are
> seeing something quite dramatic unfolding before our very eyes.
> I asked Dr. Alkan: Since Abdu’l-Baha does not identify any Native American Messenger
> of God by name, is there a way that you can apply for Baha’i criteria (or “proofs”) to the
> following passage by the “Peacemaker” (Deganawida, the Iroquois Prophet)? And does
> this sound like the “Call of God” to you, speaking personally, as a Baha’i?
> Thereupon Tekanawita [Deganawida] stood up in the center of the gathering
> place, and then he said, “First I will answer what it means to say, ‘Now it is
> arriving, the Good Message.’ This indeed, is what it means: When it stops, the
> 
> slaughter of your own people who live here on earth, then everywhere peace will
> come about, by day and also by night, and it will come about that as one travels
> around, everyone will be related. …
> Secondly, I say, ‘Now it is arriving, the Power,’ and this means that the different
> nations, all the nations, will become just a single one, and the Great Law will
> come into being, so that now all will be related to each other, and there will come
> to be just a single family, and in the future, in days to come, this family will
> continue on.
> Now in turn, the other, my third saying, ‘Now it is arriving, the Peace,’ this means
> that everyone will become related, men and also women, and also the young
> people and the children, and when all are relatives, every nation, then there will
> be peace as they roam about by day and also by night. … When they are
> functioning, the Good Message and also the Power and the Peace, moreover,
> these will be the principal things everybody will live by; these will be the great
> values among the people.”
> – Deganawida, Concerning the League, pp. 36–41.
> Dr. Alkan answered “Yes. It sounds to me that the Peacemaker did raise the “Call of
> God” in “ancient times” (that is, in the “pre-contact” era before the Europeans came to
> America). “It rings true. It fits Abdu’l-Baha’s description in the Tablet to Amir Khan
> perfectly. There’s no question that Deganawida’s teachings are profound. They resonate
> powerfully with Baha’i teachings. They are in harmony. They echo each other.”
> 
> 11.Na5ve Messengers of God: One Na5ve Baha’i’s Perspec5ve
> 
> August 18, 2014
> Co-author: Paula Bidwell
> 
> In the preceding two articles, we’ve introduced and discussed a very interesting short
> work by Abdu’l-Baha, which we have referred to as the Tablet to Amir Khan. Amir Khan
> had asked Abdu’l-Baha about Indigenous Messengers of God sent to North America
> (and, by implication, to the Americas). Now we’d like to offer a Native
> American Baha’i perspective on this fascinating document, quite unique in the history of
> religions for the principle it enunciates—that God has repeatedly sent prophets and
> messengers to First Nations peoples.
> This is nothing new to indigenous people, of course. Their very cultures and sacred
> traditions came from these extraordinary individuals, whom Western anthropologists
> have often referred to as “culture heroes”—a term that scarcely does justice to these
> great wisdom bearers. Instead of seeing the messengers as minor figures, we need to
> give these interlocutors of the Great Spirit the honor and recognition that they deserve
> within the broader context of the world’s spiritual history.
> Now I’d like to introduce my esteemed colleague, Paula Bidwell, author of Many
> Messengers of God, A Native American Perspective: Deganawidah The Peacemaker
> (http://bahai-library.com/bidwell_many_messengers). Of mixed Indian blood—Cherokee,
> Shawnee, Delaware and Seneca—Paula also has Northern Italian ancestors from
> Barga Lucca. Her Shawnee grandfather, Johnny Gibson, named her into the Deer Clan
> as “Welapama” (Bringer of Hope and Joy). Later, she lived on the Cheyenne River
> Sioux reservation in Eagle Butte, South Dakota, where she found the home and people
> of her heart. During this time the tribe gave her another name: “Kagnigapi
> Winyan” (Chosen Woman). In later life, Paula discovered her great-grandfather, Abeyah
> Young, was a Lakota from the Rosebud Sioux reservation. In the 1990’s she was
> acknowledged as a “Wicaglata” (Woman Singer) on the Standing Rock Sioux
> reservation.
> So let’s both take a look at Abdu’l-Baha’s answer to this important question: “Did the
> ancestors of Native North Americans cross over the Bering Strait?”:
> In ancient times the people of America were, through their northern regions,
> close to Asia, that is, separated from Asia by a strait. For this reason, it hath been
> said that crossing had occurred. There are other signs which indicate
> communication.
> 
> Chris: I’d suggest Abdu’l-Baha simply says here that others (i.e. “it hath been said”)
> have claimed “that crossing had occurred”—and that Abdu’l-Baha does not take a
> definitive position on the Bering Strait migration theory personally.
> Paula: I agree–by saying “it hath been said,” we can understand Abdu’l-Baha as simply
> stating that others have said it. I don’t think he appears to be sympathetic to the idea—I
> think he simply recognizes what others have said and nothing more. But, the next
> sentence seems definitive: “There are other signs which indicate communication.”
> Chris: Do you think that sentence means Abdu’l-Baha is summarizing the scientific
> evidence of the day for the Beringia land bridge theory?
> Paula: I don’t know—but in a mystical sense, I think he went beyond the understandings
> of the day. It seems he did this frequently—probably one of the reasons Baha’is call
> Abdu’l-Baha the “Mystery of God.” That being said, I believe he gives us something to
> continue to look into here, and allows for a progressive understanding from the present
> into the future with new scientific findings.
> Also, Abdu’l-Baha uses the word “communication” and not “crossing.” He could have
> easily said there are other signs which indicate crossing. But the word he chose is
> “communication,” and even if the communication occurred because of people crossing
> the Bering land bridge, this slight change in wording leads one to remember that
> communication involves more than one group of people. It is an exchange not only in
> the material world, such as a physical crossing might be limited to, but also an
> exchange in intellectual, spiritual and creative worlds.
> Chris: Briefly, Paula, why is the Bering Strait hypothesis so controversial among Native
> Americans and Native Canadians? (See, e.g., Ward Churchill’s article, “Bering Strait
> Theory,” which offers a Native American perspective.)
> Paula: Each Tribe and Nation has their specific place of origin on the North American
> continent. So, the theory that we originated in Asia opposes our sacred stories and
> traditions. Unfortunately, we are seldom given any credibility for our traditional
> knowledge. We are frequently dismissed as adhering to an ignorant and superstitious
> worldview, as opposed to the presumably superior Western scientific method. This issue
> raises concerns for many Indigenous Americans.
> Although, another way of looking at this issue is that our traditions are not dogmatic or
> literal. I believe that many American Indians would be able to reconcile our ancient
> knowledge with the natural evidence being discovered today, such as we arrived here
> 20,000 or more years ago. Why shouldn’t both be true? In my language God is called
> “the Great Mystery.” Thus, we don’t always understand the world.
> 
> 12.Manifest Des5ny and Na5ve American Religion
> 
> August 20, 2014
> Co-author: Paula Bidwell
> 
> You must attach great importance to the Indians, the original inhabitants of America.
> …
> – Abdu’l-Baha, Tablets of the Divine Plan, pp. 31–32.
> Many Native Americans—and many indigenous people all over the world—have
> become Baha’is. Their unique spiritual history, passed down through thousands of
> generations, enriches and enlightens Baha’i communities in Indian nations, on
> reservations, reserves and in urban areas, as well. Since Baha’is believe that no human
> culture has gone without guidance from God, this set of articles has endeavored to
> explore the continual revelation of religious truth to all peoples, with a focus on the
> Native American messengers of God. This article continues the conversation, which
> began in the previous essay, between Christopher Buck and Paula Bidwell about those
> messengers.
> Paula: Did the ancestors of Native Americans migrate across the Bering land bridge? I
> don’t know. I do believe the bigger concern, the major historical issue, begins with
> Manifest Destiny and ties in with the economic, political and social uses of the Bering
> Strait theory.
> Manifest Destiny is a complex term and has been used in many ways from a variety of
> sources. Yet, many of us, especially Native Americans, understand it to mean the God-
> given right to take what is found, conquer and remake it into the world image of the
> Anglo-American colonizer. This was also known as the Indian Removal. The colonizers
> used the term Manifest Destiny to justify slavery of both African Americans and Native
> Americans. To make this matter worse, some historic records justify this with the belief
> that Native Americans and African Americans had no souls, and were the same as
> animals to be killed or tamed as needed.
> And then, along comes the Bering Strait theory—which created the argument that
> American Indians were not indigenous to the land, and thus had no more right to the
> land than the European settlers/colonizers. Some people used the theory to justify the
> theft of land, attempted genocide and numerous massacres of Native people.
> What worsens an already difficult and tender situation is the often-repeated statement
> that Native Americans need to get over the past. This past includes the songs and
> stories of our places of origin. And to make matters worse, according to the United
> 
> Nations 2012 investigation into the violations of Native American human rights, the past
> is not over yet. All of this adds to the controversy and emotional upset felt by so many
> Native American Indians over the Bering Strait theory. This complex issue has many
> interwoven threads, both in history and the world we live in today.
> Chris: How have you personally, speaking as a Native American (Cherokee, Shawnee,
> Delaware, Seneca and Lakota) Baha’i, come to terms with this part of Abdu’l-Baha’s
> Tablet to Amir Khan?
> Paula: My first awareness was that Abdu’l-Baha did not say the Bering crossing
> happened in only one direction. He did not say that the American continent had no
> inhabitants—in fact, in another place in the Baha’i writings, The Tablets of the Divine
> Plan, he calls Indians “the original inhabitants of America.” He did not say that Asians
> were the only ones doing the crossing. I then realized the most important point was
> where he stated, “it hath been said,” meaning others have said it.
> After this, the next sentence became of even greater importance to me: “There are
> other signs which indicate communication.” This is a definitive statement. I saw an
> importance in the fact that Abdu’l-Baha used the word “communication” rather than
> crossing. Communication involves more than one person or place. Communication can
> be the exchange of ideas and materials—tangible and intangible—between peoples.
> I remember stories of our people from times long past, of those who left the Tribe
> traveling to distant places and returning many years later with new medicines,
> techniques and awareness. Also, during these times, language may not have posed
> such a barrier to communication, since Native peoples had a separate but universal
> language throughout North and South America. Threads of this language still exist
> today. So, the word “communication” was a big key for me toward unlocking my initial
> and painful response to the mention of the Bering Strait.
> 
> 13.Deganawida Converts Hiawatha: From Cannibalism to Compassion
> 
> September 13, 2014
> 
> For those of you who have followed this series of essays on Native American
> messengers of God, you’re already familiar with Deganawida, the Peacemaker.
> The name, Deganawida, is considered by the Haudenosaunee (the “People of the
> Longhouse,” better-known to non-Natives as the Iroquois) as too sacred to say aloud.
> Instead, they refer to this great Native American Messenger of God respectfully as the
> “Peacemaker.”
> Together with Hiawatha, the Peacemaker established the great League of Peace,
> uniting the “Five Nations” of the Mohawks, Oneidas, Cayugas, Onondagas, and
> Senecas.
> One of the most famous episodes in the traditional Haudenosaunee cycle of sacred
> stories describes the Peacemaker’s encounter with a cannibal, about to eat his victim:
> After Tekanawita [Deganawida] had departed in that direction he came to a
> house belonging to a cannibal who had his house there. Then Tekanawita went
> close to the house. Then, when he saw the man coming out, departing, sliding
> down the hill to the river, and dipping water, thereupon Tekanawita hurriedly
> climbed onto the house to the place where there was a chimney for the smoke to
> escape; he lay down on his stomach and looking into the house he saw that the
> task of breaking up meat and piling it up had been completed.
> Then the man returned, and he was carrying a drum of water in it. Thereupon he
> poured it into a vessel, put meat into the liquid, and hung the vessel up over the
> fire until it boiled. Moreover, the man watched it, and when it was done, he took
> down the vessel placing it near the embers. Thereupon he said, “Now indeed it is
> done. Moreover, now I will eat.” Thereupon he set up a seat, a bench, thinking
> that he will put it on there when he eats. Thereupon he went to where the vessel
> sat, intending to take the meat out of the liquid, when he saw, from inside the
> vessel, a man looking out.
> Thereupon he moved away without removing the meat, and sat down again on
> the long bench, for it was a surprise to him, seeing the man in the vessel.
> Thereupon he thought, “Let me look again.”
> Thereupon he, Tekanawita, looked again from above where the smoke hole was,
> again causing a reflection in the vessel, and then the man, standing up again,
> 
> went to where the vessel sat, looked into the vessel again, saw the man looking
> out, and he was handsome, he having a nice face. Thereupon the man moved
> away again and he sat down again on the long bench, and then he bowed his
> head, pondering and thinking, “I am exceedingly handsome and I have a nice
> face; it is probably not right, my habit of eating humans. So I will now stop, from
> now on I ought not kill humans anymore.”
> – Concerning the League, pp. 78–83.
> In this account, the cannibal remains unnamed. But, in the 1899 Gibson-Hewitt version,
> the Peacemaker names the cannibal “Hiawatha,” as also in the famous English version
> of the epic, White Roots of Peace, by Paul Wallace, first published in 1946.
> While the subject matter is grisly, the episode is as edifying as it is charming, especially
> for its insight into human nature. For we see that the cannibal believes the image
> reflected in his kettle, while simmering over the fire, is his very own reflection—male
> vanity, raw and uncooked. But he actually sees the image of the Peacemaker, looking
> down from above, as he peers through the smoke hole of the cannibal’s dwelling.
> The cannibal makes the connection between himself and his hapless victim when he
> sees the Peacemaker’s reflection. The cannibal finally “gets it,” as he realizes and
> appreciates the humanity of his victim, his intended repast. No longer an object, the
> victim becomes a subject. Through this exquisite ruse, the Peacemaker teaches the
> cannibal a life-transforming message—to recognize the humanity of all people.
> Thinking he is looking at himself, the cannibal suddenly sees himself within the social
> mirror of the world around him–a sad moment and a sudden enlightenment.
> It took a Native Messenger of God to help the cannibal make this mental and emotional
> breakthrough. By seeing the humanity of others, the cannibal becomes human, and
> humane. The cannibal suddenly progresses from narcissism to compassion, from
> animal to angel, from sinner to saint.
> Your hearts must be pure and your intentions sincere in order that you may
> become recipients of the divine bestowals. Consider that although the sun shines
> equally upon all things, yet in the clear mirror its reflection is most brilliant and not
> in the black stone.
> – Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 92.
> 
> 14.In Spiritual Mabers, Handsome is as Handsome Does
> 
> September 15, 2014
> 
> In the preceding essay in this series, we learned the story of Deganawida, the
> Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Peacemaker and prophet, in his deeply symbolic encounter
> with a cannibal. In the story, the Peacemaker causes the cannibal to see the
> Peacemaker’s reflection, which awakens him to his humanity and the humanity of
> others.
> Just as the Peacemaker taught the cannibal, Baha’u’llah also draws us from narcissism
> to compassion in this powerful aphorism:
> O Son of Man! Deny not My servant should he ask anything from thee, for his
> face is My face; be then abashed before Me.
> – Baha’u’llah, The Hidden Words, p. 30.
> Here, Baha’u’llah speaks primarily with the voice of God. What Native American
> tradition calls “the Great Spirit,” Baha’u’llah refers to as “the Great Being.” Even the
> Great Being is unselfish, as Baha’u’llah teaches in this remarkable passage:
> The Great Being saith: Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value.
> Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to
> benefit therefrom. If any man were to meditate on that which the Scriptures, sent
> down from the heaven of God’s holy Will, have revealed, he would readily
> recognize that their purpose is that all men shall be regarded as one soul, so that
> the seal bearing the words ‘The Kingdom shall be God’s’ may be stamped on
> every heart, and the light of Divine bounty, of grace, and mercy may envelop all
> mankind. The One true God, exalted be His glory, hath wished nothing for
> Himself. The allegiance of mankind profiteth Him not, neither doth its perversity
> harm Him. The Bird of the Realm of Utterance voiceth continually this call: ‘All
> things have I willed for thee, and thee, too, for thine own sake.’
> – Tablets of Baha’u’llah, p. 162.
> In the Oneida version, recited by Chief Robert Brown, the Peacemaker tells a Mohawk
> chief—to whom he gives the name, “Two Matters” (a former cannibal)—of compassion
> for one’s human brothers and sisters:
> Now I will tell you what message the Creator sent with me of what there will be
> on earth. He intended everyone to have a good mind on the earth you travel. He
> thought there would be reasons. First, he intended all the people should be
> 
> having peaceful thoughts in their minds. Then love will come from that. If their
> thinking is not peaceful, then they will not have love. And if they do have love,
> then from it will come compassion; and if they have no love, then they won’t have
> any compassion. Each and every one of you has the power. Whatever power you
> have comes from what you have thought. Then that comes from a good mind. He
> intended you all to be helping each other. You people should not be arguing.”
> – Kayanla’kó, The Great Law, pp. 29–31.
> These powerful, metaphorical stories, so similar to the scriptural proverbs in the
> Western religious traditions, gently advise human beings to love one another, to kindly
> treat one another as equals, and to unite. That message, consistent throughout all of
> the revelations given by God to humanity, forms the essential spiritual core of all Faith.
> The next time you look in the mirror, you will be “exceedingly handsome” if, and only if,
> you behold the “face of God” –the reflection of divine qualities–in the eyes of your fellow
> human beings. Handsome is as handsome does.
> 
> 15.God Has Sent Messengers to All People
> 
> October 2, 2014
> Co-author: Paula Bidwell
> 
> Continuing our conversation about Native American messengers of God and the
> indigenous Faiths they brought, let’s take a look at how the Baha’i teachings answer the
> question, “Were Messengers of God sent to North America?” Here’s Abdu’l-Baha’s
> response to that important question:
> Undoubtedly, in those regions, the Call of God must have been raised in ancient
> times, but it hath been forgotten now.
> Chris: Paula, do you agree that, here, Abdu’l-Baha takes a definitive position on this
> question, not only by answering in the affirmative, but emphatically by using the
> intensifying adverb, “undoubtedly”?
> Paula: First, I would like to comment on the “Call of God” which “hath been forgotten
> now.” This is another of those points I had to work on. My immediate response was we
> Native Americans have not forgotten the call of God, or our messengers of God. In
> working through this I came to the realization that the statement “it hath been forgotten
> now” is not just in reference to Native Americans—it is a universal statement for all of
> humanity:
> … the Manifestations of His Divine glory and the Day Springs of eternal holiness
> have been sent down from time immemorial, and been commissioned to
> summon mankind to the one true God. That the names of some of them are
> forgotten and the records of their lives lost is to be attributed to the disturbances
> and changes that have overtaken the world.
> – Baha’u’llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, p. 174.
> After I read this passage from the Baha’i writings and realized we were not singly being
> pointed out, this lost its emotional hold on me. I then realized I myself did not know the
> name of the Manifestation or the sacred Message, prior to White Buffalo Calf Woman. I
> only knew some of the previous Indigenous Manifestations of God and Messages
> through ceremonies and songs.
> But yes, in Abdu’l-Baha’s answer the use of the adverb, “undoubtedly” strikes me as a
> definitive position. And there is huge importance in this, toward bringing about
> recognition of our Native Messengers of God. This is a much-needed step toward
> healing the past.
> 
> The history of religious and spiritual persecution of Native Americans is entrenched in
> murder, massacre and forced assimilation. Most people don’t realize that, while the rest
> of the population of the United States enjoyed religious freedom, Native Americans were
> denied this basic right. It was not until 1978 that we received a partial freedom of
> religion. This has created a wound far deeper than most can imagine, and denying our
> Sacred Messengers makes this wound even deeper.
> Chris: So is it your understanding that Abdu’l-Baha states messengers of God were sent
> to Native Americans, Native Canadians and Native Mexicans (long before there were
> any borders separating the United States, Canada and Mexico) and, most likely, to the
> indigenous peoples of the Americas (including Central and South America) as well?
> Paula: I find it illogical to think or believe otherwise.
> Chris: Here’s my last question: Since the indigenous peoples of the Americas have long
> believed that the Great Spirit, down through the centuries, has sent wisdom teachers to
> guide them, then why is this statement by Abdu’l-Baha so significant to you, as a
> Cherokee, Shawnee, Delaware, Seneca and Lakota Baha’i?
> Paula: I am stunned and hurt by how frequently people have told me they cannot accept
> the fact that Native peoples had messengers/manifestations of God. This kind of
> thinking perpetuates the antiquated, racist idea of Native people as soulless heathens in
> need of salvation. This to me represents an unconscious sense of superiority. How
> many years will it take to arrive at the equality of the human race and unity in diversity?
> Even without Abdu’l-Baha’s Tablet to Amir Khan, many other Baha’i writings tell us God
> has sent messengers to all people. So let’s close with those beautiful quotes:
> God hath raised up Prophets and revealed Books as numerous as the creatures
> of the world, and will continue to do so to everlasting.
> – The Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 125.
> Unto the cities of all nations He hath sent His Messengers.
> – Baha’u’llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, p. 145.
> 
> 16.White Buffalo Maiden: Sacred Rites, Dances, Songs, Values
> 
> March 5, 2015
> Co-author: Kevin Locke
> 
> O people of the earth! By the righteousness of the One true God, I am the Maid of
> Heaven begotten by the Spirit of Bahá, abiding within the Mansion hewn out of a
> mass of ruby, tender and vibrant; and in this mighty Paradise naught have I ever
> witnessed save that which proclaimeth the Remembrance of God…
> – The Bab, Selections From the Writings of the Bab, p. 54
> For the first time on bahaiteachings.org, we introduced our readers to White Buffalo
> Maiden in The Return of White Buffalo Calf Woman (Part 3). Today we’ll discuss that
> fascinating subject with Kevin Locke, the famed Lakota Hoop Dancer and Baha’i.
> [Buck] Kevin, can you tell us how you have come to know, first-hand, the teachings of
> White Buffalo Maiden?
> [Locke] I don’t have any title. I am not a chief. I am not what non-Native people might
> think of as a “medicine man.” Even though I consider myself a world citizen, I do have a
> strong connection to the Lakota part of my heritage, especially the language and
> culture, music, dance, etc.
> I can say for certain that my involvement in the Lakota spiritual heritage led me directly
> to the revelation of Baha’u’llah, founder of the Baha’i Faith. I have been involved in the
> Lakota spiritual heritage for well over 40 years. So I was able to learn first-hand from the
> older generation of tradition keepers, many of whom spoke only the Lakota language,
> and hardly a word of English!
> [Buck] Who is White Buffalo Maiden? Why is she so important?
> [Locke] To anthropologists, White Buffalo Maiden was a Lakota “culture hero.” For the
> indigenous people here in South Dakota, White Buffalo Maiden is the one who, long
> ago, delivered my people, the Lakota, from their wretched condition of darkness,
> despair, poverty and remoteness—and summoned them to arise to become noble
> grandchildren of the “Heavenly Grandfather” above.
> Unquestionably, White Buffalo Maiden is the single most important and sacred being to
> have ever appeared among the Lakota.
> 
> [Buck] Is it true that Native Americans generally disdain that pet phrase, “culture hero,”
> so commonly used by anthropologists in the 19th and early 20th centuries, especially in
> connection with the romantic notion of the “noble savage?”
> [Locke] Yes. Such disdain is more than general. I’d say it’s universal, among my people.
> [Buck] In addition to being Lakota, and preserving and honoring the sacred heritage of
> White Buffalo Maiden—the sacred rites, dances, songs and values that the Maiden
> brought and taught—you are also well-known as a Native American Baha’i. From that
> perspective, who would you say that White Buffalo Maiden is, in Baha’i terms?
> [Locke] Speaking personally as a Native American Baha’i, White Buffalo Maiden could
> be thought of as a holy soul, a divine being, an emissary from God, perhaps even a
> Prophet or Manifestation of God. That was the belief of my late mother, Patricia Locke.
> [Buck] In addition to sacred rituals, did White Buffalo Maiden bring spiritual principles
> and social laws?
> [Locke] Yes. White Buffalo Maiden brought spiritual teachings, sacred rites, social laws,
> and prophecies—just as the prophets and founders of all great Faiths do. Since my
> Lakota ancestors had no written language, these teachings were embedded in sacred
> songs. Each sacred rite is emblematic of a spiritual principle or social law. Each and
> every time the sacred rituals are performed, doing so invokes spiritual principles and
> evokes ideal social relations—transporting the practitioner to that sacred point which
> connects this world with the world beyond.
> [Buck] Are White Buffalo Maiden’s sacred teachings symbolized by the rituals
> themselves?
> [Locke] Yes. The teachings are communicated through the rituals. For instance, the
> woman’s coming of age ceremony involves the Buffalo Dance. The problem arises
> when the language falls into disuse. Then the dance becomes disconnected from its
> symbolic meaning and the efficacy is lost.
> [Buck] Are the sacred principles also enshrined in the sacred songs traditionally
> attributed to White Buffalo Maiden?
> [Locke] Yes. Even though the lyrics are terse, they are laden with layers of meaning.
> [Buck] You and I had previously talked about the “Four Songs” and the “Seven Sacred
> Rites” ascribed to White Buffalo Maiden—as famously described in Joseph Epes
> Brown’s bestselling 1953 book, The Sacred Pipe: Black Elk’s Account of the Seven
> Sacred Rites of the Oglala Sioux.
> You told me that this traditional Lakota song was never traditionally intoned on the flute.
> In other words, the traditional “Song of the White Buffalo Maiden,” which is attributed to
> White Buffalo Maiden herself, is a vocal composition only. What you have done is to
> 
> compose, on the flute, an instrumental version, to honor the Maiden. Can you play for
> us “Song of the White Buffalo Calf Maiden” (“I Am Walking”)?
> [Locke] Sure. Listen to Song of the White Buffalo Maiden
> (http://www.amazon.com/Song-White-Buffalo-Maiden-Walking/dp/B000QWQ4WK).
> [Buck] In our conversations, you have told me that, in English, people refer to these as
> “prayer songs.” Here’s one version/translation of this well-known Lakota “prayer song”:
> 
> Song of the White Buffalo Maiden
> 
> Niyáŋ tȟaŋíŋyaŋ              with visible breath
> 
> mawáni ye                    I am walking
> oyáte waŋ                    this nation (this Buffalo Nation)
> imáwani                      I walk toward
> na                           and
> 
> ho´tȟaŋíŋyaŋ                 my voice is heard
> 
> mawáni ye                    I am walking
> 
> niyáŋ tȟaŋíŋyaŋ              with visible breath
> 
> mawáni ye                    I am walking
> walúta waŋ                   this scarlet relic
> imáwani ye                   (for it) I am walking
> 
> [Locke] I first heard this song from Joseph Flying Bye, who, as a youth, had attended
> sun dances conducted by One Bull (nephew of Sitting Bull).
> My personal interpretation is that the Maiden here is likening her message or
> dispensation to the onset of spring. “Breath” (tȟaŋíŋyaŋ) more properly means “visibly,
> plainly, clearly, without concealment.” In this sense the “breath” is the divine holy
> waftings from the unseen realm, as is the Maiden’s voice. The “visible” part is the effect
> of this heavenly wafting upon the collective heart of the “Buffalo Nation” (as the Lakota
> are also known), analogous to the transformation from winter into spring.
> In fact, the “Buffalo Nation” is the original name of my people, because of their
> dependence upon the buffalo for physical sustenance. The Maiden made it known that
> 
> the people no longer needed to depend upon the buffalo alone, but that
> “Grandfather” (the “Great Spirit,” or “God”) would provide. She named the people;
> “Lakȟóta.” This has been translated as “allies,” “friends,” “peace”—but really refers to
> compliance with the divine order or will.
> “Walúta” is translated here as “scarlet relic.” It has also been translated as “something
> red, ancient and sacred.” It refers to the sacred pipe that the Maiden brought which, in
> turn, represents the Covenant between White Buffalo Maiden and the Buffalo Nation
> and, more generally, the Messenger of God, such as Baha’u’llah for this day and age,
> and the people for whom the Messenger has come.
> 
> 17.Want Peace? Teach the Children First
> 
> March 6, 2015
> 
> A small child who has been taught to think universally can talk with the learned.
> – Abdu’l-Baha, Divine Philosophy, p. 95.
> Around the world, Baha’is teach children in neighborhood classes. Children come first.
> Or at least they should. Jesus offers a perfect example of this priority, saying:
> Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the
> kingdom of heaven.
> – Matthew 19:14.
> Not only do children come first, but they can be the first to learn something new. Parents
> may not be so receptive to new teachings—even though parents often become
> receptive to new ideas when they hear them from their children.
> It’s one great way to change the world, teaching children first.
> 
> Deganawida, the Iroquois prophet known as the Peacemaker (Tekanawitaˀ), used this
> wise approach when he first proclaimed his teachings to little children. These teachings
> were new. No one had heard them before:
> 
> Thereupon, as to Tekanawitaˀ, this is what happened: When the children began
> walking around, and more especially, when they played, some of the children
> repeatedly quarreled, and they wanted to fight. Thereupon Tekanawitaˀ prevented
> them, saying, “You will stop it because it is sinful for people to hurt one another;
> you especially, for you are all relatives, and so it is necessary for you to be kind
> to one another as well as to other people, those you know and those people you
> do not know; and you should respect them equally—all of the people—you
> should be kind to everyone.
> 
> Thereupon the children were amazed at what Tekanawitaˀ was saying. . . .
> To their further surprise and and astonishment, the Peacemaker continued by giving the
> children the sacred message meant more for their parents than for the children
> themselves:
> 
> As to the children, the ones with Tekanawitaˀ, when he gathered them together,
> he spoke to the children, saying, “Now you will listen well: Now it is arriving, the
> 
> Good Message, also the Power and the Peace. Moreover, now it will stop, the
> way in which matters are proceeding here on earth beneath the sky, such that
> they cause pools and streams of human blood to flow. Moreover, when it stops,
> and when all the people are kind to one another, people of the same kind, then it
> will stop, human beings killing one another and also scalping one another, then
> all are relatives, they becoming brothers, the men, and all the women becoming
> sisters in future days to come, so that families will continue on.
> 
> Thereupon the children were surprised at what they heard him say, Tekanawitaˀ.
> Now the children were doubly amazed. Then they did something more amazing: they
> transmitted their amazement to their parents. And so the story goes on to say:
> Thereupon the children went home and when they arrived at their destination,
> they repeated the things he had spoken about, Tekanawitaˀ. When the old people
> were informed, they said, “Now, indeed, we hear them with amazement, these
> kinds of words.”
> “This we have never heard about, that someone might say, ‘Good Message,’ nor
> for someone to say, ‘Power,’ nor for someone to say, ‘Peace,’ nor for someone to
> say, ‘they are relatives, all of the people,’ nor for someone to say, ‘the men, all of
> them are brothers,’ nor for someone to say, ‘the women, they are all sisters’, also
> ‘the children, they are all siblings’, nor for someone to say, ‘pools and flowing
> streams of human blood will now cease to exist; from now on there will be peace
> and in the future days to come families will be ongoing.” Also there was great
> amazement at the kinds of words he used to speak in front of the children.
> – Concerning the League, pp. 27–33.
> Baha’u’llah also brought a message of peace and power.
> One hundred years ago, Baha’u’llah, Founder of the Baha’i Faith, proclaimed in
> clear and unmistakable language, to the kings and rulers of the world, to its
> religious leaders, and to mankind in general that the long-promised age of world
> peace and brotherhood had at last dawned and that He Himself was the Bearer
> of the new message and power from God which would transform the prevailing
> system of antagonism and enmity between men and create the spirit and form of
> the destined world order.
> – Baha’i World Centre, Proclamation of Baha’u’llah, p. ix.
> If peace is a formula, then children are part of the equation. Baha’u’llah teaches:
> We prescribe unto all men that which will lead to the exaltation of the Word of
> God amongst His servants, and likewise, to the advancement of the world of
> being and the uplift of souls. To this end, the greatest means is education of the
> child. To this must each and all hold fast. We have verily laid this charge upon
> 
> you in manifold Tablets as well as in My Most Holy Book. Well is it with him who
> deferreth thereto.
> 
> We ask of God that He will assist each and every one to obey this inescapable
> command that hath appeared and been caused to descend through the Pen of
> the Ancient of Days.
> – A Compilation on Baha’i Education, p. 2.
> And so two great Peacemakers, Deganawida and Baha’u’llah, each taught: Children
> first and foremost. If you are a mother or father with young children, consider trying out
> a Baha’i children’s class in a nearby neighborhood. Your children will learn about
> virtues, morals and manners, strengthening the foundation of their moral character and
> adding to their personal and social success.
> In the process, your children will learn how to become peacemakers, as Jesus said:
> Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. –
> Matthew 5:9.
> 
> 18.The Power and the Great Power Bring Peace
> 
> March 25, 2015
> 
> We’ll need great power to bring about a Great Peace.
> Peace begins with a message–principles, plans and promises; followed by the power to
> implement the message–especially the willpower of powerful leaders, finally culminating
> in peace.
> In this series, we learned of Deganawida’s gospel of “the Good Message and the Power
> and the Peace” which unified five (and later six) warring Iroquois nations into the Great
> League of Peace. (“Iroquois” is the French name for the Haudenosaunee, or “People of
> the Longhouse.”)
> Where does “the Power” to build peace come from? According to Deganawida, the
> Iroquois “Peacemaker,” the Power first comes from “the one with great power, the one
> who is the Creator”:
> 
> Thereupon Tekanawitaˀ stood up, saying, “The Great Power came from up in the
> sky, and now it is functioning, the Great Power that we accepted when we
> reached consensus. . . . Now, therefore, we shall give thanks, that is, we shall
> thank the Creator of the earth, that is, he who planted all kinds of weeds and all
> varieties of shrubs and all kinds of trees; and springs, flowing water, such as
> rivers and large bodies of water, such as lakes; and the sun that keeps moving
> by day, and by night, the moon, and where the sky is, the stars, which no one is
> able to count; moreover, the way it is on earth in relation to which no one is able
> to tell the extent to which it is to their benefit, that is the people whom he created
> and who will continue to live on earth. This, then, is the reason we thank him, the
> one with great power, the one who is the Creator, for that which will now move
> forward, the Good Message and the Power and the Peace; the Great Law.
> – Deganawida, Concerning the League, pp. 294–296.
> Although the power for peace originates with the Creator, Deganawida said, peace also
> requires the consensus of world leaders.
> Baha’u’llah, world peacemaker, similarly speaks of the “Great Being” and world peace:
> The Great Being, wishing to reveal the prerequisites of the peace and tranquillity
> of the world and the advancement of its peoples, hath written: The time must
> come when the imperative necessity for the holding of a vast, an all-embracing
> 
> assemblage of men will be universally realized. The rulers and kings of the earth
> must needs attend it, and, participating in its deliberations, must consider such
> ways and means as will lay the foundations of the world’s Great Peace amongst
> men. Such a peace demandeth that the Great Powers should resolve, for the
> sake of the tranquillity of the peoples of the earth, to be fully reconciled among
> themselves. Should any king take up arms against another, all should unitedly
> arise and prevent him. If this be done, the nations of the world will no longer
> require any armaments, except for the purpose of preserving the security of their
> realms and of maintaining internal order within their territories. This will ensure
> the peace and composure of every people, government and nation. We fain
> would hope that the kings and rulers of the earth, the mirrors of the gracious and
> almighty name of God, may attain unto this station, and shield mankind from the
> onslaught of tyranny.
> – Baha’u’llah, Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 165.
> These are powerful words. The “Great Being” calls upon the “Great Powers” to bring
> about “the world’s Great Peace” by consensus. That can, must, and will happen,
> according to Baha’i teachings.
> If the two Peacemakers–Deganawida and Baha’u’llah–could meet, how would they
> regard each other? With profound respect:
> It is clear and evident to thee that all the Prophets are the Temples of the Cause
> of God, Who have appeared clothed in divers attire. If thou wilt observe with
> discriminating eyes, thou wilt behold them all abiding in the same tabernacle,
> soaring in the same heaven, seated upon the same throne, uttering the same
> speech, and proclaiming the same Faith. Such is the unity of those Essences of
> being, those Luminaries of infinite and immeasurable splendour. Wherefore,
> should one of these Manifestations of Holiness proclaim saying: “I am the return
> of all the Prophets,” He verily speaketh the truth.
> – Baha’u’llah, The Book of Certitude, pp. 153–154.
> Many Native American and Native Canadian Baha’is believe that Baha’u’llah is the
> return of Deganawida, as he himself foretold:
> If at any time through the negligence and carelessness of the lords, they fail to
> carry out the principles of the Good Tidings of Peace and Power and the rules
> and regulations of the confederacy and the people are reduced to poverty and
> great suffering, I will return.
> – Deganawida, quoted in Arthur Caswell Parker’s The Constitution of the
> Five Nations, Or, The Iroquois Book of the Great Law, p. 105.
> If Baha’u’llah is indeed the return of Deganawida, this does not mean the reincarnation
> of Deganawida. Rather, it is the renewal of the essential teachings of the first
> 
> Peacemaker, whose teachings are reaffirmed and universalized by the second
> Peacemaker.
> The first Peacemaker came to unite five warring nations. The second Peacemaker
> came to unite all nations in peace.
> Both Peacemakers brought the same message. Although their respective laws and
> practices are distinct, yet they share a similar purpose and a kindred spirit. That being
> so, these practices can be reciprocally respected, honored, and performed, preserving
> thereby the best of both traditions.
> Baha’u’llah came not to replace, but to unify, to widen the circle, and to honor previous
> Peacemakers, past and present. The two Peacemakers are one in spirit, one in
> principle, kindred in practice.
> Deganawida did not bring about peace alone. Hiawatha and Jigonsaseh (the “Peace
> Queen”) assisted him. Together, even this “peace trio” needed the acceptance of tribal
> leaders to bring about peace.
> Baha’u’llah cannot magically bring about peace. But, together with those who accept his
> message, who put Baha’i principles of justice and unity into practice, and who network
> with all those dedicated to peace-building the world over, then, in good time, peace will
> come.
> We must have faith that this can happen. It will happen, if we dedicate ourselves to “that
> which will now move forward, the Good Message and the Power and the Peace; the
> Great Law,” as Deganawida, the great Peacemaker taught, in his message not only for
> the Haudenosaunee, but for all nations.
> In principle, turning to the timely teachings of Baha’u’llah also returns to the ancient
> teachings of Deganawida, still practiced today by many of the “People at the
> Longhouse.” Deganawida’s name means “Two Rivers Flowing Together.” The teachings
> of Deganawida and Baha’u’llah are also “Two Rivers Flowing Together.”
> 
> 19.White Buffalo Maiden’s Sacred Songs
> 
> January 18, 2016
> Co-author: Kevin Locke
> 
> …Man is dual in aspect: as an animal he is subject to nature, but in his spiritual or
> conscious being he transcends the world of material existence. His spiritual powers,
> being nobler and higher, possess virtues of which nature intrinsically has no
> evidence; therefore, they triumph over natural conditions. These ideal virtues or
> powers in man surpass or surround nature, comprehend natural laws and
> phenomena, penetrate the mysteries of the unknown and invisible and bring them
> forth into the realm of the known and visible.
> – Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 81.
> Kevin and I had a fascinating hour-long conversation that inspired a question, based on
> this sacred Lakota tradition:
> A council was called and two young men were selected to go in quest of buffalo
> and other game. They started on foot. When they were out of sight, they each
> went in a different direction, but met again at a place which they had agreed
> upon. While they were planning and planning what to do, there appeared from
> the west a solitary object advancing toward them. It did not look like a buffalo; it
> looked more like a human being than anything else. They could not make out
> what it was, but it was coming rapidly.
> Both considered themselves brave, so they concluded that they would face
> whatever it might be. They stood still and gazed at it very easily. At last they saw
> that it was a beautiful young maiden. She wore a beautiful fringed buckskin
> dress, leggings, and moccasins. Her hair was hanging loose except at the left
> side, where was tied a tuft of shedded buffalo hair. In her right hand she carried a
> fan made of flat sage. Her face was painted with red vertical stripes. Not knowing
> what to do or say, they hesitated, saying nothing to her…
> While she was thus speaking to the young men, one of them had impure
> thoughts. A cloud came down and enveloped this young man. When the cloud
> left the earth, the young man was left there—only a skeleton. The Maiden
> commanded the other young man to turn his back toward her and face in the
> direction of the east, then to start for home. He was ordered not to look back.
> – Iśna´la-wića´(“Lone Man”) translated by Robert P. Higheagle, qtd. in
> Frances Densmore, Teton Sioux Music (1918), pp. 64–65.
> 
> (Chris): Kevin, you told me that the two scouts who met White Buffalo Maiden were
> actually one person, and that the scout who “had impure thoughts” about the heavenly
> Maiden actually represented the “animal nature,” while the scout with the spiritual nature
> had the bounty of receiving White Buffalo Maiden’s teachings.
> (Kevin): From my reading of the Baha’i Writings, I began to ponder certain points about
> the narrative of the coming of White Buffalo Maiden (“White Buffalo Woman” or “White
> Buffalo Calf Woman” or “White Buffalo Calf Maiden”): The people were starving. The
> starvation was a direct result of the people’s having fallen away from the Sacred
> Teachings, Laws and Covenant resulting in internal strife, conflict and disunity leading to
> disastrous imbalance with the physical world. I began to wonder how the surviving scout
> could have been influential enough to fulfill the White Buffalo Maiden’s command to
> convene an assemblage to hear the Maiden’s Sacred Teachings, Laws and Covenant if
> the tribe was so disunified.
> My personal conclusion was that, even though the narrative explicitly states there were
> two scouts, these two scouts really symbolize the dual nature in man. One represents
> the part in all of us that longs to soar into the spiritual realms — our eternal ascendant
> nature. The other scout symbolizes the ego, the insistent self — the part of us that is
> appetitive, materialistic and continually ensnares us in the trappings and desires of this
> fleeting mortal life.
> When this one scout came into contact with White Buffalo Maiden — the embodiment of
> all that is heavenly and holy — the Maiden’s celestial presence conquered and subdued
> his lower nature and galvanized and transformed his spiritual reality, empowering him to
> fulfill the Maiden’s command to convene the gathering that would hear and respond to
> her message. Without this transformation, this one scout would have been impotent and
> powerless.
> (Chris): Do the sacred songs traditionally said to have been given by White Buffalo
> Maiden enshrine Lakota spiritual teachings?
> (Kevin): Yes. Even though the lyrics are terse, they are laden with layers of meaning.
> The songs don’t have names. But one can identify them by the context in which White
> Buffalo Maiden sang them:
> 1. Song of the White Buffalo Maiden.
> 2. Pipe Loading Song.
> 3. Prayer Song.
> 4. Four Directions Song.
> I heard this ordering of the songs in the 1970s at a gathering of Medicine Men convened
> by Siŋté Glešká University held in St. Francis on the Rosebud Reservation. I have never
> heard this ordering repeated or affirmed by anyone else or at any other time. It should
> 
> be emphasized that, although some may ascribe certain songs directly to White Buffalo
> Maiden (as in the above four songs), generally people agree that all of the “wakȟáŋ
> olówaŋ” (Sacred Songs) are inspired and reflective of the spiritual dispensation
> associated with the Maiden.
> (Chris): In our first article, you interpreted some of the sacred teachings enshrined in
> the “Song of the White Buffalo Maiden.” Can you comment on the wisdom and
> principles set forth in the “Pipe Loading Song”?
> 
> Pipe Loading Song
> 
> Kȟolá, léčhel ečhúŋ wo!
> Kȟolá, léčhel ečhúŋ wo!
> Kȟolá, léčhel ečhúŋ wo! aéj
> Héčhanuŋ kiŋ, nitȟúŋkašila
> waŋníyaŋg ú kte ló. aéj új
> Friend, do it in this way.
> Friend, do it in this way.
> Friend, do it in this way.
> When (if) you do that, your Grandfather
> will come to see you.
> 
> Hóčhoka waŋží ogná ílotake čiŋ,
> míksuya opáǧi yo! aéj
> Héčhanuŋ kiŋ, táku ehé kiŋ,
> iyéčhetu kte ló. aéj új
> If you sit down inside the sacred circle/altar.
> Remember me.
> When you do that, then the things you say
> will come true.
> 
> Čhaŋnúŋpa waŋží yuhá ílotake čiŋ,
> míksuya opáǧi yo! aéj
> Héčhanuŋ kiŋ, táku yačhíŋ kiŋ,
> iyéčhetu kte ló. aéj új
> If you sit down with a pipe.
> Remember me.
> When you do that, then the things you want
> will come true.
> 
> Kȟolá, léčhel ečhúŋ wo!
> Kȟolá, léčhel ečhúŋ wo!
> Kȟolá, léčhel ečhúŋ wo! aéj
> Héčhanuŋ kiŋ, nitȟúŋkašila
> waŋníyaŋg ú kte ló. aéj új
> Friend, do it in this way.
> Friend, do it in this way.
> Friend, do it in this way.
> When (if) you do that, your Grandfather
> will come to see you.
> 
> [The above transcription that I am using here is in SLO Standard Lakota Orthography, a
> writing system (developed by the Lakota Language Consortium) that represents each
> phoneme accurately and consistently.]
> (Chris): I’m curious as to the true meaning of this remarkable promise, “When you do
> that, then the things you want will come true.”
> (Kevin): This song is a wonderful expression of the Sacred Teachings, Laws and
> Covenant articulated by the White Buffalo Maiden. These spiritual teachings
> transformed the people to the extent that White Buffalo Maiden renamed them.
> Formerly the people (who were my ancestors) called themselves “Pte Oyáte” (“Buffalo
> Nation”) or “Ikčé Oyáte” or (“Common People”). White Buffalo Maiden renamed them
> “Lakȟóta” and commanded them to follow “Lakȟól Wičhóȟ’aŋ.” In other words, “the
> People of Peace.” Not the peace that occurs because of the cessation of war, but the
> peace and order we observe in the natural world which is a manifestation of spiritual
> reality; the Message that would enable humankind to reflect heavenly beauty, balance
> and harmony. In her song, White Buffalo Maiden exhorts the people to behave, act, and
> do things in this essentially sacred way.
> 
> 20.The Fourth Answer: Recognizing Na5ve Spirituality
> 
> August 9, 2016
> 
> This series of essays on “Native American Messengers of God” began with a reference
> to Abdu’l-Baha’s “Tablet to Amir Khan” in Part #1. Recently, a reader pointed out to me
> that, in Part 9 of this series (“Native Messengers of God: One Baha’i Perspective”), I
> had promised to write about Abdu’l-Baha’s answers to Amir Khan’s four questions.
> It turns out—my apologies—that I only followed up on two of the questions so far.
> Question #2 was addressed in Parts #11 and #12 (“Native Messengers of God: One
> Native Baha’i’s Perspective” and “Manifest Destiny and Native American Religion”). I
> wrote about Question #4 in Parts #10 and #15 (“God Has Sent Messengers to All
> People” and “Native Messengers of God: Another Baha’i Perspective”).
> To remedy this oversight on my part, let me insert the hypothetical four questions in
> those places within the “Tablet to Amir Khan” where Abdu’l-Baha apparently responded
> to each question:
> 
> TABLET TO AMIR KHAN
> He is God!
> [Question #1. How can one become more skillful in arts and crafts?]
> [Answer] O servant of God! You had complained about [your] inability to attain
> perfection in more than one craft. A multiple number of crafts cause [one’s]
> perceptions to become scattered. Endeavor in one of these crafts and strive and
> exert yourself to attain perfection therein. This is better than having a number of
> crafts (all) remain in a state of imperfection.
> [Question #2. Did the ancestors of Native North Americans cross over the Bering
> Strait?]
> [Answer] In ancient times the people of America were, through their northern
> regions, close to Asia, that is, separated from Asia by a strait. For this reason, it
> hath been said that crossing had occurred. There are other signs which indicate
> communication.
> [Question #3. What is the fate of people who do not know of God’s latest
> Messenger?]
> 
> [Answer] As to places whose people were not informed of the appearance of
> Prophets, such people are excused. In the Qur’an it hath been revealed: “We
> never chastise, until We send forth a Messenger.” (Qur’an 17:15.)
> [Question #4. Were Messengers of God sent to North America?]
> [Answer] Undoubtedly, in those regions, the Call of God must have been raised
> in ancient times, but it hath been forgotten now.
> By way of commentary, here are some further thoughts on the four implied questions
> posed by Amir Khan to Abdu’l-Baha:
> 1. It’s better to perfect one art (or craft), than to dabble in several.
> 2. The Bering Strait hypothesis is a theory with evidence. (But, as the native writer
> Paula Bidwell has pointed out, it’s not the theory itself that’s the problem, but
> rather the misuse of the theory.)
> 3. In principle, with knowledge comes spiritual responsibility.
> 4. The “call of God” clearly refers to “Messengers of God.” “Forgotten” is a matter of
> degree to which the teachings of those Teachers have been lost or neglected.
> What about the implications of each of Abdu’l-Baha’s answers to these four questions?
> Here are my thoughts along those lines:
> 1. Perfecting one skill is preferable to being “a jack of all trades and master of
> none,” as the saying goes.
> 2. Scientifically, the Bering Strait migration theory may prove to be right or wrong,
> depending on where the evidence leads. Politically and socially, it may prove to
> be right or wrong, depending on how the theory is used or misused in relation to
> the indigenous peoples of the New World. Abdu’l-Baha didn’t give a definitive
> answer to this question—instead, it seems he left the matter to scientific
> investigation, which is still ongoing and not yet definitive.
> 3. In the “Information Age,” Question #3 has little bearing today, since most of the
> Earth’s people have access to information about the teachings of the prophets.
> 4. Abdu’l-Baha’s apparent confirmation of the past existence of Native messengers
> of God has profound implications for the present and future.
> In the final question, what are those implications? One is recognition and respect for
> Native American and Native Canadian spirituality. Here, the principle of “parity” is
> important. “Parity” (equal status) is not only necessary spiritually, but socially,
> economically, and politically (in terms of Native “sovereignty” or a “nation-to-nation”
> relationship). Think of “parity” as “on a par with.”
> 
> Take the example of the Baha’i Community of Canada. Here is an excerpt from their
> 1993 statement, “Submission of the Canadian Baha’i Community to the Royal
> Commission on Aboriginal Peoples”:
> Aboriginal cultures have been distinguished by a worldview best characterized as
> spiritual in nature. It is significant that Aboriginal leaders and members of
> Aboriginal communities at the grass roots refer so frequently to the Creator and
> to the human spirit when they approach the discussion of social problems.
> Failure to appreciate the gap between this approach to social reality and that of
> the dominant culture explains much of the misunderstanding and injustice
> between the Aboriginal peoples of this country and the dominant majority culture.
> …
> The Aboriginal peoples have been among the most intensely affected victims of
> the dominant social forces operating in ignorance, or in systematic neglect, of
> spiritual principles fundamental to human happiness and the common weal. …
> It has been the failure to apply spiritual principles and moral standards to the
> relationship between Canada’s Aboriginal peoples and the population of the
> immigrants and their descendants that lies at the heart of the most disturbing
> problems now faced by our country. And moral standards take their authority from
> God, the Creator.
> Furthermore, the existence in Aboriginal communities of strong systems of
> religious belief and practice represent important resources for social
> development that must not be overlooked. The survival among Aboriginal
> peoples of an evident religious inclination and spiritual aspiration must be
> supported and encouraged at official as well as informal levels in whatever
> programs and policies are recommended by the Commission.
> This statement, made on behalf of the Baha’i Community of Canada to the Royal
> Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (an agency of the Government of Canada), is
> remarkable for its recognition of Native Canadian spiritual “systems” as “important
> resources for social development.”
> The Tablet of Amir Khan was occasioned by four simple questions—but the answer to
> Question #4 has profound social implications in all four sacred directions.
> 
> 21.Has God Sent Prophets to Every Culture?
> 
> January 26, 2017
> 
> Has God sent prophets and messengers to every culture and civilization?
> Scholars, writers and theologians have asked this question for centuries. At its core, the
> question presupposes other important ones: Do the religions of indigenous cultures
> count? Just because indigenous faiths don’t necessarily have written scriptures or
> histories, do they still matter? Should we recognize those indigenous belief systems
> alongside the so-called major world religions?
> The Oxford English Dictionary defines “deduction” as the logical process of “inference
> by reasoning from generals to particulars.” Through the process of deduction, the
> Baha’is teachings allow us to deduce that God must have sent messengers and
> prophets to all nations, including the Americas, as this passage from Baha’u’llah clearly
> indicates:
> Unto the cities of all nations He [God] hath sent His Messengers, Whom He hath
> commissioned to announce unto men tidings of the Paradise of His good
> pleasure, and to draw them nigh unto the Haven of abiding security, the Seat of
> eternal holiness and transcendent glory. … Ages rolled away, until they attained
> their consummation in this, the Lord of days.
> – Baha’u’llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u‘llah, p. 145.
> A similar statement exists in Baha’u’llah’s “Commentary on the Sura of ‘The Sun’” (or
> “Commentary,” for short). In this Commentary, Baha’u’llah explains the meaning of Sura
> (Chapter) 91 of the Quran, which begins with this oath: “By the Sun and his (glorious)
> splendour.” The title “Baha’u’llah” means the “Glory of God” or the “Splendor of God.” In
> other words, Baha’is believe, Baha’u’llah is the spiritual Sun or messenger for this day
> and age.
> According to Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Baha’i Faith, Baha’u’llah “explains the
> sura of ’The Sun’ should not be interpreted literally” (Dawn of a New Day, pp. 79–80).
> Shoghi Effendi has provided this authorized translation of the following passage from
> Baha’u’llah’s “Commentary on the Sura of ‘The Sun’”:
> Know assuredly that just as thou firmly believest that the Word of God, exalted
> be His glory, endureth for ever, thou must, likewise, believe with undoubting faith
> that its meaning can never be exhausted. They who are its appointed
> 
> interpreters, they whose hearts are the repositories of its secrets, are, however,
> the only ones who can comprehend its manifold wisdom. …
> How great the multitude of truths which the garment of words can never contain!
> How vast the number of such verities as no expression can adequately describe,
> whose significance can never be unfolded, and to which not even the remotest
> allusions can be made! How manifold are the truths which must remain unuttered
> until the appointed time is come! Even as it hath been said: “Not everything that a
> man knoweth can be disclosed, nor can everything that he can disclose be
> regarded as timely, nor can every timely utterance be considered as suited to the
> capacity of those who hear it.”
> Of these truths some can be disclosed only to the extent of the capacity of the
> repositories of the light of Our knowledge, and the recipients of Our hidden
> grace.
> – Ibid., pp. 175–176.
> In an article previously published in the series, Necati Alkan wrote:
> Lastly, there is a statement by Baha’u’llah in his Commentary on the Sura of “The
> Sun.” …Baha’u’llah states that every nation on earth has been enlightened by one
> of these “Suns,” i.e. Prophets of God.
> From the two statements cited above, we can deduce that “Unto the cities of all nations”
> necessarily must include the Americas. Since the Americas were inhabited by
> indigenous peoples prior to pre-Columbian “contact,” we can further deduce that
> Baha’u’llah’s statements logically and necessarily include Native messengers of God
> within this universal perspective.
> Let’s now look at two corraborating verses of the Quran, the holy book of Islam:
> Indeed, We sent forth among every nation a Messenger.
> – Quran 16:36.
> Every nation has its Messenger.
> – Quran 10:47.
> How do these scriptures compare to other statements by Abdu’l-Baha to the effect that
> all of the Prophets of God have come from the East?
> “In the books of the Prophets,” He [Abdu’l-Baha] again asserts, “certain glad-
> tidings are recorded which are absolutely true and free from doubt. The East hath
> ever been the dawning-place of the Sun of Truth. In the East all the Prophets of
> God have appeared … The West hath acquired illumination from the East but in
> some respects the reflection of the light hath been greater in the Occident. This is
> specially true of Christianity. Jesus Christ appeared in Palestine and His
> 
> teachings were founded in that country. Although the doors of the Kingdom were
> first opened in that land and the bestowals of God were spread broadcast from
> its center, the people of the West have embraced and promulgated Christianity
> more fully than the people of the East.”
> – quoted by Shoghi Effendi in The World Order of Baha’u’llah, p. 75.
> Here, Abdu’l-Baha uses the well-known history of Christianity to make the point that,
> even though it originated in the East, Christianity had its biggest historical impact in the
> West. In the same way, the Baha’i Faith, which also originated in the Middle East, is
> expected to have its greatest future impact in the West, especially in America. This is a
> persuasive and inspiring argument from history.
> From these passages in the Baha’i writings, we know several truths: (1) World religions,
> by and large, have come from the East. (Just open any standard textbook on world
> religions, and this will become perfectly obvious, although a number of texts do include
> indigenous religions.) (2) The fact remains that indigenous religions have existed
> everywhere throughout human history as well. (3) According to Baha’i belief, all true
> religions derive from the same source—revelations from God, conveyed through a
> progressive series of prophets and messengers. (4) Therefore, we can resolve this
> apparent contradiction on a higher plane of understanding: While it is true that the major
> world religions have all come from the East, the fact remains that many indigenous
> religions appeared in the Americas and elsewhere.
> Applying the Baha’i teaching of progressive revelation, indigenous religions, in their
> pure form, were of divine origin. The time has come for this truth to be acknowledged
> and respected.
> 
> 22.Two Spiritual Suns: Deganawida and Baha’u’llah
> 
> January 31, 2017
> 
> All life on Earth depends upon the sun. This single fact explains why the sun functions
> as a metaphor and symbol in the scriptures of all world religions.
> In the same way, the Baha’i teachings say, all spiritual life on Earth depends upon the
> spiritual sun:
> …the Sun of Truth hath risen above the earth’s horizons: tell of the blowing of the
> spirit of life into the body of the world.
> – Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, pp. 92-93.
> Deganawida, the founder of the Haudenosaunee, commonly called the Iroquois
> Confederacy, said essentially the same thing:
> Moreover, at present it is young as the day is when the sun is rising and lights up
> the earth; just as it causes warmth all over the earth for all the people, we will
> help the people of every nation. And just as all of the many things grow on earth
> and sustain the people, the newly arriving Great Law will come to shed light on
> the minds of the people, the elders and the younger people, everybody, even the
> children, and this is what you will work at: everyone shall become related to one
> another, so that it is what will unite them: the Good Message, and the Power, and
> the Peace.
> – Deganawida, the Peacemaker, Concerning the League, pp. 127–129.
> Here Deganawida, the Peacemaker, compares the “Great Law”—that is, “the Good
> Message, and the Power, and the Peace”—to the sun.
> The Baha’i writings not only use this spiritual metaphor of the sun, but clearly explain its
> significance. Here’s one example: In the previous article in this series, we referred to a
> passage from Baha’u’llah’s “Commentary on the Sura of The Sun.” Here is a provisional
> translation of that passage:
> On another level, furthermore, it [“the sun”] denotes the Prophets of God and His
> intimate associates, for such are the very “suns” of His Names and of His
> Attributes amongst His creatures. Indeed! Were it not for them, no one would
> have been irradiated by the Lights of deep knowledge, just as is evidenced by
> the fact that every religious community, among the religious communities of the
> earth, hath been irradiated by a “sun” among these resplendent “suns.”
> 
> – Baha’u’llah, “Commentary on the Sura of The Sun,” provisional
> translation by Stephen Lambden (http://hurqalya.ucmerced.edu/node/
> 1511).
> The translator, Stephen Lambden, explains that this passage is a universalism, and that
> every faith-community and every world religion, including every indigenous religion, is
> included in this universalism. Religions traditionally look to their founders or other
> important figures as their sources of enlightenment. This passage, moreover, talks
> about all religions—whether known or unknown, whether recognized world religions or
> lesser-known indigenous religions. Religion is religion. Truth is truth. A rose is a rose in
> whatever soil it grows.
> Historically, literate cultures have typically regarded oral cultures as “primitive” or
> somehow less “civilized.” It is time to discredit that prejudice. The Baha’i writings offer
> this perspective: “Civilization” has material and spiritual dimensions. A materially-
> advanced civilization may be morally uncivilized, as Baha’u’llah explains:
> In all matters moderation is desirable. If a thing is carried to excess, it will prove a
> source of evil. Consider the civilization of the West, how it hath agitated and
> alarmed the peoples of the world. An infernal engine hath been devised, and hath
> proved so cruel a weapon of destruction that its like none hath ever witnessed or
> heard. The purging of such deeply-rooted and overwhelming corruptions cannot
> be effected unless the peoples of the world unite in pursuit of one common aim
> and embrace one universal faith.
> – Baha’u’llah, Tablets of Baha’u’llah, p. 69.
> Some have found it hard to accept that an indigenous religion may be favorably
> compared to a recognized world religion. Of course, there are a wide variety of
> indigenous religions, making it impossible to speak of them except in the most general
> terms. Suffice it to say that, indigenous religions have served as the primary source of
> spiritual cultural values for the peoples they serve. The time has come for some of these
> traditions to be widely known and respected. Society stands to be enriched thereby.
> Reciprocal recognition and respect is a “golden rule” of interfaith dialogue. It is easy to
> recognize and respect those “world religions” that we see in standard textbooks of world
> religions. But you probably will not see the Peacemaker’s teachings in world religion
> textbooks. There may be exceptions, of course. But Deganawida’s “Great Law”—
> although widely recognized and respected among Native Americans and Native
> Canadians—has yet to be “canonized” as a recognized world religion.
> Yet many Baha’is have begun to recognize Deganawida, the Peacemaker, as a spiritual
> sun, and his teachings as a source of enlightenment.
> 
> Imagine the power and synergy of mutual, reciprocal recognition and respect, between
> the members of the world’s “major” Faiths and the practitioners of indigenous religions,
> if we mutually recognized each sun of every revelation.
> This “Native Messengers of God” series has focused on the Peacemaker, White Buffalo
> Maiden, Quetzalcoatl, and Viracocha as prime examples of such wisdom bearers.
> These spiritual suns have often been referred to by anthropologists as “culture
> heroes”—but what if they’re prophets of God, in the same way as Christ and Buddha
> and Baha’u’llah?
> The Baha’i teachings are for the present and future. Indeed, certain of the Baha’i
> teachings predict the future—not as a crystal ball, but as foresight based on profound
> insight. There is, in fact, a special Baha’i prophecy regarding indigenous Americans.
> Since many Native peoples in the Americas have already responded to the sun of
> Baha’u’llah and become Baha’is, this vision of the future, called the “sole racial
> prophecy” of the Baha’i Faith, is already coming true:
> Attach great importance to the indigenous population of America. … Likewise,
> these Indians, should they be educated and guided, there can be no doubt that
> they will become so illumined as to enlighten the whole world.
> – Abdu’l-Baha, Tablets of the Divine Plan, p. 33.
> Baha’is look forward to the day when the followers of the “Two Peacemakers”—
> Deganawida and Baha’u’llah—will enjoy increased contact, to their mutual benefit and
> reciprocal enlightenment. Even though Baha’is regard the Baha’i Faith as the latest
> teaching that God has conveyed to humanity, it may well be that Native peoples will
> increasingly find illumination in the Baha’i teachings—and may further illuminate certain
> of the Baha’i teachings by virtue of the deep and profound environmental relationship
> that indigenous peoples, guided by their spiritual “suns,” have with Mother Earth.
> 
> 23.White Buffalo Calf Woman: Messenger of God
> 
> March 12, 2018
> Co-author: Kevin Locke
> 
> In the next two installments of Native American Messengers of God, Chris Buck
> interviews Kevin Locke, Lakota world citizen educator, about White Buffalo Calf Woman,
> the Lakota prophet.
> [Chris] Kevin, let me ask you about these Lakota sacred verses:
> 
> Čhaŋnúŋpa waŋží yuhá ílotake čiŋ, míksuya opáǧi yo!
> aéj Héčhanuŋ kiŋ,
> táku yačhíŋ kiŋ,
> iyéčhetu kte ló. aéj új
> If you sit down with a pipe.
> Remember me.
> When you do that,
> then the things you want will come true.
> 
> What is meant by this promise, “When you do that, then the things you want will come
> true?” Do the Lakota people understand this promise as spiritual, material, or both?
> [Kevin] The buffalo represents the physical necessities of life. White Buffalo Calf
> Woman—and the sacred pipe she brought—symbolizes the inner spiritual requirements
> for heavenly life and fulfillment.
> [Chris] Can Lakota Baha’is participate in this sacred song and ceremony? And can this
> sacred song, and the one in our previous article, be recited at Baha’i devotional
> gatherings, and in public Baha’i events?
> [Kevin] Currently this is a matter of individual opinion. There is no authoritative guidance
> that I am aware of. I personally am the ninth lineal descendant “pipe holder” in my
> family. Receiving this, through my mother, Patricia Locke, in 1970, was the impetus to
> my long and slippery spiritual journey, up to today.
> [Chris] Based on your sacred office and role as a “pipe holder,” my sense is that you are
> exercising this sacred trust in widening the circle of Lakota and Baha’i spirituality—dual
> 
> traditions you continue to live by and to teach. In your personal opinion, is it good for
> Baha’is and others to recognize White Buffalo Calf Woman as a messenger of God?
> [Kevin] Yes, of course. If White Buffalo Calf Woman was sent to the Lakota people by
> the Creator, how could we not recognize her as a messenger of God, according to this
> clear teaching by Baha’u’llah? The Baha’i teachings say that God sends every society a
> holy messenger:
> Give ear, O My servant, unto that which is being sent down unto thee from the
> Throne of thy Lord, the Inaccessible, the Most Great. There is none other God
> but Him. He hath called into being His creatures, that they may know Him, Who
> is the Compassionate, the All-Merciful. Unto the cities of all nations He hath sent
> His Messengers, Whom He hath commissioned to announce unto men tidings of
> the Paradise of His good pleasure, and to draw them nigh unto the Haven of
> abiding security, the Seat of eternal holiness and transcendent glory.
> – Baha’u’llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, pp. 144–145.
> Think about this: entire civilizations flourished before the largest holocaust in the history
> of humankind, which was the decimation of North American Indian tribes and of other
> indigenous peoples throughout the Americas, which took place here in the Western
> Hemisphere. Before that genocide, the indigenous peoples of the Americas had built
> some of the most populous cities on earth. There were entire civilizations that flourished
> before the so-called “discovery” of the Americas and the brutal conquests that followed.
> As a result of this colonization—under the pretext of “civilizing” and converting
> indigenous peoples to Christianity—countless lives were lost. Then, among the
> indigenous peoples who had survived the original conquests, a further ethnic cleansing
> and genocide (cultural as well as physical) took place, under the evil and catastrophic
> doctrine of “Manifest Destiny.”
> Consider—before all this had happened, could these civilizations have arisen and
> flourished without divine guidance? I don’t think so! According to Baha’u’llah—and
> according to Abdu’l-Baha, in his Tablet to Amir Khan about which you have written in
> this “Native Messengers of God” series—God has sent messengers to all nations
> throughout history. Sad to say, much of the knowledge and records of these indigenous
> sacred traditions were lost.
> Even so, in my personal opinion, I am utterly flabbergasted that people continue to be
> oblivious to the spiritual heritage of this land. It is plain as day, bright as sunlight, clear
> as moonlight. Just my own very personal opinion.
> 
> 24.Recognizing and Respec5ng the Sacred Lakota Tradi5ons
> 
> March 13, 2018
> Co-author: Kevin Locke
> 
> This essay continues Chris Buck’s interview with Lakota world citizen educator Kevin
> Locke, who explains why the Baha’i concept of progressive revelation applies equally to
> indigenous religious traditions.
> [Chris] In the news today, Kevin, I read a BBC story: “Sprawling Mayan network
> discovered under Guatemala jungle” (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-
> america-42916261, February 2, 2018), in which it is now thought that millions more
> indigenous peoples had lived and flourished in pre-conquest Guatemala than previously
> estimated.
> The Lakota were, and are, among “the cities of all nations” to whom God “hath sent His
> Messengers,” as Baha’u’llah wrote. Baha’is understand that the Creator sends every
> civilization a prophet, a guide to goodness and spiritual growth.
> Since Lakota sacred tradition identifies White Buffalo Calf Woman as first and foremost
> among these messengers of God sent to the Lakota people, then we can fairly deduce
> that White Buffalo Calf Woman was a prophet of God. Who else could she be? So, let
> me ask you this: Would a wider recognition of White Buffalo Calf Woman as a
> messenger of God be an important, even necessary, part of the Baha’i and Lakota spirit
> and social dynamic?
> [Kevin] Yes. Baha’u’llah explains what these messengers were empowered to do. So, in
> this sense, White Buffalo Calf Woman was “commissioned to announce unto men
> tidings of the Paradise of His good pleasure, and to draw them nigh unto the Haven of
> abiding security, the Seat of eternal holiness and transcendent glory,” as Baha’u’llah
> wrote in his tablet about progressive revelation and the relatedness of all the
> messengers of God. This is what White Buffalo Calf Woman was sent to do. This is
> what she did.
> If the Lakota people are to be seen as equals, as they should be, then reciprocal
> respect for their spiritual traditions is very important. There is no harm in doing so. Great
> good can come of this mutual respect and recognition, if everyone recognizes and
> respects these Lakota sacred traditions.
> [Chris] Is respect for Lakota sacred traditions by Baha’is and everyone else consistent
> with these passages from the Baha’i writings?
> 
> … consort with the followers of all religions in a spirit of friendliness and
> fellowship, to proclaim that which the Speaker on Sinai hath set forth and to
> observe fairness in all matters. They that are endued with sincerity and
> faithfulness should associate with all the peoples and kindreds of the earth with
> joy and radiance, inasmuch as consorting with people hath promoted and will
> continue to promote unity and concord, which in turn are conducive to the
> maintenance of order in the world and to the regeneration of nations. Blessed are
> such as hold fast to the cord of kindliness and tender mercy and are free from
> animosity and hatred.
> – Baha’u’llah, Tablets of Baha’u’llah, pp. 35-36.
> It is permitted that the peoples and kindreds of the world associate with one another
> with joy and radiance. O people! Consort with the followers of all religions in a spirit of
> friendliness and fellowship. Thus hath the day-star of His sanction and authority shone
> forth above the horizon of the decree of God, the Lord of the worlds. – Ibid., p. 22.
> [Kevin] Absolutely. It’s good that you’ve pointed this out. All the more reason for Baha’is,
> and all people for that matter, to recognize White Buffalo Calf Woman as a messenger
> of God—just as it’s important for the Lakota people to learn about Baha’u’llah! If both
> Baha’u’llah and White Buffalo Calf Woman were here today, they would respect one
> another, wouldn’t they? If so, why can’t we do likewise?
> [Chris] If so, is recognition of the best of Lakota spirituality a good way to promote the
> unity of religions?
> [Kevin] Yes, of course. Let me quote Jacqueline Left Hand Bull, who my late mother,
> Patricia Locke, interviewed in 1989:
> Patricia Locke: How do you as a Lakota woman reconcile your culture and the
> Baha’i Faith?
> Left Hand Bull: First of all our name, “Lakota,” means “peace, amity, harmony,
> balance.” We perceive the universe as being interrelated and interconnected.
> That’s our most significant prayer: “Mitakuye oyasin” (“All my relations”). We
> understand this relatedness in fours: the four directions, the four winds, the four
> elements of life (fire, water, air and earth), the four colors (red, black/blue, white
> and yellow), that are symbolic of the four races of humankind. This worldview is
> sacred and is based on the teachings of the White Buffalo Calf Woman.
> This Lakota worldview meshes with the Baha’i world view. The same Creator that
> sent Moses and Jesus also sent the White Buffalo Calf Woman and Baha’u’llah,
> the prophet founder of the Baha’i Faith. So it’s not difficult for me to reconcile the
> teachings of the White Buffalo Calf Woman and Baha’u’llah. I see it—
> Baha’u’llah’s teachings—as the next step of Lakota ways. Only now we take our
> place in the world community, with all Indian people united.
> 
> From my mother’s perspective, and from mine, that’s exactly what Baha’u’llah meant
> when he taught the unity of all Faiths:
> O ye that dwell on earth! The religion of God is for love and unity; make it not the
> cause of enmity or dissension. In the eyes of men of insight and the beholders of
> the Most Sublime Vision, whatsoever are the effective means for safeguarding
> and promoting the happiness and welfare of the children of men have already
> been revealed by the Pen of Glory. – Baha’u’llah, Tablets of Baha’u’llah, p. 220.
> 
> 25.White Buffalo Calf Woman, The Peacemaker, and Baha’u’llah
> 
> January 29, 2019
> Co-author: Kevin Locke
> 
> In 1992, Iroquois Chief Jacob (“Jake”) Thomas, a respected “faith-keeper” and
> interpreter of Haudenosaunee culture, took the unprecedented step of reciting the
> “Great Law of Peace.”
> The Chief recited those sacred teachings of Deganawida, the Peacemaker in English,
> first in January, 1992 (over five days) and then in September, 1992 (for nine days).
> 
> For further information on Deganawida, the Peacemaker, here is a link to the following
> article: Christopher Buck, “Deganawida, the Peacemaker.” American Writers: A
> Collection of Literary Biographies. Supplement XXVI. Edited by Jay Parini. Farmington
> Hills, MI: Scribner’s Reference/The Gale Group, 2015. Pp. 81–100. https://
> w w w . a c a d e m i a . e d u / 2 0 3 3 8 0 0 6 /
> _Deganawida_the_Peacemaker._American_Writers._Supplement_XXVI_2015_
> 
> An estimated 2,000 people—including many non-Iroquois—attended the second event.
> These events attracted media coverage across Canada. Then again, in the summer of
> 1994, Chief Thomas repeated the event. Responding to criticism, Chief Thomas, offered
> this justification:
> I think the white man needs to understand. It isn’t that he’s going to take the law
> and use it himself. … They already did! The thirteen colonies already took the
> Great Law for their so-called Constitution. So what should we be afraid of? … If
> they want to learn it, they have a right to. That should have been done 500 years
> ago, to study and respect the [Iroquois] Confederacy. Maybe we wouldn’t have
> the problems we have today if they would have studied our people, and [would
> now] understand and honor and respect [us].
> – quoted by Michael K. Foster in “Jacob Ezra Thomas: Educator and
> Conservator of Iroquois Culture,” Histories of Anthropology Annual 2005,
> p. 227.
> Here’s an excerpt from the spiritual teachings of Deganawida, the Peacemaker, from
> “Concerning the League,” recited by Chief John Arthur Gibson in 1912:
> 
> Thereupon [Deganawida] stood up in the center of the gathering place, and then
> he said, “First I will answer what it means to say, ‘Now it is arriving, the Good
> Message.’ This indeed, is what it means: When it stops, the slaughter of your
> own people who live here on earth, then everywhere peace will come about, by
> day and also by night, and it will come about that as one travels around,
> everyone will be related. … Now again, secondly, I say, ‘Now it is arriving, the
> Power,’ and this means that the different nations, all the nations, will become just
> a single one, and the Great Law will come into being, so that now all will be
> related to each other. Now in turn, the other, my third saying, ‘Now it is arriving,
> the Peace,’ this means that everyone will become related, men and also women,
> and also the young people and the children, and when all are relatives, every
> nation, then there will be peace as they roam about by day and also by night. …
> When they are functioning, the Good Message and also the Power and the
> Peace, moreover, these will be the principal things everybody will live by; these
> will be the great values among the people.”
> – Concerning the League: The Iroquois League Tradition as Dictated in
> Onondaga, by John Arthur Gibson (newly elicited, edited and translated by
> Hanni Woodbury in collaboration with Reg Henry and Harry Webster, on
> the Basis of A A Goldenweiser’s manuscript), Winnipeg: Algonquian and
> Iroquoian Linguistics, 1992, pp. 36–41.
> Christopher Buck and Kevin Locke carry on their ongoing spiritual conversation about
> indigenous Messengers of God and their relationship to the teachings of the Baha’i
> Faith:
> Q: In light of the above passage, Kevin, let’s broaden the scope of our discussions on
> indigenous Messengers of God. First, would you agree that—in addition to Baha’u’llah
> and White Buffalo Calf Woman—Deganawida, the Peacemaker, was another
> Messenger of God?
> A: This morning I re-read “Concerning The League,” the English translation of the
> Onondaga account of the mission of Tekanawita [Deganawida] and pondered these two
> statements from the Baha’i writings:
> Unto the cities of all nations He hath sent His Messengers, Whom He hath
> commissioned to announce unto men tidings of the Paradise of His good
> pleasure, and to draw them nigh unto the Haven of abiding security, the Seat of
> eternal holiness and transcendent glory.
> – Baha’u’llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, p. 145.
> Undoubtedly in those regions [America] the Call of God must have been raised in
> ancient times …
> 
> – Abdu’l-Baha, Tablet to Amir Khan (authorized translation; https://
> www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/abdul-baha/additional-tablets-
> extracts-talks/169212878/1#341827961).
> Despite the fact that “Unto the cities of all nations He hath sent His Messengers” and
> that Abdu’l-Baha, in the Tablet to Amir Khan, assures us that the Divine Call has been
> raised in North America, most Americans are oblivious to the spiritual heritage of this
> land!
> So, before I answer, let me first ask you a question: Is there an official Baha’i definition
> of “Messenger of God”?
> Q: Yes, I think so. Bear in mind that the Baha’i teachings often speak of “Manifestations
> of God.” But this term is unfamiliar to the public—which is why we have been using
> “Messengers of God” instead. So “Messengers of God” and “Manifestations of God” are
> equivalent terms, as you know, simply indicating God’s prophets and educators. For a
> good definition, please take a quick look at this official Baha’i website: Manifestations of
> God (https://www.bahai.org/beliefs/god-his-creation/revelation/manifestations-god).
> Below, I’ve highlighted the main points, in bullet-point format. A Manifestation or
> Messenger of God:
> •   Cultivates humanity’s spiritual, intellectual and moral capacities.
> •   Exerts an incomparable influence on the evolution of human society.
> •   Has a distinct individuality and a definite mission.
> •   Educates the souls of men, and refines the character of every living man.
> •   Is a light-bringer of the world.
> •   Releases a fresh outpouring of spirit into creation, with a universal effect.
> •   Is a new “sun” that appears and shines “upon the worlds of spirits, of thoughts
> and of hearts.”
> •   Releases new forces that, over time, increasingly permeate human affairs,
> providing the main impulse for the further development of consciousness and
> society.
> •   Provides the guidance necessary for humanity’s social and spiritual evolution.
> •   Acts as a skilled physician, with a complete grasp of the nature of the body of
> humanity.
> •   Prescribes the appropriate cure for the ills of the world—one that best meets the
> requirements of the time in which the Messenger of God appeared.
> 
> So, based on the official definition and criteria listed above, do you agree that White
> Buffalo Calf Woman meets these criteria—and also Deganawida, the Peacemaker, as
> well?
> A: Yes. One of my mother’s [Patricia Locke’s] great concerns was the general lack of
> awareness about the holy souls that appeared on our half [the Western Hemisphere] of
> the planet. Of the hundreds of known North and South American Messengers, perhaps
> a representative few could be identified and described, such as Tekanawita/The
> Peacemaker in the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) sacred tradition, and Ptehiŋčala Ska
> Wiŋ́/White Buffalo Calf Woman in the Lakota sacred tradition, and Sweet Medicine
> (“Arrow Boy”) in the Cheyenne sacred tradition.
> Q: Would you say that the sacred teachings of the Peacemaker, White Buffalo Calf
> Woman, and Baha’u’llah are all from God? Do they each come from the same divine
> Source?
> A: Yes. They are all clearly about ennobling, spiritualizing and raising the people from a
> debased state to a heavenly condition. The messages of both White Buffalo Calf
> Woman and Tekanawita/The Peacemaker burst with universal themes that align
> perfectly with Baha’u’llah’s message to the world today. But one can see that they are
> attuned to the exigencies of those particular local kindreds and eras.
> Q: This is fascinating, illuminating and important! How do the sacred teachings of the
> Peacemaker and White Buffalo Calf Woman compare to those of Baha’u’llah?
> A: Both Tekanawita’s and White Buffalo Calf Woman’s messages are 100% about
> establishing and broadening the Covenant—that eternal agreement between the
> Creator and the creation. But they are very different in that White Buffalo Calf Woman’s
> message is concerned with the overarching, basic provisions regarding laws of prayer,
> fasting, coming of age, making of relatives, etc., and Tekanawita’s message is about
> creating a divine administrative order, a system of just human governance. Both
> messages have similar themes: transformation, reconciliation, divine virtues,
> sacredness of fire, tree symbolism, succession of divine authority, etc.
> Q: So if that’s the case, would you also agree that that these two indigenous spiritual
> traditions—the Lakota and Haudenosaunee spiritual heritages—are perfect examples of
> the Baha’i teaching the “oneness of religion”?
> A: Yes, definitely.
> Q: I consider Concerning the League to be a holy book—a sacred text that should be
> recognized alongside the scriptures of the great world religions. Do you agree?
> A: Absolutely! I have always considered it a miracle that the Haudensaunee (Iroquois)
> were able to hold these priceless traditions intact throughout the horrendous colonial
> and post-colonial genocidal campaigns. We should all be grateful that they have
> preserved such a priceless global spiritual heritage. The Haudenosaunee sacred
> 
> narratives—among all the Native American spiritual traditions—are perhaps the most
> accessible to Euro-American sensibilities and could serve as a point of entry to the
> universe of indigenous spiritual heritage.
> Dedicated to the late, former member of the Universal House of Justice, David S. Ruhe,
> M.D. (d. 200 5), who wrote, in a paper presented at the Hasan M. Balyuzi Memorial
> Lecture, at the 18th Annual Bahá’í Studies Conference, August 13, 1994, at Harvard
> Law School:
> To the warring tribes 700–800 years ago there came an astonishing Prophet of
> Peace—Deganawida united five, later six, mutually hostile tribal groups in a
> federal union based on democracy, the first in the Western Hemisphere. He
> cemented this union with a “Great Law of Peace,” a constitution which
> propounded one expansive human family…. And thus, in God’s Plan, with
> Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson as perceptive mediators, the Bill of
> Rights and the Constitution were vital steps (after the War of Independence
> [1775–1783]) toward realizing in America the Iroquois concept of the primacy of
> individual rights as superior to property and power. And of course the Iroquois
> foreshadowed, in their Longhouse of sky and earth, the planetary message of the
> Bahá’í Faith for today.
> – David S. Ruhe, M.D., “A New Evolution: Religious Bonding for World
> Unity,” Journal of Bahá’í Studies 6.4 (1994–1995): 45–57 [45].
> 
> 26.When Indigenous Beliefs and the Baha’i Faith Meet
> 
> February 5, 2019
> Co-author: Kevin Locke
> 
> Welcome back to the ongoing conversation about indigenous prophets and Messengers
> of God between Baha’i authors Christopher Buck and Lakota artist Kevin Locke.
> Q: Would it be a good thing, Kevin, in your view, if Lakota and Haudenosaunee people
> were to investigate the teachings of Baha’u’llah? Would doing so add or subtract—
> enrich or detract—from their own sacred traditions?
> A: I just co-wrote an entire book on this subject, Chris, called Arising. It’s the story of my
> own quest for meaning as a young Lakota man, and it tells how I first encountered the
> Baha’i Faith—and how its spiritual principles fit so perfectly with Lakota beliefs. The
> Guardian of the Baha’i Faith, Shoghi Effendi, explained how Baha’u’llah came to
> connect and unite all of the spiritual traditions and enable us to discover the true nature
> and reality of all the previous Messengers:
> The Revelation, of which Baha’u’llah is the source and center, abrogates none of
> the religions that have preceded it, nor does it attempt, in the slightest degree, to
> distort their features or to belittle their value. It disclaims any intention of dwarfing
> any of the Prophets of the past, or of whittling down the eternal verity of their
> teachings. It can, in no wise, conflict with the spirit that animates their claims, nor
> does it seek to undermine the basis of any man’s allegiance to their cause. Its
> declared, its primary purpose is to enable every adherent of these Faiths to
> obtain a fuller understanding of the religion with which he stands identified, and
> to acquire a clearer apprehension of its purpose. It is neither eclectic in the
> presentation of its truths, nor arrogant in the affirmation of its claims. Its teachings
> revolve around the fundamental principle that religious truth is not absolute but
> relative, that Divine Revelation is progressive, not final. Unequivocally and
> without the least reservation it [the Baha’i Faith] proclaims all established
> religions to be divine in origin, identical in their aims, complementary in their
> functions, continuous in their purpose, indispensable in their value to mankind.
> – Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Baha’u’llah, pp. 57–58.
> Q: Excellent answer! In this remarkable passage, let me illustrate how this statement
> may apply to the Lakota and Haudenosaunee sacred traditions, as being among “all
> established religions.” So, if we substitute “the Lakota and Haudenosaunee sacred
> traditions” in place of “all established religions,” we get this result:
> 
> Unequivocally and without the least reservation it [the Baha’i Faith] proclaims [the
> Lakota and Haudenosaunee sacred traditions] to be divine in origin, identical in their
> aims, complementary in their functions, continuous in their purpose, indispensable in
> their value to mankind.
> Suppose I were to ask the very same question—but the other way around: Would it be a
> good thing if Baha’is—and our other interested readers—were to investigate the
> teachings of White Buffalo Calf Woman and Deganawida, the Peacemaker?
> A: Yes. That said, Chris, White Buffalo Calf Woman and Deganawida, the Peacemaker,
> are simply representative of the myriad Messengers who have appeared in this half of
> the world.
> Q: Now I have a question regarding what Chelsea Horton has called the “sole racial
> prophecy” in the Baha’i Faith:
> Attach great importance to the indigenous population of America. … Likewise,
> these Indians, should they be educated and guided, there can be no doubt that
> they will become so illumined as to enlighten the whole world.
> – Abdu’l-Baha, Tablets of the Divine Plan, p. 32.
> Kevin, according to your understanding of this remarkable Baha’i prophecy, will the
> indigenous population of America “enlighten the whole world” purely by virtue of
> becoming Baha’is and being enlightened by the Baha’i teachings? Or will there be a
> synergy between the indigenous spiritual heritages and the Baha’i teachings—once
> they connect, interact, and intermix—such that there will be a powerful new perspective
> that will be offered to the world at large? Is this “light upon light”? Or a compound
> enlightenment, as it were?
> A: My understanding is that this is a “conditional prophecy” based on the quality of
> response to the Divine Summons from Baha’u’llah. In order to fulfill it, spiritual
> champions must arise, much as so wonderfully described by Chief John Arthur Gibson
> in “Concerning the League.”
> Q: In your view, Kevin, why should Baha’is—and our other interested readers—respect
> sacred indigenous traditions, such as the Lakota and Haudenosaunee spiritual
> heritages, and recognize White Buffalo Calf Woman or Deganawida, the Peacemaker,
> as Messengers of God?
> A: If Baha’is and others recognize White Buffalo Calf Woman or Tekanawita
> [Deganawida, the Peacemaker] as Messengers of God, then doing so affirms the “three
> onenesses” the Baha’i Faith teaches—the oneness of God, the oneness of all religions,
> and the oneness of humankind. That enriches our sense of sacred history—it would be
> an unthinkable breach of respect and protocol to do otherwise!
> 
> Q: Do you agree that there needs to be “parity” and reciprocal recognition and respect,
> as between Baha’is and the peoples of the Lakota and Haudenosaunee spiritual
> heritages?
> A: Yes.
> Q: What can Baha’is contribute to the advancement of the Lakota and Haudenosaunee
> peoples, if invited to do so? What do the Baha’i’s potentially have to offer?
> A: It seems that the Baha’i community is finally at the stage where human resources are
> being developed that will be able to effectively carry the Baha’i study circles—known to
> Baha’is as the institute process—to Indigenous communities, both rural and urban.
> When that occurs, along with devotional gatherings, children’s classes, junior youth
> empowerment groups, community service projects and social action, as well as
> dialogue and public discourses on important social issues, it will have a significant
> impact.
> For more information on the life and teachings of Deganawida, the Peacemaker, see:
> Christopher Buck, “Deganawida, the Peacemaker.” American Writers: A Collection of
> Literary Biographies. Supplement XXVI. Edited by Jay Parini (Farmington Hills, MI:
> Scribner’s Reference/The Gale Group, 2015), pp. 81–100. https://www.academia.edu/
> 2          0         3          3         8         0         0        6         /
> _Deganawida_the_Peacemaker._American_Writers._Supplement_XXVI_2015_
> 
> 27.White Buffalo Calf Woman’s Spiritual Message
> 
> February 12, 2019
> Co-author: Kevin Locke
> 
> The Lakota Prophet and Messenger of God, White Buffalo Calf Woman, like all the
> Creator’s Messengers, brought spiritual and moral teachings to her people.
> Those profound teachings, largely unknown outside of Lakota indigenous culture until
> fairly recently, have enormous resonance, commonality and concord with the spiritual
> traditions of other Faiths and belief systems. As the Baha’i teachings affirm, the moral
> and spiritual principles of all great religions have a single underlying foundation:
> Let us strive with all our powers to unite the East and West so that the nations of
> the world may be advanced and that all may live according to the one foundation
> of the religions of God. The essentials of the divine religion are one reality,
> indivisible and not multiple. It is one.
> – Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 42.
> With that unity in mind, Baha’i authors Christopher Buck and Kevin Locke recently
> talked extensively about the relationship between the Baha’i teachings and the
> indigenous Lakota spiritual teachings of White Buffalo Calf Woman. Their conversation
> continues here:
> Q: In the narrative by the Lakota statesman, scholar and singer Lone Man (Lakota/Teton
> Sioux name: Iśna´ la-wića´)—recorded in 1911 (along with 18 songs, recorded on a wax
> cylinders) at the Standing Rock Reservation, Fort Yates, North Dakota—I have identified
> the following ten primary, positive ethical and moral teachings of White Buffalo Calf
> Woman:
> 1. Possess “great respect and reverence toward sacred things.”
> 2. Live as “belonging to one family.”
> 3. Be “always very faithful to promises.”
> 4. “Cease hostilities against other nations.”
> 5. “Administer help to the sick.”
> 6. “Comfort others in time of sorrow.”
> 7. Show “kindness toward every living creature on earth.”
> 
> 8. “Remember the dead.”
> 9. “Love your children dearly.”
> 10. “Above all, lead pure lives.”
> – Frances Densmore, “Teton Sioux Music,” Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin,
> Vol. 61 (1918): 1–561 [see pp. 65–66]. https://archive.org/details/
> tetonsiouxmusic00lcdens/page/n5.
> Kevin, I’d like to ask, did I get these right? There are more teachings, but these seemed
> to stand out in Lone Man’s narrative. If so, would you please comment on each of White
> Buffalo Calf Woman’s “Ten Commandments” (my term, if that’s okay)? Were you raised
> with these sacred values, morals and ethics?
> A: First of all, the book you cite, “Teton Sioux Music,” is the reason why the Baha’i Faith
> was established at Standing Rock! Audrey Reynolds—the first Baha’i who moved to
> Standing Rock—received a copy of “Teton Sioux Music” as a youth (I have that original
> copy), and noted that Frances Densmore’s informants hijacked the narrative by insisting
> that the account of White Buffalo Calf Woman’s appearance and teachings must come
> first, because they are foundational to everything—and that Lone Man would give the
> account. (Densmore explains this in the introduction, in fact.)
> Audrey Reynolds was so moved by this account and the spiritual nature of all the
> narratives in “Teton Sioux Music” that it eventually led her to the Baha’i Faith, and she
> went directly from the first Baha’i World Congress in London in 1963 to Standing Rock!
> Her husband, Jonathan Reynolds, is still alive and can give many more details. The way
> in which “Teton Sioux Music” outlines and fleshes out so many of these Ten
> Commandments is amazing. The title you give here is ingenious and inspired!
> Q: Thanks, Kevin. Here’s the way I understand it from a Baha’i perspective: every Faith
> gives essential moral and spiritual guidance to its followers, and to the civilizations of
> the time, as well. Each of the founders of those Faiths bring commandments, principles
> and laws that encourage humanity to love one another, to establish peace and respect
> the sacredness of life. The Baha’i teachings put it this way:
> The divine Manifestations have been iconoclastic in Their teachings, uprooting
> error, destroying false religious beliefs and summoning mankind anew to the
> fundamental oneness of God. All of Them have, likewise, proclaimed the
> oneness of the world of humanity. The essential teaching of Moses was the law
> of Sinai, the Ten Commandments. Christ renewed and again revealed the
> commands of the one God and precepts of human action. In Muhammad,
> although the circle was wider, the intention of His teaching was likewise to uplift
> and unify humanity in the knowledge of the one God. In the Bab the circle was
> again very much enlarged, but the essential teaching was the same. The Books
> of Baha’u’llah number more than one hundred. Each one is an evident proof
> 
> sufficient for mankind; each one from foundation to apex proclaims the essential
> unity of God and humanity, the love of God, the abolition of war and the divine
> standard of peace. Each one also inculcates divine morality, the manifestation of
> lordly graces— in every word a book of meanings. For the Word of God is
> collective wisdom, absolute knowledge and eternal truth.
> – Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 154.
> A: Yes, Chris, that collective wisdom reflects itself in every holy Faith, including the
> Lakota beliefs. So in the next essay in this series, let’s look at White Buffalo Calf
> Woman’s spiritual commandments, and see how they fit this Baha’i concept of the
> oneness of all religion.
> 
> 28.The Ten Commandments of Lakota Life
> 
> February 19, 2019
> Co-author: Kevin Locke
> 
> It turns out that other Faiths beyond Judaism and Christianity contain ten
> commandments for living a spiritual life—including the Lakota belief system brought by
> White Buffalo Calf Woman.
> In this continuation of the BahaiTeachings.org conversation between authors
> Christopher Buck and Lakota Baha’i Kevin Locke, we learn more about those
> commandments and their relevance to daily life in the modern world:
> Q: Kevin, can you elaborate on White Buffalo Calf Woman’s “Ten Commandments?”
> Would you please comment on each? How do the Lakota people put White Buffalo Calf
> Woman’s “Ten Commandments” into practice and keep them alive today?
> A: Here’s what I know, having been born and raised in the Lakota sacred tradition—and
> having later become a Baha’i, while walking both the Lakota and Baha’i pathways as
> one:
> 1. Possess “great respect and reverence toward sacred things.” The
> Lakota do differentiate between the sacred and the mundane. The appearance
> and message associated with White Buffalo Calf Woman is the flash point.
> Everything takes on meaning and becomes sacred in the context of her
> revivifying and renewing message and presence. Each ceremony associated
> with White Buffalo Calf Woman’s teachings invokes her divine presence,
> whereby participants are mystically and spiritually transported to that sacred,
> placeless and timeless realm, sanctified from this world.
> The sacred pipe that White Buffalo Calf Woman brought is the symbol and
> touchstone of her dispensation and through it all things are made sacred. Her
> teachings and ceremonies recreate and invoke her holy manifestation from the
> sacred, heavenly realms to this physical semblance of reality. As a part of the
> “Prophetic Cycle,” moreover, White Buffalo Calf Woman foretold the appearance
> of Tȟuŋkašila / Grandfather (Baha’u’llah) — as the one Who will bring the sacred
> and mundane together and lead all the peoples of the world to the “Red Road.”
> 2. Live as “belonging to one family.” The most important phrase associated with
> White Buffalo Calf Woman is “mitákuye oyás’iŋ,” which means “all my relations.”
> Every prayer and benediction is solemnized with this testimony affirming the
> 
> relatedness of all things physical, spiritual, living or dead, animate or inanimate. It
> is the affirmation that all things are of God and therefore interrelated.
> 3. Be “always very faithful to promises.” In the Lakota oral tradition, the spoken
> word is paramount. It is intensified and imbued with power and potency.
> Throughout the northern plains, one can find hand shapes deeply etched on
> granite boulders wrought by the ancient holy ones. Prayers and pledges are
> made by fitting one’s hand within these ancient petroglyphs and intoning one’s
> prayers and invocations. The boulders bearing these ancient petroglyphs stand
> throughout eternity and bear witness to one’s sincerity throughout these worlds
> and all the worlds beyond. This is symbolic of the belief that all of creation bears
> continual witness to all of one’s words and deeds. In a famous song regarding
> the omniscience of creation, the eagle from the apex of the physical realm says;
> “ognáš mayágnaye kiló” = “Don’t you dare try to deceive me!”
> 4. “Cease hostilities against other nations.” One of the devotional practices
> ordained by White Buffalo Calf Woman is the Huŋká or Huŋkákičiyapi = “The
> Making of Relatives.” Through visions and divine guidance, it was originally
> instituted to solemnify enduring peace between the Lakota and Arikara, two
> formerly mortal tribal enemies. The Huŋká is also called the “Corn Dance”
> because the corn represents the seed of faith that is planted, then sprouts,
> grows, flourishes and matures—the fruit of which is the peace and holy love
> planted in the hearts of the formerly rival and mutually averse nations. This “Corn
> Dance” ceremony represents the Divine Will for peace and reconciliation
> between hostile nations and factions.
> 5. “Administer help to the sick.” The hoop of holiness and love—demarcated
> through the teachings of White Buffalo Calf Woman—represents wholeness and
> well-being in which all are interconnected and interrelated by bonds of love and
> concern. No one can be excluded or left out of this hoop. Any who are sick or
> ailing must be attended to and restored to wholeness and well-being.
> 6. “Comfort others in time of sorrow.” One of the expressions of White Buffalo Calf
> Woman’s injunction to be loving and compassionate is wašígla wolwíčhak’u =
> “Feeding the Mourners.” This involves the compassionate and magnanimous act
> of one group endeavoring to release an individual or family from their grief by
> hosting a public feast and gathering to condole and to officially entreat the
> mourners to put aside their mourning and bring their heart and soul back in to the
> community. This “Feeding the Mourners” ceremony involves prayers, speaking
> words of comfort and condolence, presenting gifts, offering food and love to
> mend the broken-hearted. This type of expression pervades the traditional
> Lakota culture and is the direct result, expression and enactment of White Buffalo
> Calf Woman’s divine counsel.
> 
> 7. Show “kindness toward every living creature on earth.” A devotional song
> associated with White Buffalo Calf Woman states:
> 
> “Tȟuŋkášila waŋmáyaŋka yo! Makȟáta táku wakȟáŋ mayák’upi čha, henáke
> tȟaŋíŋyaŋ ye čhe tȟaŋíŋyaŋ yaúŋkte. Lehápi čha létu nuŋwé”
> – in English it means “Grandfather behold me! All sacredness upon the earth you
> have bestowed upon us. Through all of these Your holiness is revealed to us.
> This you have ordained. Thus it shall be.”
> 
> The kindness shown toward everything on earth results from the understanding
> that everything is a physical manifestation of spiritual reality, exemplifying the
> truth that both the seen and the unseen, the physical and spiritual worlds are the
> handiwork of the one Creator, Whose laws pervade the entirety of His creation.
> Thus everything in this physical world is a counterpart of something in the
> spiritual realms. Kindness, respect, reverence and awe are accorded everything
> in this world which, in reality, is a portal to ineffable, divine mysteries.
> 
> 8. “Remember the dead.” “Wanáǧi Gluhápi” = “Keeping of the Soul,” one of the
> devotional practices established by White Buffalo Calf Woman, is the symbolic
> keeping of a departed loved one’s spirit in order to draw the physical and spiritual
> worlds together in the heart of the people. This devotional practice prescribes
> that the family of the departed loved one dedicate a year or several years, or
> even a lifetime to perform good deeds and virtuous, magnanimous acts in the
> name of the loved one in order to further their progress on the path to eternity.
> 9.     “Love your children dearly.” The Huŋká (= “Making of Relatives” or “Corn
> Ceremony” mentioned in #4 above) especially involves children. A family who
> wishes divine blessings to descend upon their child will identify an individual from
> a foreign community to become a godparent for their child. Thus the child
> becomes the axis of love around which the enduring spiritual peace, amity and
> accord is created. The child becomes “hokšíčhaŋlkiyapi” = “a child whom they
> use for a heart,” often understood as “beloved child.” The solemnizing act is the
> Corn Dance, in which it is the child who represents the corn which, when
> nurtured and treated tenderly—receiving the spiritual equivalent of rain, sun, and
> gentle breeze (all symbolic of the manifestations of love that must needs be
> shown the child)—will grow and its fruit will bring nourishment and blessings to
> the people.
> 10. “Above all, lead pure lives.” Perhaps the most important admonition of White
> Buffalo Calf Woman was to moral rectitude and to lead pure, upright lives. At the
> same time the principle of cleansing and transformation was also enjoined.
> 
> Q: This is profound! I hear White Buffalo Calf Woman’s voice enthrall, echo, resound
> and reverberate in this clarion call of Baha’u’llah:
> The well-being of mankind, its peace and security, are unattainable unless and
> until its unity is firmly established. This unity can never be achieved so long as
> the counsels which the Pen of the Most High hath revealed are suffered to pass
> unheeded. …
> One righteous act is endowed with a potency that can so elevate the dust as to
> cause it to pass beyond the heaven of heavens. …
> Be pure, O people of God, be pure; be righteous, be righteous …. Say: O people
> of God! That which can ensure the victory of Him Who is the Eternal Truth, His
> hosts and helpers on earth, have been set down in the sacred Books and
> Scriptures, and are as clear and manifest as the sun.
> – Baha’u’llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, pp. 286–287.
> 
> 29.Connec5ng, Unifying and Fulfilling Indigenous Spiritual Tradi5ons
> 
> February 26, 2019
> Co-author: Kevin Locke
> 
> Have you ever wondered about the “forgotten” religious and spiritual traditions—the
> ones lost in the mists of time?
> The Baha’i teachings recognize and honor those traditions: “Undoubtedly in those
> regions the Call of God must have been raised in ancient times, but it hath been
> forgotten now.” – Abdu’l-Baha, Tablet to Amir Khan. The Baha’i writings also say:
> The Reality of the divine Religions is one, because the Reality is one and cannot
> be two. All the prophets are united in their message, and unshaken. They are like
> the sun; in different seasons they ascend from different rising points on the
> horizon. Therefore every ancient prophet gave the glad tidings of the future, and
> every future has accepted the past.
> – Abdu’l-Baha, Abdu’l-Baha in London, p. 29.
> Abdu’l-Baha led the Baha’i Faith from 1892 to 1921. During this time, much of the
> sacred indigenous religious lore was forcibly “forgotten” as a matter of official U.S.
> government policy:
> In his Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs on October 10, 1882
> Commissioner Hiram Price planted a seed that would forever alter the course of
> United States government policy concerning American Indian religious freedom:
> “Civilization is a plant of exceedingly slow growth,” Price wrote, “unless
> supplemented by Christian teaching and influences” (Prucha 1990:157). The
> following year Secretary of the Interior Henry M. Teller took up the torch lit by
> Price. In his Annual Report on November 1, 1883 Teller spoke of “a great
> hindrance to the civilization of the Indians, viz., the continuance of old heathenish
> dances, such as the sun-dance, scalp-dance, &c. These dances … ought … to
> be discontinued, and if the Indians … are not willing to discontinue them, the
> agents should be instructed to compel such discontinuance” (Prucha 1990:160).
> As a result of this push to “civilize” the American Indian by means of suppressing
> their distinct spiritual practices and traditions American Indian religious freedom
> was outlawed by the government in 1883. The ban was not officially lifted until
> the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978.
> The effects of the influential 1928 Merriam Report nearly a half century later
> gradually led to the demise of the ban on American Indian religion and ritual,
> 
> anticipating the 1934 Wheeler-Howard Act, popularly known as the Indian
> Reorganization Act (Prucha 1990:219–225). Although traditional spiritual
> practices were apparently observed and maintained in secret during the crucial
> transition period from the initial ban in 1883 until after the Merriam Report in
> 1928, a great amount of religious knowledge was lost as the older generations of
> Lakotas passed on and the younger generations were raised in a hybrid milieu in
> which the ever-present and inescapable shadow of colonialism, Christianity, and
> other non-traditional beliefs and values constantly loomed.
> – David Posthumus, Transmitting Sacred Knowledge: Aspects of Historical
> and Contemporary Oglala Lakota Belief and Ritual, Indiana University,
> 2015, pp. 427–428.
> As for the role of the Lakota holy messenger White Buffalo Calf Woman, David
> Posthumus noted:
> Perhaps White Buffalo Woman originally provided the model of not only the
> intermediary but also the method by which religious knowledge is passed on and
> practitioners trained, namely, the master-apprentice model. According to Edward
> Curtis (1908:56–60), White Buffalo Woman instructed Tȟatȟáŋka Nážiŋ
> (Standing Buffalo) on both the Sacred Pipe and the ceremonies, who then
> passed that knowledge down to the next generation. In any case whether the
> original model was provided by the symbol of the Four Winds or White Buffalo
> Woman, the religious concept of the intermediary is ancient, significant, and
> pervasive.
> – p. 125, n. 72.
> As in the previous four BahaiTeachings.org articles, the conversation between authors
> Christopher Buck and Lakota artist Kevin Locke continues:
> Q: Kevin, would you please comment on the above? Do you agree that what is
> “forgotten”—or suppressed, lost, etc.—may be “remembered,” or at least partially
> preserved and restored?
> A: It is accurate to state that most surviving U.S. indigenous peoples, under the
> genocidal government-sponsored campaign of extermination and eradication, were
> forced to succumb to the juggernaut of acculturation and colonization, and were thus
> stripped of their ancestral spiritual heritage.
> So, in a sense, one could definitely say that many were forced to “forget” their own
> spiritual traditions.
> However, many heroic souls went to great extremes to safeguard and keep alive the
> spiritual traditions, dedicated to “never forget”—but instead to fortify and perpetuate the
> sacred ways.
> 
> Despite relentless Euro-American pressure, many of the indigenous languages were
> kept alive and proved to be an impenetrable safeguard to the erasure of spiritual ways
> and knowledge.
> My mom’s [Patricia Locke’s] uncle was selected to be a tradition-bearer by the older
> Lakota generations during the early reservation period. At the same time he was forced
> to attend school. Since school was interfering with his true education, he concocted a
> plan to continue his studies.
> Despite the Reservation’s truancy officers continually chasing him down and escorting
> him to school, he was eventually banned from attending all schools. Not a single
> teacher could be found who would take him.
> He did it by collecting rattlesnakes, toads, slugs, hornet’s nests, spiders, etc. and
> secretly placing them in the teachers’ drawers and closets! He became so expert at this
> that he was quite famous and banned from all schools in the region.
> Because of his determination, he learned, preserved, and taught complete Lakota
> ceremonial knowledge throughout his life, until his passing in the mid-1980s.
> Q: Since sacred Lakota teachings, to varying degrees, may have been lost, what are
> the implications for interfaith relations between the Baha’i and Lakota faith
> communities?
> A: Most Lakota, out of necessity, have become expert syncretists—people comfortably
> able to fuse and unite different cultures and spiritual traditions. It would be wonderful to
> have more involvement between these faith communities on serious topics of discourse!
> Q: Do you agree that Baha’is should recognize and respect indigenous spirituality, as
> part of the Baha’i teachings of the “oneness of religion,” peace among religions, etc.? In
> so doing, what part of Lakota religious tradition is harmonious with Baha’i beliefs and
> practices?
> A: Yes, I agree that Baha’is—and all people—should be cognizant and respectful of the
> spiritual heritage of any land where they reside, and realize that anything good, beautiful
> and sacred in every culture is derived from the same Source.
> Q: Understood. So let’s think about practical steps that everyone, including Baha’is, can
> take in exploring more of the divine echoes that reverberate in the sacred teachings of
> White Buffalo Calf Woman, Deganawida, the Peacemaker, and Baha’u’llah.
> A: The Lakota, Haudenosaunee and Baha’i sacred traditions, each in their own ways
> can, and should, enrich one another. That would be a good thing. This, as I understand
> it, may be one possible meaning of this important statement by Shoghi Effendi, the
> Guardian of the Baha’i Faith, who wrote:
> 
> Therein lies the strength of the unity of the [Baha’i] Faith, of the validity of a
> Revelation that claims not to destroy or belittle previous Revelations, but to
> connect, unify, and fulfill them.
> – Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Baha’u’llah, p. 22.
> As Baha’is, including people of goodwill and compassion everywhere, we all need to do
> what we can to connect, unify and fulfill these beautiful spiritual traditions.
> 
> 30.Sweet Medicine: Cheyenne Messenger of God
> 
> March 5, 2019
> Co-author: Kevin Locke
> 
> To learn more about the indigenous Messengers of God in the Americas,
> BahaiTeachings.org continues Christopher Buck’s interview with Lakota Baha’i, Kevin
> Locke.
> Q: Earlier, Kevin, we talked about the “Ten Commandments” of White Buffalo Calf
> Woman:
> 1. Possess great respect and reverence toward sacred things.
> 2. Live as belonging to one family.
> 3. Be always very faithful to promises.
> 4. Cease hostilities against other nations.
> 5. Administer help to the sick.
> 6. Comfort others in time of sorrow.
> 7. Show kindness toward every living creature on Earth.
> 8. Remember the dead.
> 9. Love your children dearly.
> 10. Above all, lead pure lives.
> – Frances Densmore, “Teton Sioux Music,” Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin,
> Vol. 61 (1918), pp. 65–66. https://archive.org/details/tetonsiouxmusic00lcdens/page/
> n5.
> First, to explain the origins of these spiritual teachers, and their teachings, let’s look at a
> passage from Baha’u’llah:
> It is clear and evident to thee that all the Prophets are the Temples of the Cause
> of God, Who have appeared clothed in divers attire. If thou wilt observe with
> discriminating eyes, thou wilt behold them all abiding in the same tabernacle,
> soaring in the same heaven, seated upon the same throne, uttering the same
> speech, and proclaiming the same Faith. Such is the unity of those Essences of
> being, those Luminaries of infinite and immeasurable splendour.
> 
> – Baha’u’llah, The Book of Certitude, pp. 153–154.
> Q: Kevin, do you agree that, if the teachings of all three of these Messengers of God
> compare favorably, then that’s good evidence that they were sent by the same “Great
> Spirit,” or “Great Being,” God? That White Buffalo Calf Woman, Deganawida, the
> Peacemaker, and Baha’u’llah “are the Temples of the Cause of God,” that all three
> Messengers of God “have appeared clothed in divers (diverse) attire,” are “abiding in
> the same tabernacle,” are “soaring in the same heaven,” are “seated upon the same
> throne,” are “uttering the same speech,” and are “proclaiming the same Faith”?
> I myself have envisioned these three Messengers in conversation!
> A: Of course, I would answer “Yes!” to all these questions. These are the exact same
> questions I asked myself 45 years ago, leading up to becoming a Baha’i.
> I find it fascinating that you have envisioned these Messengers in conversation.
> According to the narratives I’ve heard, the Cheyenne Messenger of God—Sweet
> Medicine—attended a convocation of all the divine Messengers and was bade by the
> Chief of them all (Baha’u’llah?) to sit beside him and receive the message that he was
> to deliver to his people. A book called Sweet Medicine by Peter Powell is on my reading
> list. I wonder if this convocation is recounted there?
> Q: These are among Sweet Medicine’s sacred laws and teachings, as told by Cheyenne
> tribal historian John Stands in Timber, and recorded by anthropologist Margot Liberty, a
> collaborative effort:
> Many centuries ago the prophet and savior Sweet Medicine came to the prairie
> people. Before his birth the people were bad, living without law and killing one
> another. But with his life those things changed. Indians are often called savages,
> and it was true of the Cheyennes at first, but not after Sweet Medicine’s time. …
> “Listen to me carefully, and truthfully follow up my instructions,” Sweet Medicine
> told the chiefs. “You chiefs are peace makers. Though your son might be killed in
> front of your tepee, you should take a peace pipe and smoke. Then you would be
> called an honest chief. You chiefs own the land and the people. If your men, your
> soldier societies, should be scared and retreat, you are not to step back but take
> a stand to protect your land and your people. Get out and talk to the people. If
> strangers come, you are the ones to give presents to them and invitations. When
> you meet someone, or he comes to your tepee asking for anything, give it to him.
> Never refuse. Go outside your tepee and sing your chief song, so all the people
> will know you have done something good.”
> As closely as I can put it, that is what he told them. And the chiefs did keep it in
> their minds. When I was a boy they used to go up on a hill near camp and talk to
> the people about all the laws Sweet Medicine had taught so long ago. There
> were many of them. The Cheyennes were not supposed to marry too young or to
> 
> anyone related to them; they have forgotten that today. They were not to take
> anything by force, from another person, or use it without permission, or to say
> bad things about others, especially the leaders or chiefs. They were to take pride
> in their bodies and the way they appeared, to keep clean and stay healthy. …
> I learned the laws from my grandfather.
> – John Stands In Timber and Margot Liberty, Cheyenne Memories, pp. 27,
> 44–45.
> Kevin, would you comment, please?
> A: It is clear from the above testimony that Sweet Medicine adjured the people to rise
> above their earthly, materialistic tendencies and to set their sights on that which is
> heavenly and eternal—that is, to forego the ephemeral and transitory things of life.
> Surely this guidance is from a heavenly source. Sweet Medicine became the conduit for
> these blessings and guidance that would bring them into alignment with the will of
> Maheo (the Cheyenne word for God) and enable the Cheyenne peoples to prosper in
> this world and the worlds to come.
> Early on, the Cheyenne and Lakota became the closest of allies and sealed their sacred
> bond through the exchange of prayer songs which are used today in remembrance of
> the Divine Beings—Sweet Medicine and White Buffalo Calf Woman, who rescued their
> peoples from starvation and degradation and promised the Day of light and unity that
> would bring them to all abundance and bounty.
> Q: Thanks for introducing me to this divine messenger named Sweet Medicine, Kevin.
> As you know, I have a PhD in the academic study of religion—so that means that I’m
> supposed to know quite a bit about world religions. But I later realized that all of my
> graduate training—for which I am very grateful—taught me virtually nothing about
> indigenous religions in the Americas. That’s one reason why I thank you for expanding
> my consciousness.
> I also taught world religions for several years as a university professor. One of the
> justifications for teaching world religions at state-funded institutions—without running
> afoul of First Amendment restrictions in the U.S. Constitution—is to promote what
> scholars call “spiritual literacy.” Do you agree that people in general, who are interested
> in religion—and Baha’is in particular—would do well to acquaint themselves with the
> indigenous messengers of God that we have so far presented, in furtherance of their
> own “spiritual literacy”?
> A: When one studies the historical record, one finds that virtually all of early European
> chroniclers, including Columbus, testified to the moral superiority of the Indigenous
> people. From whence does that moral compass originate? What is the Source of all
> goodness? Morality? Spirituality? I believe that we are at the dawning edge of a
> 
> collective spiritual coming of age when we can acknowledge and celebrate
> the stupendous heavenly heritage of this side of the planet.
> 
> 31.Recognizing and Respec5ng Indigenous Messengers of God
> 
> April 1, 2019
> Co-author: Kevin Locke
> 
> In this continuing series of articles, we’re learning about the Indigenous Messengers of
> God from the Western Hemisphere—the Prophets who taught native tribal peoples.
> The Baha’i teachings say that all peoples have received guidance from the Creator
> “from time immemorial”:
> … the Manifestations of [God’s] Divine glory and the Day Springs of eternal
> holiness have been sent down from time immemorial, and been commissioned to
> summon mankind to the one true God. That the names of some of them are
> forgotten and the records of their lives lost is to be attributed to the disturbances
> and changes that have overtaken the world.
> – Baha’u’llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, p. 174.
> So what impact did those spiritual Messengers have on native peoples? In the previous
> essay, Kevin Locke said:
> When one studies the historical record, one finds that virtually all of early European
> chroniclers, including Columbus, testified to the moral superiority of the Indigenous
> people. From whence does that moral compass originate? What is the Source of all
> goodness? Morality? Spirituality? I believe that we are at the dawning edge of a
> collective spiritual coming of age when we can acknowledge and celebrate
> the stupendous heavenly heritage of this side of the planet.
> Q: Kevin, this raises a valid point, worth pondering, giving pause for thought. The
> answers to your rhetorical questions are obvious: the Source of goodly ethical and godly
> moral teachings must come from God, the Great Spirit, or the Great Being,
> as Baha’u’llah wrote:
> Men at all times and under all conditions stand in need of one to exhort them,
> guide them and to instruct and teach them. Therefore He hath sent forth His
> Messengers, His Prophets and chosen ones that they might acquaint the people
> with the divine purpose underlying the revelation of Books and the raising up of
> Messengers, and that everyone may become aware of the trust of God which is
> latent in the reality of every soul.
> – Baha’u’llah, Tablets of Baha’u’llah, p. 161.
> 
> Here, “at all times and under all conditions” sounds quite universal! The specific
> teachings of any Messenger of God also contain universal precepts and principles. Do
> you agree?
> A: Yes, of course I agree. In fact, I think the following call for recognition of the
> Indigenous Messengers of God has great importance:
> Acknowledgement of the myriad of Messengers of the Creator, the Great
> Mystery, to the peoples of the Western Hemisphere. – “Declaration of Vision:
> Toward The Next 500 Years.” Turtle Quarterly (Fall/Winter 1994), p. 8. (Presented
> at the 1993 Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago.) http://
> ili.nativeweb.org/dovision.html
> Q: In this “Indigenous Messengers of God” series, we have presented several
> Messengers for the benefit of a wider audience. Our readers may wonder why, given
> the fact that BahaiTeachings.org primarily presents information on the Baha’i Faith,
> which recognizes a number of Messengers of God as part of the world’s religious
> history and the world’s social and spiritual evolution—Krishna, Abraham, the Buddha,
> Moses, Zoroaster, Jesus Christ, Muhammad, the Bab, and Baha’u’llah.
> Kevin, could you please comment on the purpose of our featuring several Indigenous
> Messengers of God, such as Deganawida, the Peacemaker (Haudenosaunee/Iroquois),
> White Buffalo Calf Woman (Lakota), Sweet Medicine (Cheyenne), Quetzalcoatl (Toltec/
> Maya), and Viracocha (Inca), in this “Indigenous Messengers of God” series?
> A: This quote by President John F. Kennedy is probably more true now than ever:
> For a subject worked and reworked so often in novels, motion pictures, and
> television, American Indians remain probably the least understood and most
> misunderstood Americans of us all.
> – President John F. Kennedy, quoted in Alvin M. Josephy, editor, The
> American Heritage Book of Indians, p. 7.
> President Kennedy’s insightful comment serves as an entry point for the need to
> increase our collective understanding of Indigenous American spirituality. This “spiritual
> literacy” can best be gained through recognition and understanding of the Messengers
> of God who appeared and guided the Indigenous peoples of this land.
> Q: So where do we go from here? Do we all now have a golden opportunity to
> recognize and respect the Indigenous Messengers, including their teachings, the
> universal values they represent, and their practices in Indigenous community life today?
> What good outcomes can come of this? Why is this subject significant and important?
> What potential results can be realized? What do you envision, especially based on key
> Baha’i texts?
> 
> A: The fulfillment of this oft-quoted Prophetic promise from Abdu’l-Baha makes the
> enlightenment of the whole world contingent on the quality of Indigenous responses to
> the Baha’i revelation:
> Attach great importance to the indigenous population of America. … these
> Indians, should they be educated and guided, there can be no doubt that they will
> become so illumined as to enlighten the whole world.
> – Abdu’l-Baha, Tablets of the Divine Plan, p. 33.
> For me, this remarkable quote raises a fundamental question of paramount importance:
> What is it that uniquely distinguishes “these Indians” that they should have such a
> special promise assigned to them? In addition to centuries of unparalleled persecution,
> suffering and genocide, the Indigenous peoples of this hemisphere have been
> bequeathed with a rich spiritual heritage, through a host of divine Messengers of God,
> who, long ago, planted precious seeds of faith that will blossom and effloresce in the
> light of this new day.
> Q: How do you see this happening? If you had a crystal ball and could see into the
> future, what would your vision of the fulfillment of Abdu’l-Baha’s prophecy be?
> A: Other than to say that it will be unspeakably glorious, I cannot discern the future or
> even venture to guess what it might be. From my perspective, one way to realize that
> glorious future is through a rapid expansion of the Baha’i institute process. For the most
> part, the Indigenous peoples are the only rural-based populations left in the Western
> Hemisphere, and souls will need to be raised up and trained to reach out from their
> urban enclaves to meet the challenges of rural communities—especially the next
> generations, the children and youth.
> Q: How can the Baha’i institute process help promote spiritual and social development
> and well-being within Indigenous communities? Can you give an example from your
> personal experience? What about Baha’i initiatives in working with children and youth
> as well?
> A: Sure—here’s a brief description of that institute process:
> It [the training institute] strives to engage the individual in an educational process
> in which virtuous conduct and self-discipline are developed in the context of
> service, fostering a coherent and joyful pattern of life that weaves together study,
> worship, teaching, community building and, in general, involvement in other
> processes that seek to transform society. At the heart of the educational process
> is contact with the Word of God, whose power sustains every individual’s
> attempts to purify his or her heart and to walk a path of service with “the feet of
> detachment”.
> – The Universal House of Justice to a National Spiritual Assembly,
> 19 April 2013.
> 
> For me, this process is all about individual, community and societal spiritualization and
> transformation. Interestingly, the Indigenous Ngöbe-Buglé (Guaymi) people of Panama
> are perhaps the most notable exemplars of the progress and results of this institute
> process, which has helped them grow and develop rapidly and sustainably.
> Q: Interesting—and inspiring! So how do we get from here to there? After recognizing
> and respecting the spiritual heritage and legacy bequeathed by the “myriad of
> Messengers of the Creator, the Great Mystery, to the peoples of the Western
> Hemisphere,” what next?
> A: Perhaps we will begin to recognize those “myriad of Messengers of God,” for their
> intrinsic worth—and will enhance the awareness that we, as their spiritual descendants,
> have special obligations and duties to fulfill in this hemisphere.
> 
> 32.Quetzalcoatl and Indigenous Spiritual Truth
> 
> April 8, 2019
> 
> Let’s revisit the case of Quetzalcoatl, known as the “Plumed Serpent,” the spiritual
> Messenger who taught the Toltec and Mayan peoples in what is now Mexico.
> One Baha’i writer and scholar includes Quetzalcoatl in his list of potential Indigenous
> Messengers:
> Native American Baha’is are confident that their cultures received divine
> guidance—the Baha’i texts assure us that all people have—and speculate
> whether Deganawidah, the White Buffalo Calf Woman, Quetzalcoatl, Wiracocha
> and other spiritual teachers were Manifestations [of God] or Prophetic figures.
> – Robert H. Stockman, The Baha’i Faith: A Guide For The Perplexed, p.
> 38.
> The Baha’i teachings clearly say that God leaves no civilization bereft of spiritual
> guidance, that the Creator sends humanity a divine Messenger “in every age and
> cycle”—so what’s the evidence for Quetzalcoatl being one of those divine
> Messengers? Abdu’l-Baha gave us the criteria:
> … the proofs of the validity and inspiration of a Prophet of God are the deeds of
> beneficent accomplishment and greatness emanating from Him. If He proves to
> be instrumental in the elevation and betterment of mankind, He is undoubtedly a
> valid and heavenly Messenger.
> – Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 366.
> The significance of Quetzalcoatl’s contributions to civilization demonstrates that divine
> guidance was, and is, universal in nature and scope. Indigenous spiritual traditions, in
> their finest forms, can—and arguably should—be recognized and respected as God-
> inspired not only by Baha’is, but by all spiritually minded and open-minded people.
> The historical “Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl”—which means “Our Young Prince, the Feathered
> Serpent”—was known in Toltec, Mayan and Aztec culture as the son of the great god
> Quetzalcoatl, their creator and fertility deity. Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl founded and ruled the
> ancient city of Tollan Xicotitlan (also known as Tula), capital of the Toltec empire
> between 900–1100 CE in Mexico, near the present-day city of Tula de Allende.
> In his definitive survey of the various traditions surrounding Quetzalcoatl—Topiltzin
> Quetzalcoatl: The Once and Future Lord of the Toltecs—Henry B. Nicholson, professor
> 
> emeritus of anthropology at UCLA and acclaimed as America’s greatest scholar of the
> Aztec civilization, we learn the following facts regarding the life of Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl:
> (1) Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl was conceivably a genuine historical figure prominently
> involved with an early stage of Toltec history; (2) if so, he later seems to have
> become blended and, occasionally, to some extent confused with certain
> supernatural personalities, particularly an ancient fertility/rain/wind/creator deity,
> Ehecatl Quetzalcoatl; (3) possibly the son of an important early conqueror,
> Mixcoatl/Totepeuh, he assumed the secular and sacerdotal leadership of a
> vigorous group of Nahua-speakers established at Tollan; (4) while in power, he
> appears to have introduced or presided over the introduction of significant
> cultural innovations, especially in the religious sphere but also in other aspects of
> the culture; (5) due to circumstances that are obscure but which may have
> primarily involved opposition to his religious doctrines, a conflict developed in
> Tollan to such proportions that Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl was forced to leave,
> probably with a sizable number of followers; (6) heading generally in a
> southeastward direction, with a possible stopover in Cholollan, he reached the
> Gulf Coast and either moved further eastward, disappeared, or died; (7) the
> suggestion that “the” Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl of Tollan actually led a group into
> northern Yucatan and established a new political capital there, Chichen Itza, has
> often been made and is certainly conceivable, although an alternative hypothesis
> invoking different leaders bearing the names Kukulcan, Quetzalcoatl, Nacxit, etc.,
> as titles seems more likely; (8) in addition to his religious role, which is stressed
> in the sources from both Central Mexico and northern Yucatan, Topiltzin
> Quetzalcoatl appears also to have functioned importantly as a political leader/
> consolidator and was best remembered by the Toltec-connected dynasts of
> Highland Guatemala as the dispenser of all valid political authority; (9) the
> evidence for a widespread belief in his eventual return to reclaim his power,
> which might have significantly influenced Motecuhzoma II of Mexico Tenochtitlan
> —who apparently was considered to be the direct dynastic successor of Topiltzin
> Quetzalcoatl—during his initial dealings with Cortés, is quite strong.
> – p. 291.
> More importantly, Quetzalcoatl abolished the long-standing religious practice of human
> sacrifice, and instead taught “sacrificing only serpents, birds, and butterflies” (p. 46)—or,
> in another account, “quail, butterflies, snakes, and large grasshoppers ” (p. 10). This
> great and notable achievement distinguishes Quetzalcoatl as a spiritual leader, although
> the abhorrent practice was reinstituted after his death. Quetzalcoatl was opposed by the
> “demons” or “sorcerers” (tlatlacatecollo, “man-owls”), who repeatedly tried, through
> deception and coercion, to persuade Quetzalcoatl to sacrifice human beings (p. 42).
> 
> The figure of the historical Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl looms large in the national
> consciousness of Mexico. In Quetzalcoatl and the Irony of Empire: Myths and
> Prophecies in the Aztec Tradition, author David Carrasco similarly concluded:
> Quetzalcoatl is usually portrayed as a ’sacred human being,’ by which we mean
> that his life manifests the presence, again and again, of divine and celestial
> forces and appearances which determine and drive his destiny toward an
> archetypal model.
> – p. 79.
> Carrasco also concluded that:
> Quetzalcoatl inaugurated a golden age of ancient Mexican civilization. Of the
> greatness and prestige of Quetzalcoatl, it has been said: “Truly with him it began
> —truly from him it flowed out, All Art and Knowledge.
> – Ibid., p. 85.
> Nicholson also noted the well-known prophecy that Quetzalcoatl would one day return,
> another significant indication that his people considered him a divine Messenger.
> In fact, so strong was the Indigenous belief in Quetzalcoatl’s return that the Spanish
> conquistador, Hernán Cortés, was tragically mistaken by Motecuhzoma II as the return
> of Quetzalcoatl, when they first met on November 8, 1519 in Tenochtitlán, ancient
> capital of the Aztec empire, as Professor Nicholson points out:
> … he [Quetzalcoatl] was still expected even then. When the Spaniards arrived, it
> was believed that it was he returning. The Zapotec revolt of 1550 was caused by
> a report that their god, “che haveva da redimerli,” had appeared. It is then
> pointed out that Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl was born on the sign One Cane (Acatl)
> and that the year of the Spanish arrival commenced on that sign—from which the
> belief arose that the latter were their gods, since TQ [Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl] had
> prophesied that a bearded nation would come to subject them.
> – Henry B. Nicholson, Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl: The Once and Future Lord of
> the Toltecs, p. 65.
> This belief that Cortés was the return of Quetzalcoatl had disastrous consequences, for
> Cortés conquered the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan on August 13, 1521. So why should
> anyone continue to believe in the return of Quetzalcoatl?
> The belief that Baha’u’llah was the return of Quetzalcoatl was popularized in 1971 by
> Tony Shearer, author of Lord of the Dawn: Quetzalcoatl and the Tree of Life, and then
> again in 1974 by Vinson Brown, author of Voices of Earth and Sky: The Vision Life of
> the Native Americans and Their Culture Heroes (illustrated by Tony Shearer). But for
> Baha’u’llah to be identified as the return of Quetzalcoatl, the mission counts most, not
> the person. Quetzalcoatl is further proof of Indigenous spiritual truth—as is Baha’u’llah’s
> 
> new revelation, which has already begun to rejuvenate and revivify the Indigenous
> populations and First Nations peoples throughout the Americas.
> 
> 33.Australian Aboriginal Iden5ty and the Baha’i Faith
> 
> April 15, 2019
> 
> In 2017, a research article in the journal Nature showed that Aboriginals, the Indigenous
> peoples of Australia, have inhabited the continent for at least 65,000 years:
> The settlement of Madjedbebe around 65ka … sets a new minimum age for the
> human colonization of Australia and the dispersal of modern humans out of Africa
> and across south Asia.
> – Chris Clarkson et al., “Human occupation of northern Australia by 65,000
> years ago,” Nature, Volume 547, 20 July 2017, p. 310.
> This new evidence, found at an ancient rock shelter in Kakadu National Park, means
> that Australian Aboriginal culture and spiritual traditions have been around for a very
> long time—perhaps the longest unbroken cultural heritage on Earth.
> The Baha’i teachings emphasize the spiritual capacity of native peoples in bringing
> together all peoples:
> Exert yourselves with heart and soul so that, perchance, through your efforts the
> light of universal peace may shine and this darkness of estrangement and enmity
> may be dispelled from amongst men, that all men may become as one family and
> consort together in love and kindness, that the East may assist the West and the
> West give help to the East, for all are the inhabitants of one planet, the people of
> one original native land and the flocks of one Shepherd.
> – Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 469.
> So what can happen when Baha’is and Aboriginals encounter each other? The result
> might surprise you. Let me introduce Australian Aboriginal Baha’i Henry James “Banjo”
> Clarke, who wrote firsthand about the first time he met Baha’is:
> I am still Aboriginal and always will be, that’s the main thing I always try to put
> across. I still have my Aboriginal identity. … Years of being a Baha’i has helped
> me a lot. … I think that if Aboriginals studied the Baha’i Faith they’d come back to
> their real selves again, because the Baha’i Faith is so like the Aboriginal way of
> life. The Baha’i writings say that in the future humankind will be so sensitive that
> no one anywhere in the world will be able to sit down to a meal if they know that
> somewhere in the world a person is starving. Aboriginal feelings are like those
> writings. We feel united with everyone.
> 
> – Banjo Clarke, as told to Camilla Chance, Wisdom Man, pp. 214, 216.
> After a lifetime of enduring painful prejudice at the hands of white Australians, you can
> imagine Banjo Clarke’s surprise when he first encountered the Baha’is:
> Then that day came. In July 1975 the biggest change of my life happened when I
> encountered the Baha’i religion. A small group of Baha’i people visited us
> Aboriginals at the Framlingham Mission. … One of the Baha’is I’ve met that day,
> Camilla, became my closest friend from that day on.
> Very soon afterwards I was in Warrnambool Base Hospital. I get pneumonia
> regularly because I worked in the bluestone quarry—I think its proper name is
> basalt—for years and years. Another couple of Aboriginals, Lloyd and Albert,
> were in my hospital room too. While we were there, people got to speak with us
> who had never talked with Aboriginals before. And Camilla brought her little
> children to visit us, and sat with us giving her presence. …
> And Camilla’s little girl Ruth came to see us too and played her ukulele, and the
> staff thought that was great—they used to stand around and watch her play.
> Things like music, which the hospital people hadn’t thought of before, draw
> people together. There is no question of black or white—a child was singing to
> make us better, make us feel well. …
> It was something different, meeting these Baha’i people. They didn’t say much,
> but felt deeply. You was treated as more than equal. You was treated as
> somebody special—special because you was Aboriginal. We’d never heard them
> sort of words before. All we’d heard was that Aboriginals were no good. Yet here I
> was, listening to this little girl saying, “You’re special because you’re Aboriginal.
> You’ve got a beautiful culture.” And I thought, What more could anyone want,
> when a little girl like that’s speaking?
> – Ibid., pp. 2–3.
> Banjo Clarke further recalled:
> Life is never easy for Aboriginals fighting for their survival and their integrity. But
> then we met the Baha’i people what [who] respected us for trying. …
> These people seemed to understand Aboriginal principles, but they didn’t know
> what I realized—that their principles was the same as Aboriginal ones! They were
> as close as they could be. …
> A lot more Aboriginals joined the [Baha’i] faith like me, and I never looked back
> since. Joining the faith has strengthened me and helped me face the struggles of
> modern life which Aboriginals find themselves in.
> – Ibid., pp. 180–182.
> 
> Watch a video of Banjo Clarke here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB5c9ZrDKF8
> So what about the Aboriginal spiritual traditions? These, like most tribal cultures, vary by
> region:
> Within European popular writing about Aboriginal mythology it has been common
> for one theme or another to dominate more complex representations of
> Indigenous cultural practice. This role has been played by concepts derived
> originally from specific cultural localities: the Dreaming or Alcheringa from central
> Australia, the Rainbow Serpent from the north, and … the south-eastern All-
> Fathers: Baiame in New South Wales, Bunjil in Victoria, and Nurrundere in South
> Australia. Other concepts, such as “The Land, Our Mother” or the nameless
> “Great Spirit” invoked by David Unaipon, have a more diffuse origin.
> – Hilary M. Carey, “‘The Land of Byamee’: K. Langloh Parker, David
> Unaipon, and Popular Aboriginality in the Assimilation Era,” Journal of
> Religious History, Volume 22, No. 2, June 1998, pp. 202–203.
> Of these Aboriginal sacred traditions, “Bunjil in Victoria” may have been the Indigenous
> tradition most familiar to Banjo Clarke, who was born on the Framlingham Mission (or
> Aboriginal Station), near Warrnambool in South-Western Victoria, Australia. The
> Framlingham Mission was established in Girai wurrung territory bordering
> the Gunditjmara/Gurndidy/Dhaurwurd-Wurrung people—the Indigenous Australians of
> the Kulin nation. Banjo Clarke confirmed this heritage:
> My grandfather Frank, who survived the massacre, was born into the Killitmurer
> Gunditj—or Framlingham—clan of the Kirrae Whurrong tribe. His tribal name is
> secret. Kirrae Whurrong means “blood speech,” but our people were also
> sometimes known as Wirngill Gnatt Tallingannong or “koala language speakers.”
> – Banjo Clarke, as told to Camilla Chance, Wisdom Man, Chapter 4.
> One Aboriginal narrative from that sacred tradition recounts a sacred origin story about
> Bunjil, the eaglehawk man, the creator who shaped the land, who fashioned bark
> carvings of people into which he then breathed life, who gave his people weapons for
> hunting and digging sticks for gathering food:
> Many years ago this land that we now call Melbourne extended right out to the
> ocean. Port Phillip Bay was then a large flat plain where Boon Wurrung hunted
> kangaroos and cultivated their yam daisy.
> But one day there came a time of chaos and crises. The Boon Wurrung and the
> other Kulin nations were in conflict. They argued and fought. They neglected their
> children. They neglected their land. The native yam was neglected. The animals
> were killed but not always eaten. The fish were caught during their spawning
> season. As this chaos grew the sea became angry and began to rise until it
> covered their plain and threatened to flood the whole of their country.
> 
> The people went to Bunjil, their creator and spiritual leader. They asked Bunjil to
> stop the sea from rising. Bunjil told his people that they would have to change
> their ways if they wanted to save their land. The people thought about what they
> had been doing and made a promise to follow Bunjil. Bunjil walked out to the sea,
> raised his spear and directed the sea to stop rising. Bunjil then made the Boon
> Wurrung promise that they would respect the laws.
> The place the Kulin then chose to meet as a means of resolving these
> differences is where … Parliament is now located. [Victoria] The Kulin nations
> met here regularly for many thousands of years. They debated issues of great
> importance to the nation; they celebrated, they danced. …
> Today Melbourne is the great multicultural city of the world and this special place
> continues to carry forward the spirit of our tradition. This land will always be
> protected by the creator, Bunjil, who travels as an eagle, and by Waarn, who
> protects the waterways and travels as a crow. Bunjil taught the Boon Wurrung to
> always welcome guests, but he always required the Boon Wurrung to ask all
> visitors to make two promises: to obey the laws of Bunjil and not to harm the
> children or the land of Bunjil.
> As the spirit of my ancestors lives, let the wisdom and the spirit of generosity
> which Bunjil taught us influence the decisions made in this meeting place.
> – Boon Wurrung elder Carolyn Briggs, “Boon Wurrung Story,” told at a
> special Reconciliation Assembly of the Parliament of Victoria, 31 May
> 2000, during National Reconciliation Week. http://
> www.yarrahealing.catholic.edu.au/stories-voices/index.cfm?loadref=87
> Are there any prophecies regarding the return of Bunjil, the Aboriginal Messenger? We’ll
> explore that question in the next essay in this series, and learn why Banjo Clarke, the
> “Wisdom Man,” would agree that the teachings of Baha’u’llah profoundly resound with
> Bunjil’s laws, and that those teachings represent a true return.
> 
> 34.Bunjil the Aboriginal Deity and Why You Should Learn More About
> Him
> 
> April 21, 2019
> 
> On the wings of the royal Falcon, I caught a glimpse of the Aboriginal Eagle—and I
> beheld the relationship of those two great birds. Let me tell you what I saw.
> In the previous essay in this series, we met Banjo Clarke—an Australian Aboriginal
> elder—and his autobiography, Wisdom Man, dedicated “To the future of my people.”
> We also learned about “Bunjil,” the creator deity of Banjo Clarke’s sacred Aboriginal
> tradition. Bunjil, known as a sky-being, is similar to other Aboriginal spiritual Messengers
> Daramulan and Baiame. Bunjil is a common Aboriginal title of respect for the wise,
> which may be freely rendered as “Elder.” Thus Banjo Clarke can also be understood as
> Bunjil or Elder Clarke.
> Personally, though, I claim absolutely no expertise on Australian Aboriginal sacred
> traditions. I am an outsider, looking in. That said, I have gotten a glimpse of the great
> beauty of those traditions and their relationship to the radiance of the Baha’i teachings,
> so I hope this essay will inspire Aboriginal people and others to explore any and all
> connections, resonances, harmonics as well as differences between Aboriginal
> spirituality and Baha’i beliefs. Like all of the world’s true Faiths and belief systems, they
> are connected—they each encourage us to soar in “the unbounded realm:”
> The mass of the people are occupied with self and worldly desire, are immersed
> in the ocean of the nether world and are captives of the world of nature, save
> those souls who have been freed from the chains and fetters of the material
> world and, like unto swift-flying birds, are soaring in this unbounded realm. They
> are awake and vigilant, they shun the obscurity of the world of nature, their
> highest wish centereth on the eradication from among men of the struggle for
> existence, the shining forth of the spirituality and the love of the realm on high,
> the exercise of utmost kindness among peoples, the realization of an intimate
> and close connection between religions and the practice of the ideal of self-
> sacrifice. Then will the world of humanity be transformed into the Kingdom of
> God.
> – Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, pp. 281-282.
> If you visit the Aboriginal Cultural Center of the Melbourne Museum in Carlton, Victoria,
> Australia, you’ll meet Bunjil at an exhibit called “Bunjil the eagle is our creator” a video
> 
> of an installation that features the “Flight of Bunjil”—a “kinetic sculpture”: https://
> museumsvictoria.com.au/article/bunjils-wings. This fascinating exhibit demonstrates
> how the sacred figure of Bunjil the eagle—symbolizing all sacred Aboriginal wisdom and
> knowledge—now inhabits, or enchants, the popular culture of Australia, as the several
> graphics displayed here demonstrate:
> https://www.veniceclayartists.com/flight-of-bunjil.
> To a certain extent, this represents the growing appreciation for all things Indigenous in
> Australia. Given this recognition of sacred Aboriginal tradition by way of an educational,
> contemporary museum cultural exhibit, it is neither far-fetched, nor a stretch of the
> imagination, for us to appreciate what this sacred tradition has to offer—as well to
> acknowledge and respect the many resonances between Bunjil and Baha’u’llah.
> Consider the following passage from the Baha’i teachings:
> The Great Being saith: The Tongue of Wisdom proclaimeth: He that hath Me not
> is bereft of all things. Turn ye away from all that is on earth and seek none else
> but Me. I am the Sun of Wisdom and the Ocean of Knowledge. I cheer the faint
> and revive the dead. I am the guiding Light that illumineth the way. I am the
> royal Falcon on the arm of the Almighty. I unfold the drooping wings of every
> broken bird and start it on its flight.
> – Baha’u’llah, Tablets of Baha’u’llah, p. 169.
> Here, Baha’u’llah is symbolized by the royal Falcon, the noble, soaring spirit of the age.
> In a very similar way, Bunjil becomes the ancestral wedge-tailed eagle. Sacred
> Aboriginal traditions about Bunjil, the Creator, provide meaning, spiritual identity and a
> moral compass for the Aboriginal peoples of southeastern Australia. Local Aboriginals
> attribute the invention of their arts and crafts and institution of their social organization to
> Bunjil, who is more often spoken of, and invoked, as “Our Father.”
> If you want to view an original depiction, go to Bunjil’s Shelter, formerly known as
> “Bunjil’s Cave,” in the Black Range Scenic Reserve, near Stawell, in Victoria, Australia.
> In late 1981, the Aboriginal origin of the site was scientifically established by scanning
> electron microscopy analysis. This sacred site features Aboriginal rock art, with a red-
> and-white painting of Bunjil, the “Eaglehawk,” depicted in a human form rather than as a
> bird of prey. This is the only ancient rock-art painting of Bunjil now known.
> Then, listen with your heart to this sacred song, an Aboriginal dirge said to be inspired
> by Bunjil:
> 
> Wenberi’s Song
> 
> We go all!
> The bones of all
> Are shining white.
> In this Dulur land!
> The rushing noise
> Of Bunjil, Our Father,
> Sings in my breast.
> This breast of mine
> 
> It is said that the spirit of Bunjil enters the heart of the singer who performs this sacred
> song. Bunjil, then, represents wisdom and knowledge, just as every divine Prophet and
> Messenger does:
> Bunjil was the sky-being for the Kulin nation and the Wotjobaluk in Western
> Victoria. Bunjil meant eagle-hawk and was considered an old, benign father of all
> the people, who had two wives and a son by the name of Binbeal, who was the
> rainbow. He lived on earth but moved to the sky in a whirlwind where he has
> been ever since, watching the Kulin. … He was the creator of the earth, trees,
> and men, and his name stood for wisdom or knowledge. Before he went to live in
> the sky, Bunjil taught men the use of nets, canoes, and weapons. This emerging
> differentiation between the human and the environment and the objectification of
> order in the human alone is also typical of sky-beings in other districts of South-
> East Australia.
> – Hans Mol, The Firm and the Formless: Religion and Identity in Aboriginal
> Australia, pp. 18–19.
> Of course, when we learn about these sacred spiritual traditions, we have to distinguish
> between respect and belief. Aboriginal sacred traditions should be respected, even
> honored, but not necessarily believed, disbelieved or culturally appropriated, since they
> were meant for a particular Indigenous group at a particular time. Given that
> understanding, which the Baha’i teachings clarify, we can each discover, recognize and
> respect the wisdom and beauty in every spiritual tradition, and thereby realize their
> interconnected oneness:
> From the days of Adam until today, the religions of God have been made
> manifest, one following the other, and each one of them fulfilled its due function,
> revived mankind, and provided education and enlightenment. They freed the
> people from the darkness of the world of nature and ushered them into the
> brightness of the Kingdom. As each succeeding Faith and Law became revealed
> it remained for some centuries a richly fruitful tree and to it was committed the
> happiness of humankind.
> – Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, p. 51.
> 
> 35.What Does the Aboriginal Rainbow Serpent Symbolize?
> 
> April 28, 2019
> 
> If you live in Australia today, or visit that wonderful continent anytime soon, you’ll
> probably see a rainbow serpent—not a real serpent, but a universal symbol.
> You’ll undoubtedly notice artwork, window stickers and even music festivals that depict
> the Rainbow Serpent—an Aboriginal representation of the Creator. How did that ancient
> symbol become so widespread there, and what does it mean?
> One Aboriginal Baha’i named Philip (Guburu) Obah, an elder of the Wadja people of
> North Queensland, recently re-published a book entitled, The Baha’i Faith: An
> Australian Aboriginal Perspective (2002/2017). Previously, in a Gallup interview, Mr.
> Obah explained the “Rainbow Serpent”:
> Everything has a spirit to the aborigines who believe the air, rocks, trees,
> language, law and culture and art all come from the Creator.
> The aborigines believe that a rainbow serpent was God’s Messenger, teaching
> moral and spiritual laws. Obah said these laws also helped the aborigines adapt
> to harsh Australian environments. However, Christian missionaries in Australia
> saw it differently.
> “In the Bible the serpent was evil because it tempted Adam and Eve,” Obah said.
> “They thought the aborigines were worshipping the devil.”
> “God appeared to Moses as a burning bush,” Obah said. “If God could appear to
> Moses as a burning bush, surely he could appear to us as a rainbow serpent.”
> Obah also addressed the aboriginal oral tradition, which is often seen as being
> inferior to a written tradition. He argues that just because it’s not written in the
> Bible doesn’t mean it never existed.
> – Heather Armstrong, “Aborigine man bridges gap between cultures,
> religions,” 2001. http://bahai-library.com/newspapers/2001/062901.html
> So who, or what, is the “Rainbow Serpent?” Traditions associated with the Rainbow
> Spirit are said to be the longest continuous mythological tradition in the world. In 1987,
> three archaeologist/anthropologists summed up the importance of the Rainbow Serpent
> this way:
> 
> Today, the Rainbow Serpent enjoys renewed popularity as a uniting symbol for
> Aboriginal people … It is also popular for non-Aboriginal people as a dramatic
> subject in bark or paper paintings or as a powerful symbol for those following
> New Age philosophies.
> – Paul S. C. Taçon, Meredith Wilson and Christopher Chippindale, “Birth of
> the Rainbow Serpent in Arnhem Land Rock Art and Oral
> History,” Archaeology in Oceania, Volume 31, No. 3, October, 1996, p.
> 103.
> A complex welter of myths and stories are associated with the Rainbow Serpent, which
> vary greatly, depending on tradition and locality. They represent a message of unity and
> peace to Aboriginals and, in a wider sense, in Australian popular culture today. The
> Rainbow Serpent has taken on a powerful symbolism that represents not only an
> ancient belief but a present-day worldview—that like the multiple colors of the rainbow,
> we are united. The Baha’i teachings explain the symbol of a rainbow in a very similar
> way:
> Regarding the rainbow, this rainbow is the Covenant of God and the Testament
> of the Merciful One. The lights of the Kingdom and the heavenly illumination
> emanated from this rainbow. This rainbow is the sign of the removal of the wrath
> of God from all the people and the sign of prosperity, tranquillity, universal peace,
> the oneness of humanity, and the unity of the world of man.
> – Abdu’l-Baha, from a tablet translated in about 1907, Star of the West,
> Volume 5, p. 226.
> With the spiritual symbol of the Rainbow Serpent, the Aboriginal God of creation has, in
> a sense, been re-created. After surveying and analyzing 107 rock paintings depicting
> the Rainbow Serpent in a wide variety of images, the authors concluded as follows,
> regarding the unifying power and significance of the Rainbow Serpent among
> Aboriginals today:
> The Rainbow Serpent has been used to define the nature of human existence for
> at least 4000–6000 years; it has become a symbol of the creative and destructive
> power of nature. … Both Lewis (1988) and Taylor (1990) have shown how the
> Rainbow Serpent image acts to bring together and unite neighbouring or more
> diverse groups of Aboriginal people by emphasising their common origins,
> shared heritage, and there being an aspect of rainbowness in all of us. Restricted
> ceremonies like Kunabibi reaffirm this. So do the [Aboriginal] creation stories
> themselves. In this sense, the Rainbow Serpent can be considered a symbol of
> integration and, ultimately, peace. … Perhaps the Rainbow Serpent emerged not
> only to define and describe the nature of a changing universe, along with the
> position of humans within it, but also to bring people together, to unite them
> behind a shared symbol, experience and common cause. The fact that rock art
> 
> depictions of Rainbow Serpents are found at hundreds of prominent, accessible
> locations near or at camp sites throughout Arnhem Land [the five regions of the
> Northern Territory of Australia] reinforces this interpretation. Its presence there
> would have acted as a constant reminder of similarity between humans, rather
> than difference, as well as of intimate relationship to particular landscapes and
> other creatures.
> –Paul S. C. Taçon, Meredith Wilson and Christopher Chippindale, “Birth of
> the Rainbow Serpent in Arnhem Land Rock Art and Oral History,”
> Archaeology in Oceania, Volume 31, No. 3, October, 1996.
> The Rainbow Serpent represents an Aboriginal perspective on the divine spirit and
> creative power manifest in all creation. So pervasive is the Rainbow Serpent in
> Aboriginal tradition, that respecting and honoring what their tradition represents is an
> important bridge between all things Aboriginal and the Baha’i Faith. As Banjo Clarke
> explained:
> I think that if Aboriginals studied the Baha’i Faith they’d come back to their real
> selves again, because the Baha’i Faith is so like the Aboriginal way of life. The
> Baha’i writings say that in the future humankind will be so sensitive that no one
> anywhere in the world will be able to sit down to a meal if they know that
> somewhere in the world a person is starving. Aboriginal feelings are like those
> writings. We feel united with everyone. Sometimes we get terrible feelings
> because we know something terribly bad is happening. And we start to cry as if
> somebody was telling us—but nobody is telling us. We can feel it. Aboriginals
> can’t explain them things, and it’s frightening too. You don’t know if it’s going to
> be yourself or somebody close to you, so you wait patiently for the message. The
> warning makes you able to bear it.
> It’s still like that. White people have got these things, but a lot of them don’t care
> for these things any more. But these feelings inside of them will govern them in
> the future. Like in the Baha’i writings.
> – Banjo Clarke, Wisdom Man, pp. 214, 216–217.
> Rather than being an Indigenous Messenger of God, the Rainbow Serpent may instead
> represent a Indigenous message from God. A rainbow, by its very nature, is a spectrum
> of colors, displayed in splendid array across the sky after a cleansing and refreshing
> rain shower.
> In this way, the Rainbow Serpent represents not only Aboriginals, but also peoples of all
> hues, tints and tones of skin—and what lies within their hearts and souls—throughout
> the world today. The Baha’i Faith, in that sense, can be said to be harmonious with the
> spirit and power of the Aboriginal—and original—Rainbow Serpent.
> 
> 36.Aboriginal and Baha’i: Merging Tradi5onal and New
> 
> May 5, 2019
> 
> Aboriginal religious traditions are “geosophical” or Earth-centered, say the scholars,
> rather than “theosophical” or God-centered.
> But regardless of the origins of those belief systems, Aboriginal “Dreaming”—the
> concept of seeing the timeless and eternal in many Aboriginal religions—has much to
> teach the rest of the world, especially in this time of human-induced environmental
> crises.
> Traditionally, Australian Aboriginal religions have not been strictly monotheistic, although
> the tendency today is in that direction. Instead, their geosophical beliefs, sometimes
> called animism, “bring alive” the entire creation, and deepen our respect and
> appreciation for nature.
> At least one statement from the Baha’i teachings appears to recognize an element of
> truth in animism: “The earth has its inhabitants, the water and the air contain many living
> beings and all the elements have their nature spirits.” – Abdu’l-Baha, Divine Philosophy,
> p. 114.
> Baha’is believe that nature, taken as a whole, can also be said to embody spirit:
> Nature in its essence is the embodiment of My Name, the Maker, the Creator. Its
> manifestations are diversified by varying causes, and in this diversity there are
> signs for men of discernment. Nature is God’s Will and is its expression in and
> through the contingent world. It is a dispensation of Providence ordained by the
> Ordainer, the All-Wise. Were anyone to affirm that it is the Will of God as
> manifested in the world of being, no one should question this assertion. It is
> endowed with a power whose reality men of learning fail to grasp. Indeed a man
> of insight can perceive naught therein save the effulgent splendor of Our Name,
> the Creator.
> – Baha’u’llah, Tablets of Baha’u’llah, p. 142.
> If nature is “endowed with a power whose reality men of learning fail to grasp,” and if “all
> the elements have their nature spirits,” then working with Aboriginal and Indigenous
> peoples—those who are closest to nature—may help us all prevent the foreseeable and
> yet devastating effects of climate change.
> 
> But does this require a dual religious identity? Can a contemporary, Indigenous/
> Aboriginal person adopt a new Faith while still adhering to some of the nature-centered
> beliefs of the most ancient Indigenous cultures?
> I have met more than several Baha’is who have dual religious identities. They usually
> belong to the Baha’i Faith and identify as Baha’is, while at the same time participating in
> another faith tradition—usually their own Indigenous cultural tradition, in which they
> were raised. They incorporate the wisdom of their tribal traditions into the modern
> framework of the Baha’i teachings—because Baha’is recognize that truth, no matter
> where it originates, is one:
> Praise thou God that at last, through the divine teachings, thou hast obtained
> both sight and insight to the highest degree, and hast become firmly rooted in
> certitude and faith. It is my hope that others as well will achieve illumined eyes
> and hearing ears, and attain to everlasting life: that these many rivers, each
> flowing along in diverse and separated beds, will find their way back to the
> circumambient sea, and merge together and rise up in a single wave of surging
> oneness; that the unity of truth, through the power of God, will make these
> illusory differences to vanish away.
> – Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, p. 29.
> Kevin Locke, a Lakota Baha’i who co-wrote several of the essays in this series, is a
> good example of a Baha’i who lives in both worlds at once—Baha’i and Lakota.
> Similarly, Banjo Clarke was both a Baha’i and a traditional Aboriginal elder, who thought
> that the Aboriginal way of life and outlook on life has something to offer humanity as a
> whole:
> Everybody is united and the same, I think. But Aboriginals have that real strong
> spiritual gift about them, because in the world they lived in – nature – that sort of
> spiritual thing governed their everyday lives. And so we still have it today. …
> I can see it would save the world if people got back to Aboriginal principles. It will
> never rectify anything unless we do, one way or another. Aboriginal culture has
> so many positive gifts to bring to the world. People say, ’Oh, those ways don’t
> exist any more.’ But that’s why there’s big trouble today, because they are no
> longer practised everywhere. And they could easily be. …
> Love – great love – is Aboriginals’ strength. Aboriginals have respect for all
> people, no matter where they come from or how poor or how bad they are.
> You’ve got to give everyone a chance. We treated other people the way we
> wanted to be treated.
> – Banjo Clarke, Wisdom Man, pp. 217–219 (emphasis added).
> 
> Because “Aboriginals have that real strong spiritual gift about them,” Banjo Clarke,
> speaking both as a Baha’i and as an Aboriginal Elder, made this profound claim: “I can
> see it would save the world if people got back to Aboriginal principles.”
> Australian Aboriginal geosophy may have something to offer us all in that regard. The
> Rainbow Serpent, as a symbol of unity and harmony, can teach us an important truth.
> Building bridges, forming alliances, and cultivating collaboration will enrich us all. A new
> respect for the spiritual gifts nature has to offer us, and a recognition of our
> responsibility for its compassionate stewardship, goes together perfectly with the Baha’i
> teachings.
> 
> 37.Do All Peoples Have a Prophet?
> 
> May 9, 2019
> Co-author: Nosratollah Mohammadhosseini
> 
> Do all peoples have a Prophet? Has the call of God been raised to everyone? The
> Baha’i writings seem to answer that question affirmatively, especially in Abdu’l-
> Baha’s Tablet to Amir Khan.
> In the following interview, I asked Dr. Nosrat Mohammadhosseini, a well-
> known Baha’i author and scholar of the Baha’i teachings, to offer his own comments on
> the meaning of Abdu’l-Baha’s Tablet to Amir Khan.
> Q: Dr. Mohammadhosseini, in your opinion, does Abdu’l-Baha, in his Tablet to Amir
> Khan, indicate that Indigenous messengers of God appeared in the Americas, when he
> states, in this authorized translation, as follows:
> In ancient times the people of America were, through their northern regions,
> close to Asia, that is, separated from Asia by a strait. For this reason, it hath been
> said that crossing had occurred. There are other signs which indicate
> communication.
> As to places whose people were not informed of the appearance of Prophets,
> such people are excused. In the Qur’an it hath been revealed: “We will not
> chastise them if they had not been sent a Messenger.”
> Undoubtedly in those regions the Call of God must have been raised in ancient
> times, but it hath been forgotten now.
> – Abdu’l-Baha, Additional Tablets, Extracts and Talks
> A: Yes. By the phrase of the “Call of God” is definitely meant the advent of
> Manifestation(s) of God, since the “Call of God” is a Babi and Baha’i expression for
> manifestations of God, or, by extension, the promulgation of their teachings.
> Q: So would you agree that the Tablet to Amir Khan is a clear text that enunciates what
> amounts to a newly discovered Baha’i teaching which confirms that Indigenous
> messengers of God definitely appeared in the Americas?
> A: Yes, especially since Abdu’l-Baha, in his Tablet to Amir Khan, explicitly indicates that
> Manifestations of God were sent to the Americas. But there are several Baha’i texts that
> clearly imply this.
> 
> Q: Are these what Western scholars refer to as “universalisms”?
> A: Yes. We have several texts from Baha’u’llah and the Bab that emphasize this truth.
> Interestingly, the Bab has referred to the advent of Manifestations of God throughout
> history and around the world, in different times and places. For example, in the Persian
> Bayan VI:16, the Bab wrote:
> The Lord of the universe hath never raised up a prophet nor hath He sent down a
> Book unless He hath established His covenant with all men, calling for their
> acceptance of the next Revelation and of the next Book; inasmuch as the
> outpourings of His bounty are ceaseless and without limit.
> – Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 87.
> Here, “without limit” means “universally” or “throughout history.” The Bab elsewhere
> confirms this interpretation of the Qur’an in language that is intentionally Qur’anic in
> style: “Unto every people We have sent down the Book in their own language.” – The
> Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 45.
> In the “Commentary on the Sura of ‘The Sun’,” after explaining that by al-shams (“the
> sun”) is meant the Manifestation of God, Baha’u’llah affirmed that truth when he
> stated: “Every nation of the world hath been illuminated by one of these luminous
> Suns.” – Baha’u’llah, “Commentary on the Sura of ‘The Sun’,” provisional translation
> Nosratollah Mohammadhosseini.
> In this statement, Baha’u’llah declares that these Manifestations—the prophets and
> messengers of God—have appeared to every one of the peoples of Earth, although in
> sundry times and places. Obviously this includes, among others, Native Americans,
> First Nations Canadians and the Indigenous peoples of the Americas in general, as
> Abdu’l-Baha clearly affirms in the Tablet to Amir Khan.
> Q: Thanks for referring to the “Commentary on the Sura of ‘The Sun’.” In another
> passage of this same Tablet, Baha’u’llah wrote:
> On another level, furthermore, it [“the sun”] denotes the Prophets of God and His
> intimate associates, for such are the very “suns” of His Names and of His
> Attributes amongst His creatures. Indeed! Were it not for them, no one would
> have been irradiated by the Lights of deep knowledge, just as is evidenced by
> the fact that every religious community, among the religious communities of the
> earth, hath been irradiated by a “sun” among these resplendent “suns.”
> – Baha’u’llah, “Commentary on the Sura of ‘The Sun’,” provisional
> translation by Stephen Lambden.
> So, Dr. Mohammadhosseini, in your view, do these Baha’i “universalisms” expand on
> similar statements in the Qur’an?
> 
> A: In citing the verse of the Qur’an, “We will not chastise them if they had not been sent
> a Messenger,” Abdu’l-Baha definitely shows that the American continent has been the
> scene of the advent of native messengers of God—since other Qur’anic passages, in
> relation to this verse, clearly testify that God has sent a messenger to every nation. This
> evidence from the Qur’an necessitates the advent of the Manifestations of God,
> including to the “people of America,” as Abdu’l-Baha stated in the Tablet to Amir Khan.
> We should remember that, although the past religions have been “world religions” from
> the point of view of their basis in divine origin and in their ethical principles and
> regulatory ordinances, yet, socially speaking, they began as local religions. Here, I refer
> only to the Qur’an itself, which explicitly states that the Qur’an has been revealed by
> God to warn the people of Mecca and surrounding regions.
> Unlike the Baha’i Faith and its universal aims, the immediate objectives of those earlier
> religions involved the education and guidance of specific peoples. This further evidence
> necessitates the advent of Manifestations of God specifically for the Indigenous peoples
> of the American continent.
> Q: So what about Abdu’l-Baha’s apparent reference to the Bering Land Bridge Theory?
> A: It is quite evident that Abdu’l-Baha is speaking about two different, but interrelated
> subjects: the question of migration and then the question of revelation. First, Abdu’l-
> Baha acknowledges that a migration across the Being Strait has been postulated by
> scholars (“it hath been said”) and that this has probably occurred as a matter of
> historical fact (“There are other signs which indicate communication”).
> Although we are not aware of the exact question asked by Amir Khan in this regard,
> Abdu’l-Baha’s reply should be accounted as an answer to the question of crossing and
> communication, including the issue of whether there was any religious influence as a
> result of this migration.
> Unless we are talking about prehistorical religions, so far as I know, no shred of
> evidence of the migratory presence of Western religions in the Americas—from pre-
> Columbian times—even exists. Scholars have found absolutely no trace of Western
> religious influence—whether that of Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, or Islam—on
> the American continent before the European conquest and colonization of the Americas.
> Q: What do you think that Abdu’l-Baha meant in stating that “it hath been forgotten
> now”?
> A: The term “forgotten” in the Tablet to Amir Khan is not related to those religions—
> Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, or Islam—or any Eastern religions, either, for the
> simple reason that the utter lack of evidence clearly shows that these religions did not
> enter the Americas prior to the invasions of Europeans, whether in antiquity or in the
> medieval period.
> 
> Scientifically speaking, no major natural catastrophe or cataclysm of a continental
> magnitude during the past two thousand years was sufficient to wipe out and obliterate
> all traces of those religions from the surface of American continent.
> Thus the phrase, “the Call of God,” in this Tablet does not refer to the Call of God raised
> by the promulgators of those religions, because their adherents never reached the
> Americas in pre-Columbian times. If such were the case, then we would expect to see
> or at least find a few vestiges, even admixed with superstitions. Yet this expectation has
> never been met.
> So the word “forgotten” definitely means that the teachings and influence of these
> Indigenous Manifestations of God who appeared in Americas no longer have the
> currency and influence that they once enjoyed.
> Q: That which is “forgotten” can also be remembered, i.e. rediscovered or revitalized,
> since many of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas have preserved their spiritual
> heritages, notwithstanding various attempts, in the past, to suppress Indigenous
> languages, cultures and religions. Thank you, Dr. Mohammadhosseini, for these
> enlightening comments on the Tablet to Amir Khan.
> 
> 38.The Indigenous Prophets: Lone Man in Mandan Sacred Tradi5on
> 
> May 19, 2019
> Co-author: Kevin Locke
> 
> In the ongoing BahaiTeachings.org series on Indigenous Messengers of God, the
> fascinating conversation continues between Lakota artist and Baha’i Kevin Locke and
> author Chris Buck.
> Q: Kevin, the Baha’i teachings say that humanity’s religions have all “been made
> manifest, one following the other …”:
> From the days of Adam until today, the religions of God have been made
> manifest, one following the other, and each one of them fulfilled its due function,
> revived mankind, and provided education and enlightenment. They freed the
> people from the darkness of the world of nature and ushered them into the
> brightness of the Kingdom.
> – Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, p. 51.
> In that regard, Kevin, thanks for introducing me to Lone Man—or “First Man” or “Only
> Man”—a key spiritual figure in Mandan and Hidatsa sacred tradition, its own spiritual
> world and symbolic universe. Baha’is and others can readily recognize and respect the
> profound truths enshrined in these traditions. This does not mean believing the
> traditions literally, but rather the inner truths they represent.
> There is no question about the central importance of Lone Man in the Mandan
> worldview. This is even represented in the architecture of Mandan villages, where earth
> lodges on the upper Missouri River were arranged in concentric circles around a plaza,
> in the center of which was placed a red-painted cedar post symbolizing Lone Man, the
> primary Mandan creator god and survivor of the Great Flood.
> In so doing, you have further expanded my consciousness, as well as my spiritual
> literacy. I have done a little bit of research on Lone Man in order to acquaint myself with
> this significant figure in Mandan sacred history. Most of the sources that I consulted
> described these traditions as “myths.”
> Myths are stories. The stories may not be literally true, although some literally minded
> people may think so. But, as in all belief systems, the truth of the story itself is not what
> matters. What matters is the deeper truth the story tells. Sacred myths teach sacred
> values. This seems like a common yet noteworthy characteristic of Indigenous
> traditions. Do you agree?
> 
> A: These traditions are myths in the same way that Noah’s Ark or the Resurrection are
> myths. From our current, de-colonized, enlightened perspective we should not be too
> hasty to categorize marginalized people’s sacred traditions as “myths.” Truly Lone Man
> is a holy being who established the identity and reality of the Mandan civilization, whom
> they believe had a divine mandate to do so.
> Q: I’d also like to know what personal contacts you have had with Mandan individuals
> and culture. You have already put me in contact with Mandan historian Calvin Grinnell.
> What other Mandan contacts have you had? Can you tell us a little bit about Mandan
> culture and society as well?
> A: As a child starting school at Lewis and Clark Elementary School in Great Falls,
> Montana, I vividly recall thrilling to the adventures of these two namesake explorers who
> ventured up the Missouri River from St. Louis in 1803, and how they survived their first
> extremely brutal winter on the upper Missouri due to the largesse and magnanimity of
> the Mandan who said to them, “If we survive, you survive.”
> At that time, the Mandan numbered around 30,000 and controlled trade and commerce
> throughout the region. Their inspired horticultural genius enabled them to perfect, as
> nowhere else on the planet, the ability to raise an abundance of corn, beans, squash,
> and a host of other crops, all in a very brief growing season. Their homes and villages
> were spacious, thriving, immaculate and well made. Their organization and ceremonial
> life was rich and complex. All of this was abundantly chronicled by early European
> visitors. Many of these visitors also noted that all of these blessings were attributed to
> the divine being: Lone Man. At the center of every Mandan village, a shrine was erected
> to commemorate the rescue of humankind from the great mythic flood through the
> agency of the ark fashioned by Lone Man. The spot where the ark is said to have first
> made landfall is a hill along Highway 1806 near Cannon Ball, North Dakota, on the
> Standing Rock Reservation.
> As a youth, my grandfather would often host his dear adopted brother, singer, dancer,
> traditionalist, and tribal historian, Ralph Little Owl, at our place. Every morning and at
> every meal he would offer prayers in his mother tongue, Mandan—or as they self-
> designate: “Nueta.” My associations with Nueta people could fill a lengthy book, but
> perhaps the most profound was the life-changing gift of the hoop dance by Nueta tribal
> member Arlo Good Bear in 1980.
> Q: Mandan origin stories encode Mandan values. Mandan sacred tradition includes
> creation stories.
> Here is one Mandan creation story, which is both a cosmogony—a creation of the
> physical universe—and a sociogony—a creation of the social universe—which
> describes key elements of the Mandan worldview and sacred values:
> According to the Mandan creation myth, as told to Arthur Mandan by his mother
> Calf Woman, when First Creator and Lone Man decide to make the world from
> 
> mud brought by a bird to the surface of the water, Lone Man chooses to create
> the east whereas First Creator chooses create the west, leaving a space
> between, in the water, which becomes the Missouri River. … First Creator makes
> the west side: broad valleys, hills, coulees with timber, mountain streams, and
> springs with 26 buffalo, elk, mule deer and white tails, mountain sheep and all
> other creatures useful to mankind for food and clothing. … Lone Man makes the
> east side: mostly level country, lakes and small streams with rivers far apart and
> his animals were beaver, otter, muskrat, moose and other animals with cattle of
> many colors with long horns and long tails. First Creator and lone Man meet and
> compare their creations: They first inspect what Lone Man has created. …
> First Creator disapproves: “The land is too level and affords no protection to man.
> Look at the land I have created: it contains all kinds of game. It has buttes and
> mountains by which man can mark his direction. Your land is so level that a man
> will easily lose its way for there are no high hills as signs to direct him. … The
> lakes you have made have most of them no outlet and hence become impure.
> Look at the cattle you have created with long horns and tail, of all colors, with hair
> so short and smooth that they cannot stand the cold! … Lone Man realizes his
> dilemma: “The things I have created I thought were the very things most useful to
> man. I cannot very well change them now that they are once created. So let us
> make man use first the things that you have made until the supply is exhausted
> and then the generations to come shall utilize those things which I have
> created.”
> – María Nieves Zedeño, Kacy Hollenback, and Calvin Grinnell, “From Path
> to Myth: Journeys and the Naturalization of Territorial Identity along the
> Missouri River,” Landscapes of Movement: Trails, Paths, and Roads in
> Anthropological Perspective. Presented at the Lewis and Clark
> Symposium, Many Voices. Bismarck, North Dakota, 2004, p. 24.
> From the sources that I have read so far, it seems that “First Creator” created the
> physical universe, whereas Lone Man (or First Man) created the spiritual universe—
> Mandan society and the sacred values that make it strong and enduring. Do you see
> any similarities between this Mandan creation story and Lakota sacred traditions?
> A: Due to the holocaust brought on by the Euro-American colonizers, the Nueta were
> reduced from a thriving population of tens of thousands to scarcely 50 souls in the 19th
> century. The last Nueta speaker, Edwin Benson, passed away last year. I bring this up
> only to emphasize the fact that this civilization was nearly exterminated and that much
> of its rich history may be difficult to penetrate now.
> Lone Man was such an overshadowing, dominating figure in Nueta civilization—very
> analogous to the stature White Buffalo Calf Woman has to the Lakota. Both figures
> brought divine teachings to transform and ennoble, and established binding covenants
> to guide their followers on the straight path. Both of these stellar beings shaped the
> 
> heritage of this land, and should be venerated and respected in the context of an
> emerging global civilization that draws from humankind’s collective birthright.
> Truly, as the Baha’i teachings so emphatically say, God has trained and provided for all,
> including all the inhabitants of this continent:
> If God did not love all, He would not have created, trained and provided for all.
> Loving-kindness is the divine policy. Shall we consider human policy and attitude
> superior to the wisdom and policy of God? This would be inconceivable,
> impossible. Therefore, we must emulate and follow the divine policy, dealing with
> each other in the utmost love and tenderness.
> – Abdul-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 120.
> 
> 39.Na5ve Messengers: Lone Man and the Mandan Sacred Values
> 
> May 26, 2019
> Co-author: Kevin Locke
> 
> In this installment of the Indigenous Messengers of God series, Kevin Locke explores
> the nobility and spirituality of the sacred traditions of the Mandan tribe and their holy
> figure Lone Man.
> Q: Kevin, what can you tell us about your experiences with the sacred Mandan
> traditions?
> A: After having driven past it countless times, over 25 years ago I decided to hike up a
> sacred hill, which dominates the horizon about 10 miles south of the city of Mandan,
> North Dakota. Shortly after that experience, while visiting a Mandan elder, I mentioned
> the hike. Immediately she asked several questions about Eagle Nose Butte: “Did you
> see that it is like a crater at the top? Did you see that all around the perfectly circular top
> edge of the crater grows ground cedar? Did you see that the center of the crater is
> covered in sand?”
> I asked her: “When did you last visit there?” She responded: “Oh no, I’ve never been
> there. My grandparents would make pilgrimage there every year, but said that it is such
> a spiritually powerful place that I was too young and should wait until I was mature,
> then I could go and pray as they dutifully did annually. I regret that I never did make the
> pilgrimage there because they would describe the place in great detail. I’m glad that you
> were able to pray there.”
> She then volunteered that another site they would make pilgrimage to is just south of
> the Cannonball River on the east side of Highway 1806—the place where Lone Man’s
> ark first made landfall. She indicated that these were all sacred duties performed in
> reverence to the covenant of Lone Man.
> Q: Lydia Sage-Chase, the youngest of the five remaining full-blood Mandan Amerindian
> people, is a Mandan “keeper” of the Mandan stories and traditions, commissioned to
> prepare presentations of Mandan oral tradition for the archives of the Library of
> Congress in Washington, D.C.
> Ms. Sage-Chase described that tradition this way:
> The Mandan believe that all life comes from one Creator, All is related. The ideas
> of generosity, cooperation, and goodness towards others are everybody’s
> 
> responsibility so that the Creator’s gift of life will go on. … The world is generous,
> and when one is generous the world returns that generosity.
> Speaking of Mandan values as virtues, Ms. Sage-Chase further said:
> From the teachings there come many values for all people to live by, our notion
> of the peoples generosity goes back to the time of the Creator. The produce of
> the gardens, corn, beans and squash, the produce is not given just for ourselves,
> but for other people, to feed other people, to share with other people. Sharing
> meant that there was, must be a trade-off with the other nations, tribes.
> At presentations people sometimes say to me that Indians didn’t know anything
> before whites came. That is not so, we have a complex language with different
> language for men and women. Our number system has been used since the
> beginning of time. We know botany, knowing the true value of plants and the use
> of them. We are environmentalists, protecting the environment we live in. We
> believe the Creator lived amongst the Mandan and taught us all these things,
> taught us everything.
> – from Philip Arthur Zemke, “Mandan Amerindian Culture: A Study of
> Values Transmission,” 1994.
> This summarizes what Lydia Sage-Chase taught about “Lone Man” as paraphrased by
> Zemke:
> First Man appeared many times among the Mandan, but is now said to no longer
> come in physical form, as he has gone to live in the south. … The reason that
> First Man ceased coming to the villages may be that the innovation of
> consolidated fortified villages, with his shrine at the center, was recognized as a
> final entity of Mandan social organization. The consolidated villages brought the
> clans into a unified blend, and, the age-grade societies of non-blood related
> individuals secured an intra-village fidelity of mutual military support and
> coordination of garden production. The solidarity of social structure would not
> however have ended the need to continue to interpret the social rules First Man
> originated. Subsequently, when his guidance was needed the Mandan followed
> his example as the Lone Man, and they wandered in solitary vigil sending
> thoughts upon thoughts to him. Each Mandan striving to come to a “single
> mindedness” so that they might hear his advice.
> – Ibid., pp. 74–75.
> Kevin, what parallels do you see between the Mandan teachings of Lone Man and the
> Baha’i sacred teachings?
> A: As for Baha’i sacred teachings, the following statement by Baha’u’llah might go well
> with the part above about hearing the voice of God while in solitude:
> 
> I am well aware, O my Lord, that I have been so carried away by the clear tokens
> of Thy loving-kindness, and so completely inebriated with the wine of Thine
> utterance, that whatever I behold I readily discover that it maketh Thee known
> unto me, and it remindeth me of Thy signs, and of Thy tokens, and of Thy
> testimonies. By Thy glory! Every time I lift up mine eyes unto Thy heaven, I call to
> mind Thy highness and Thy loftiness, and Thine incomparable glory and
> greatness; and every time I turn my gaze to Thine earth, I am made to recognize
> the evidences of Thy power and the tokens of Thy bounty. And when I behold the
> sea, I find that it speaketh to me of Thy majesty, and of the potency of Thy might,
> and of Thy sovereignty and Thy grandeur. And at whatever time I contemplate
> the mountains, I am led to discover the ensigns of Thy victory and the standards
> of Thine omnipotence.
> I swear by Thy might, O Thou in Whose grasp are the reins of all mankind, and
> the destinies of the nations! I am so inflamed by my love for Thee, and so
> inebriated with the wine of Thy oneness, that I can hear from the whisper of the
> winds the sound of Thy glorification and praise, and can recognize in the murmur
> of the waters the voice that proclaimeth Thy virtues and Thine attributes, and can
> apprehend from the rustling of the leaves the mysteries that have been
> irrevocably ordained by Thee in Thy realm.
> – Baha’u’llah, Prayers and Meditations, pp. 271-272.
> Q: I just came across this remarkable vision, recounted by Elizabeth Fenn in her 2015
> Pulitzer Prize-winning history Encounters at the Heart of the World: A History of the
> Mandan People:
> The Red Feather Man’s Okipa—like all such ceremonies—begin with a vision. In
> it, a holy man approached and revealed what was to come. Cedric saw an Okipa
> lodge with people lining up to go inside. “I saw men and women,” he recalls. “I
> saw Indians and non-Indians. I saw people from the five races of mankind—Red,
> Yellow, White, Black, and Brown. What mattered, the holy man said, was not skin
> color but quote the heart of the individual.” Those with “a good heart” would
> “enter the Okipa lodge. They must have the genuine love of mankind, and they
> must have humility.”
> – Cedric Red Feather, also known as the “Red Feather Man,” a Nueta
> (Mandan) Waikena—a Mandan turtle priest—and a modern-day Okipa
> Maker, quoted by Elizabeth A. Fenn, Encounters at the Heart of the World:
> A History of the Mandan People, p. 336.
> Fenn concluded by noting:
> Thus it was that some sixty people of all hues gathered at On-a-Slant Village on
> June 11, 2011, to fulfill Cedric’s Okipa vision. The Black Mouth Soldier Society,
> The White Buffalo Cow Society, and the Goose Society were all present. … The
> 
> Okipa suited the vision that inspired it. There was no piercing, no dragging
> Buffalo skulls. But Lone Man made his entry, and all the creatures came back.
> From morning to midnight, we danced and we danced, pausing to smoke, pray,
> tell stories, and ponder the Mandan way through the world.
> – Ibid.
> So here’s my question for you, Kevin: Isn’t the Red Feather Man’s Okipa vision perfectly
> harmonious and resonant with the Baha’i vision?
> A: Yes, indeed. I agree! Just as “Lone Man made his entry,” the spirit of Baha’u’llah is
> present in Baha’i sacred gatherings, like devotionals that Baha’is host and hold in their
> homes and neighborhoods around the world.
> 
> 40.Breathmaker and Seminole Sacred Tradi5on
> 
> June 2, 2019
> Co-author: Kevin Locke
> 
> In this newest installment of BahaiTeachings.org’s ongoing series about Indigenous
> Messengers of God, we learn about Breathmaker, the Seminole holy figure, and his
> teachings.
> Q: Kevin, because I do research, it may appear that I know far more than I actually do.
> For instance, I wrote—and quoted—quite a lot about Lone Man, the indigenous
> messenger of Mandan sacred tradition in our previous article. But, truth be told, I knew
> nothing about Lone Man until you introduced me to him.
> Now you’ve just told me about Breathmaker, the holy figure in the Seminole sacred
> tradition. There must have been a first time you heard about this fascinating Indigenous
> Messenger, too. So when and how did you first learn about Breathmaker—the
> Indigenous Messenger of God for the Seminoles?
> A: In the late 1970s, I was invited to perform at one of the first annual Miccosukee
> Indian Arts Festivals at the Miccosukee Reservation, 40 miles west of Miami in the heart
> of the Everglades. It was quite a shock to go from -30° F in North Dakota to +85° F in
> Florida! I was initially overwhelmed to be suddenly in a land of dazzling greenery,
> flowers, caroling birds of every variety, and alligators. The performers all stayed at the
> Miccosukee community.
> The most amazing thing to me was the fact that very few of the Miccosukee, especially
> the children, spoke English. I found a young man who could speak English and asked
> him why. He replied: “They don’t speak English because they don’t go to school and
> never hear it spoken.” He elaborated:
> If you look around the village, you see many old people who grew up eating the
> pure food we grow and obtain from the land here. That’s why we have many who
> are over 100 years old here. When they were young, there were no white people
> in this part of Florida. In their lifetime, they have witnessed the destruction of the
> Everglades and also the rapid growth of the cities, spreading like a cancer. They
> tell us that just as fast as it appeared, Breathmaker will roll it up and make it
> disappear. They tell us younger generations that they don’t want us to stand with
> those people (white immigrants) or else we will be swept away with them.
> I personally don’t agree. I think we should go to school and learn how to interact
> with white people. But since they are our grandparents, we respect them and
> 
> obey their advice. When they are gone all this will change. The elders stay true to
> the teachings of Breathmaker who foretold that only those who hold to his
> teachings will be safe when the world is made new. They really believe in this!
> That’s why we have survived, even though the U.S. government fought the three
> Seminole Wars to destroy us. Yet we have survived.
> After hearing this, I wanted to go home immediately and never return. I didn’t want to
> get swept away like all the other outsiders. Later, after becoming a Baha’i, I realized that
> their underlying principle of firmness in the Covenant meant that the Miccosukee elders
> were simply complying with the divine commandment of Breathmaker.
> Q: Kevin, what you say about Breathmaker, who foretold that only those who hold to his
> teachings will be safe when the world is made new, was confirmed by Buffalo Tiger, a
> Miccosukee who passed away in 2015:
> Buffalo Tiger may yearn for the old ways, but he, too, lives in town, across the
> street from a Target store.
> Sitting motionless on a bench with wooden slats, along a canal skirting the
> Everglades, Buffalo Tiger doesn’t seem to struggle with such dilemmas, perhaps
> because the Miccosukees believe the end of the Earth is near and so it doesn’t
> much matter anyway.
> “This will all be like a desert someday,” he says. “It isn’t long until
> the Breathmaker returns. He’s going to destroy the Earth. Hurricanes will get
> worse. It will even snow here. There will be earthquakes here.”
> The signs, handed down by tribal elders for hundreds of years, are now
> appearing, he says. … Drug use is rampant. Fish and turtles are dying. And,
> probably most important, the Everglades wetland is being decimated, an
> indication that the earth will be barren and people will starve.
> I remember when I was a boy that there were so many fish that you could just
> rock the canoe, and the fish would pour into the canoe with the water that spilled
> over the sides,” he says. “Maybe half the Miccosukees feel strongly about the old
> ways.
> – Tom Wells, “Lights of Miami Lure the Young Away From a Vanishing
> Tribe; Culture: Miccosukee Indians fended off U.S. federal government
> troops in the 19th century. But modern development in the Everglades is
> taking a toll on their spirit,” Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 1997, p. 4.
> Buffalo Tiger talked about Breathmaker in his biography:
> Traditional Miccosukee people, Eelaponke, always have great respect for this
> land, this year, and life itself. They believed Feshahkee-ommehche—the
> Breathmaker—created the land and all living things. … Breathmaker taught us
> 
> how to live on and protect the land and how to love nature. He taught us how to
> understand other people but to maintain our customs and culture. … Since
> Breathmaker put this land for us to live on and care for, money cannot buy the
> land. … Breathmaker created us out of the clay; it happens to be brown muck,
> so we turned out to be brown persons. … We were Breathmaker’s people …
> People used to be more in control because they knew Breathmaker’s law. It’s the
> only law we know. It is simple. We didn’t make that law. Breathmaker thought that
> was the type of law we must use, and we lived with it. …
> Breathmaker talked to us after we were created. He told us, “I will return one day.
> Carry on what I have taught you to live by or otherwise I will destroy you.” We
> were told before Breathmaker returns we will see signs like people changing to
> be disrespectful and people doing many wrong things. You’ll probably see more
> hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes.
> — Buffalo Tiger and Harry A. Kersey, Jr., Buffalo Tiger: A Life in the
> Everglades, pp. 34-122.
> So, Kevin, it seems that the Seminoles see Breathmaker as both the Creator and the
> messenger of God, who gave the Miccosukee people—the Eelaponke—their sacred
> laws and teachings, much like the Creator and Lone Man in Mandan sacred tradition.
> Do you agree?
> A: Chris, our readers may be a bit confused, in that the Seminole and Miccosukee are
> one and the same tribe in nearly every way except political. The Miccosukee are the
> faction that always refused to acculturate. The U.S. federal government resisted
> recognizing them, until Buffalo Tiger led a delegation in 1963 to meet with Fidel Castro
> in Havana, who immediately drew up an official nationhood recognition statement and
> was about to get the USSR, North Korea and others to co-sign. Then Congress stepped
> in and decided to grant this “unconquered” faction who had managed to defeat the U.S.
> federal government in the three most costly per-person wars ever waged by the U.S.—
> the 3 “Seminole Wars”—official recognition.
> Buffalo Tiger never went to school, but a shrewder statesman and negotiator has rarely
> existed. He hired my mom, Patricia Locke, to help with grant writing. In the mid-1970’s,
> he steered the tribe towards cultural tourism and started the Miccosukee Indian Arts
> Festival. When he asked my mom if she knew of any cultural performers for the festival,
> she recommended me. I was invited to perform there every year for about 20 years until
> Buffalo Tiger retired from public office. I even went on some of my first international trips
> to tourism development trade shows with the Miccosukee to Spain, Japan, etc. That
> was all “B.C.” (before casinos). I am deeply connected to Mr. Tiger.
> Q: Kevin, What about the prophecy of the return of Breathmaker? Do you think
> Baha’u’llah fulfills that prophecy? If so, in what way—considering that Baha’u’llah was
> not from among the Miccosukee people?
> 
> A: As Buffalo Tiger asserts, Breathmaker—like all other divine Messengers of God—
> brought immutable spiritual laws, social laws and prophecies. Mr. Tiger’s generation
> was keenly aware of the imminent fulfillment of Breathmaker’s prophecies, and
> persistently guided the people away from materialism. So , yes, Baha’u’llah does fulfill
> all authentic prophetic traditions from the “prophetic cycle” of humankind’s spiritual
> development:
> It is evident that every age in which a Manifestation of God hath lived is divinely
> ordained, and may, in a sense, be characterized as God’s appointed Day. This
> Day, however, is unique, and is to be distinguished from those that have
> preceded it. The designation “Seal of the Prophets” fully revealeth its high
> station. The Prophetic Cycle hath, verily, ended. The Eternal Truth is now come.
> He hath lifted up the Ensign of Power, and is now shedding upon the world the
> unclouded splendor of His Revelation.
> – Baha’u’llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, p. 60.
> 
> 41.Why Baha’is Respect Indigenous Sacred Tradi5ons
> 
> June 8, 2019 |
> Co-author: Kevin Locke
> 
> In this continuing series of articles, Lakota Baha’i Kevin Locke and scholar and author
> Chris Buck continue their conversation about the Baha’i teachings and the Indigenous
> holy messengers.
> Q: Yesterday, Kevin, during our phone conversation, you mentioned that the presence
> of Christian missions on Indigenous American and Canadian reservations has
> historically had a polarizing effect. Recently a Catholic Church was burned down in one
> location near where you live—and that Catholics were expelled from another
> reservation. Would you please elaborate, and explain why? The intent of this question is
> not to criticize any particular religion, but to discuss the impacts that religions historically
> have had on Indigenous populations.
> A: Chris, it’s not the presence of Christian missions that has had a polarizing effect—it’s
> the overarching and driving assumption by the “colonizers” that nothing Indigenous has
> any validity or worth and, in fact, requires total extirpation and annihilation.
> This assumption is inter-generational, carried forward by current descendants of Euro-
> American immigrants in their refusal to acknowledge or even allow the consciousness of
> the validity of anything Indigenous to this land. That perpetual immigrant expression of
> righteousness and entitlement wears thin on many Indigenous peoples.
> It was the archdiocese in Rapid City that arbitrarily decided to burn down its own historic
> church in Wakpala, South Dakota, without any consultation with the local residents or
> the tribe. In another community I recently visited it was reported that there had been so
> much inter-generational abuse that the church’s continued presence could not be
> further tolerated.
> Q: The attitude of many Christian missions on American and Canadian reservations and
> reserves towards Indigenous sacred traditions is that they are false and even “of the
> devil.” This, in and of itself, historically has had a divisive effect, of course. So what
> difference can, and should, the Baha’i presence on reservations make when it comes to
> an enlightened Baha’i approach to Indigenous spiritual traditions? Can Baha’is take a
> lesson here from history, and avoid making the same mistakes?
> A: Baha’is have no agenda or motive aside from transmitting pure, divine light—
> untainted by any cultural, nationalistic or personal goals. My own Baha’i teachers,
> husband and wife—both of pure Norwegian extraction from rural North Dakota—had no
> 
> interest in indoctrinating me into their own cultural experience, but only to bring the
> message that would empower, enlighten and enable one to arise to achieve one’s own
> spiritual destiny. They truly exemplified what I can only strive for.
> Q: I note the following historical anecdote:
> On March 9, 1961, the late Ruhiyyih Khanum (a.k.a. Mary Maxwell), prominent
> Canadian Baha’i and beloved wife of Shoghi Effendi, wrote: “I could see the
> American Indians straighten their shoulders when I asked their forgiveness for
> the injustices my race had done them and when I praised their great past.”
> – Letter to the United States and Canada on Racism, 1961.
> Would you agree that when the wife of the Guardian of the Baha’i Faith “praised their
> great past,” she was setting a great example for Baha’i-Indigenous relations? Does
> “praised their great past” likely include recognition and respect for Indigenous sacred
> traditions, including Indigenous messengers of God as the primary sources of those
> traditions?
> A: Indeed, she set a great example! We can’t assume that when Ruhiyyih Khanum
> “praised their great past” that this did, in fact, include recognition and respect for
> Indigenous messengers of God. But, from my own personal experience, I know that
> Ruhiyyih Khanum always showed the utmost respect and admiration for the Indigenous
> spiritual heritage.
> Q: In understanding and applying the Baha’i teachings on the essential unity of all
> religions in general to Indigenous sacred traditions in particular, would you agree that a
> good place to start is with Baha’i universalisms? Over the years, you have frequently
> quoted this profound statement by Baha’u’llah:
> Unto the cities of all nations He hath sent His Messengers, Whom He hath
> commissioned to announce unto men tidings of the Paradise of His good
> pleasure, and to draw them nigh unto the Haven of abiding security, the Seat of
> eternal holiness and transcendent glory.
> – Baha’u’llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, p. 145.
> So in your view, do the “cities of all nations” include the Lakota people and nations, for
> instance?
> A: Yes, whether literally as in the largest cities on the planet in 1492—such as Cahokia,
> Tenochtitlan, Cuzco, to name but a few in the Western Hemisphere—or spiritually,
> meaning the “the cities of men’s hearts.” In a metaphorical, sense the Lakota—and all
> peoples—are included in this quote.
> Q: Is this confirmed by Abdu’l-Baha’s statement in his Tablet to Amir Khan, which I’ve
> quoted in previous articles in this series?:
> 
> Undoubtedly in those regions the Call of God must have been raised in ancient
> times, but it hath been forgotten now.
> – Abdu’l-Baha, “Extract from a Tablet of Abdu’l-Baha, Tablet to Amir Khan,
> Additional Tablets, Extracts and Talks.
> A: Yes, of course! All Indigenous peoples have the spiritual traditions and teachings to
> prove it.
> Q: Speaking of Baha’i universalisms, what about those passages that reference “all
> religions”? Let’s take this passage as an example, just one of many mentions of “all
> religions” found throughout the Baha’i writings:
> O God, Who art the Author of all Manifestations, the Source of all Sources, the
> Fountainhead of all Revelations, and the Wellspring of all Lights! I testify that by
> Thy Name the heaven of understanding hath been adorned, and the ocean of
> utterance hath surged, and the dispensations of Thy providence have been
> promulgated unto the followers of all religions.
> – Baha’u’llah, Prayers and Meditations, pp. 59–60.
> Would you agree, Kevin, that here, “all religions” includes Indigenous sacred traditions?
> A: Yes, I do agree. The only difficulty in understanding this passage occurs with inherent
> assumptions of predominant English-language speakers and the cultural biases that
> persist to this day. But the instant one translates this passage into Lakota, or most any
> other language, this very same statement clearly becomes all-inclusive and is
> understood as universal, including Indigenous sacred traditions within its scope and
> range of discourse. Kenneth E. Bowers (Secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of
> the Baha’is of the United States) stated this clearly in his “Introduction” to my book,
> Arising:
> Baha’is believe that Baha’u’llah is the latest in a series of Messengers of God to
> humanity Who have guided our spiritual and social evolution down through the
> ages. The Messengers are part of one divine plan, the ultimate goal of which is
> the unification of the entire world and the creation of a new civilization based
> upon the principles of divine justice. Baha’u’llah taught respect for the spiritual
> heritage of the entire human race, in all its vastness and diversity. He stated
> categorically that no nation or people have been deprived by the all-loving
> Creator of their share of divine knowledge and that none are to be condemned or
> disdained: “Unto the cities of all nations He hath sent His Messengers, Whom He
> hath commissioned to announce unto men tidings of the Paradise of His good
> pleasure, and to draw them nigh unto the Haven of abiding security, the Seat of
> eternal holiness and transcendent glory.”
> – Kenneth E. Bowers, “Introduction,” Arising.
> 
> Q: So what do the Lakota sacred traditions have to offer the Baha’i Faith? What does
> the Baha’i Faith have to offer to Lakota sacred traditions? Can, and should, these two
> religions recognize and respect each other, and closely associate with each other? If so,
> what would be the benefit to both?
> A: Personally speaking, the Baha’i Faith has enabled me to more deeply recognize the
> spiritual root and foundation of Lakota civilization, and to appreciate how it connects to
> the pervasive will of God now inexorably drawing all the disparate peoples into one
> unified whole.
> Q: Why should recognition and respect for White Buffalo Calf Woman matter to Baha’is
> and others? Would it be fair to say that there can be no widespread, reciprocal
> recognition of the Baha’i Faith by the Lakota people, as a whole, unless and until the
> Baha’i Faith recognizes and respects White Buffalo Calf Woman? In other words, is
> reciprocal respect and recognition by Baha’i and Lakota sacred traditions, taken
> together, the next logical step—and perhaps even a necessary precondition—before a
> widespread, reciprocal recognition and respect of Baha’u’llah can take place among the
> Lakota people?
> A: Yes, it would be ideal for reciprocal respect and understanding to occur between the
> Lakota and Baha’i beliefs and traditions. From my perspective the revelation of
> Baha’u’llah offers the only lens through which we can fully appreciate revelators from
> the prophetic cycle—such as Moses, Jesus, White Buffalo Calf Woman, Deganawida,
> Sweet Medicine, Lone Man, Breathmaker, Quetzalcoatl, Viracocha, etc.—each of whom
> foretold the future appearance of a divine teacher whose powerful principles, when put
> into effect, would unify the world. Of course, for me, that universal revelatory figure is
> Baha’u’llah. As the dawn of this appreciation brightens, it will be a cause of universal
> celebration of our emergence from the darkness of ignorance and misunderstanding.
> 
> 42.How to Be An Upholder and Defender of the Vic5ms of Oppression
> 
> June 23, 2019
> Co-author: Kevin Locke
> 
> So far, in this series of articles, we have offered some information on Indigenous
> messengers of God. Messengers give messages and mandates for people to follow.
> In this installment in the series, we’ll go ahead and talk about the road ahead, and
> explore what those messages ask us to do to make this world a better place.
> In the Baha’i teachings, Baha’u’llah calls upon each of us, especially Baha’is—both
> individually and institutionally—to be “an upholder and defender of the victim of
> oppression” and “an ensign of the hosts of justice:”
> Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity. Be worthy of the trust of thy
> neighbor, and look upon him with a bright and friendly face. Be a treasure to the
> poor, an admonisher to the rich, an answerer to the cry of the needy, a preserver
> of the sanctity of thy pledge. Be fair in thy judgment, and guarded in thy speech.
> Be unjust to no man, and show all meekness to all men. Be as a lamp unto them
> that walk in darkness, a joy to the sorrowful, a sea for the thirsty, a haven for the
> distressed, an upholder and defender of the victim of oppression. Let integrity
> and uprightness distinguish all thine acts. Be a home for the stranger, a balm to
> the suffering, a tower of strength for the fugitive. Be eyes to the blind, and a
> guiding light unto the feet of the erring. Be an ornament to the countenance of
> truth, a crown to the brow of fidelity, a pillar of the temple of righteousness, a
> breath of life to the body of mankind, an ensign of the hosts of justice, a luminary
> above the horizon of virtue, a dew to the soil of the human heart, an ark on the
> ocean of knowledge, a sun in the heaven of bounty, a gem on the diadem of
> wisdom, a shining light in the firmament of thy generation, a fruit upon the tree of
> humility.
> – Baha’u’llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, pp. 93-94.
> Q: So Kevin, with this passage from Baha’u’llah in mind, taking the Lakota people as
> just one example among Indigenous tribal peoples, can you summarize the oppression
> they have suffered historically?
> A: I briefly describe the oppression the Lakota people have suffered in my book Arising:
> 
> The Lakota had formerly lived as eagles. They had handled their own material
> and spiritual affairs, and they had taken pride in their thriving communities and
> vibrant culture.
> However, the Lakota have been forced to live as crows for generations. One
> treaty after another relocated entire populations, placed community land in the
> hands of the government, and stripped the community of its resources.
> Longstanding patterns of destabilizing the Indian way of life have prevented
> entire communities from making material strides and realizing their spiritual
> prosperity. The legacy of oppression persists.
> Today, the poorest counties in the country, as identified by the census bureau,
> are here in South Dakota. According to the Pew Research Center in 2014, the
> poverty rate is a little over forty-three percent—almost triple the national
> average.
> – Kevin Locke, Arising.
> Q: What about today? Is the oppression now a different complex of problems? What are
> they, in brief? Is the present-day oppression really the outcome—the aftermath, legacy,
> and ramifications—of past oppression? If so, how can the present and future make up
> for the past?
> A: Yes, it has taken many generations of systematic and calculated oppression to arrive
> at our current impasse. The deeper we proceed into the morass, the clearer it becomes
> that nothing short of divine intervention—and our efforts to bring God’s will for peace,
> harmony and justice to prevail after centuries of oppression—will create a way forward.
> This is how our collective efforts can ensure that the present and future can make up for
> the past. In this, the dreams, hopes and prayers of our long-suffering ancestors can be
> realized and fulfilled by current and future generations, energized and activated by a
> vision of a bright horizon.
> Q: That which was lost can never be restored. If that’s true, would you agree that the
> best redress for past oppression is to address current problems, and to take concerned
> and concerted action accordingly?
> A: I believe that many things lost can be restored. To give a general idea, let me relate a
> story from Arising:
> I met Andres Jachacollo for the first time in 1982 when he came to speak at the
> nutrition center in Little Eagle. He had come from Bolivia with several others from
> Panama, Chile, and various parts of Bolivia, as part of the Trail of Light initiative
> —an effort of the Baha’i community to reinforce cultural and spiritual connections
> between the Indigenous people of the Americas.” …
> Though he was short of stature, Andres had a commanding presence. “My dear
> relatives,” he began, beaming out over the crowd. “I have come a long way to
> 
> see you. I see in the faces of all who have gathered here my own nieces and
> nephews, my children and grandchildren. Though we have been separated for so
> long, we are closely related.”
> “Yet,” he continued, “as I look upon you, I see how sad you are. You have
> suffered greatly in your lives. For generations, your ancestors have suffered and
> your people have been downtrodden. Your spirits have grown dim.”
> He paused. “But today—today is a day to rejoice because God has come to lift
> us up. God has come to restore our dignity and to enable us to become happy.
> He has come and given us the great task to recreate the world, to bring light,
> beauty, and happiness to all of mankind. He has given us the task to make the
> world into a garden. Our ancestors have prayed and hoped for this day to come.”
> I absorbed his every word, spellbound. I looked around me to see if the others in
> the audience were as touched by Andres’ speech as I was. This man from Bolivia
> was speaking with such conviction about the experiences of Indigenous people
> everywhere. His words bore great certitude that the time had come for the
> redemption of the Indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere.
> –Ibid.
> Q: So, with that in mind, how can we each become “an upholder and defender of the
> victim of oppression”?
> A: We can stand up for the rights of individual victims and also focus on ameliorating the
> root source of oppression—by shining a light in the darkness and advocating and
> actively promoting the spiritualization process, both individually and collectively,
> including among the Lakota people.
> Q: Similarly, how can we be “an ensign of the hosts of justice”—individually and
> institutionally?
> A: An ensign is a flag or banner. To be “an ensign of the hosts of justice” one must truly
> distinguish themselves and be in the forefront of the forces of justice, just as past
> armies carried their ensigns into battle. Frankly, in my view, the most direct way of
> carrying out this injunction involves Baha’i-inspired children’s classes and junior youth
> spiritual empowerment programs in Indigenous populations, including among the Lakota
> people.
> Q: Furthermore, how can we be “a balm to the suffering”—individually and
> institutionally?
> A: All of these divine injunctions from the Baha’i teachings require us to transcend self-
> aggrandizement and to hone our ability to serve the best interests of humanity
> collectively. Each of us have different God-given abilities and capacities, and can
> endeavor to develop our own most efficacious mode of service to humanity.
> 
> Q: How can we, moreover, be “a treasure to the poor, an admonisher to the rich, an
> answerer to the cry of the needy”—individually and institutionally?
> A: In my personal experience, my mother—the late Patricia Locke—best exemplified
> these traits. I think her method was to constantly reflect what she could do to better any
> and every given situation and condition. Through her constant attention she was able to
> upraise standards of justice broadly and effectively.
> Q: So, in short, can we be “a joy to the sorrowful,” as Baha’u’llah wrote—both
> individually and institutionally—by doing what you have outlined above?
> A: Absolutely!
> 
> 43.Indigenous Spiritual Tradi5ons and Cultural Colonialism
> 
> June 30, 2019
> Co-author: Kevin Locke
> 
> Cultural appropriation—the adoption of elements of one culture by another—has robbed
> many Indigenous cultures of their native intellectual and religious traditions.
> By appropriating those traditions, socially or economically dominant groups can practice
> a destructive kind of cultural colonialism.
> When a dominant culture copies and misappropriates cultural elements from an
> Indigenous culture, and uses these symbols and practices outside of their original
> cultural context, it can distort, disrespect, harm, trivialize or even contribute to the
> destruction of the original traditions.
> In our continuing series on Indigenous messengers of God, Christopher Buck and Kevin
> Locke tackle this important subject.
> Q: Kevin, what prevents Baha’i respect for and belief in the various Indigenous
> messengers of God from becoming “cultural appropriation”?
> A: This excerpt from “The Prosperity of Humankind,” an official statement written in
> 1995 by the Baha’i International Community, offers foundational guidance on the
> subject:
> The principle of collective trusteeship creates also the right of every person to
> expect that those cultural conditions essential to his or her identity enjoy the
> protection of national and international law. Much like the role played by the gene
> pool in the biological life of humankind and its environment, the immense wealth
> of cultural diversity achieved over thousands of years is vital to the social and
> economic development of a human race experiencing its collective coming-of-
> age. It represents a heritage that must be permitted to bear its fruit in a global
> civilization. On the one hand, cultural expressions need to be protected from
> suffocation by the materialistic influences currently holding sway. On the other,
> cultures must be enabled to interact with one another in ever-changing patterns
> of civilization, free of manipulation for partisan political ends.
> – “The Prosperity of Humankind,” Baha’i International Community Office of
> Public Information, Haifa
> Q: Interesting and enlightening! With such a ready answer, Kevin, I see that you’ve
> given this much thought—long before I ever asked you the question!
> 
> This statement sets forth protection of cultural diversity and the right to cultural identity
> as closely-linked Baha’i principles. On the other hand, it compares cultural diversity to
> “… the gene pool in the biological life of humankind and its environment,” such that “…
> cultures must be enabled to interact with one another in ever-changing patterns of
> civilization.”
> So, taking the analogy to genetics and evolution a bit further, it would seem that
> Indigenous spiritual heritages are entitled to protection, so that they can survive and
> flourish. That said, there’s nothing wrong with non-Indigenous peoples being given
> knowledge of the sacred Indigenous traditions, especially if based on authentic sources
> and if presented with accuracy and respect. Do you agree?
> A: This is such a fascinating topic! As you know, the United States is still very much
> entrenched in the consequences of centuries of active genocidal extermination and
> repression of everything Indigenous to this hemisphere. The analogy between
> biodiversity and cultural diversity is perfect, because both are critically endangered.
> Catastrophic climate change and the immanent extinction of a million species are
> emblazoned every day by headline news.
> But the headlines are silent—oblivious, in fact—to the ongoing threat to Indigenous
> cultural diversity and survival. So the analogy in the above quote between cultural
> diversity and biodiversity is most appropriate. The threat to both is the result of material
> civilization run amok. Both biodiversity and cultural diversity must be protected by
> national and international law. Both are vital to the present and future needs of the
> human race. Both need protection from the materialistic influences currently holding
> sway in the world. While awareness of the cataclysmic consequences of climate change
> and annihilation of biodiversity is slowly entering into people’s consciousness,
> destruction of the cultural eco-system hasn’t yet registered on the general public’s radar.
> Q: So the Baha’i International Community—which issues its public statements with the
> approval of the Universal House of Justice, the democratically-elected international
> Baha’i Council—in stating that “cultures must be enabled to interact with one another,”
> appears to say that intercultural knowledge and respect can and should be a positive
> interaction, especially when such cultural knowledge has already been publicly shared
> and published by respected members of an indigenous culture, when, in the act of doing
> so, implicitly grants an advance “permission” to discuss this same information,
> especially for promoting intercultural respect and reciprocity.
> A: Here’s my definition of cultural appropriation: “the unacknowledged or inappropriate
> adoption of the customs, practices, ideas, etc. of one people or society by members of
> another and typically more dominant people or society.”
> As you can see, this term reflects a detrimental, outworn social paradigm that casts us
> all into debilitating roles of the following dysfunctional, destructive dichotomies:
> dominant vs. marginalized, oppressor vs. oppressed, enslaver vs. enslaved, conqueror
> 
> vs. conquered, exploiter vs. exploited, etc., ad nauseam. Our respective ancestors
> played out these opposing roles in a horrific drama whereby the Euro-Americans fought
> to gain control and ascendancy over the planet’s limited physical resources. We have
> rehearsed these roles inter-generationally and continue to be shackled by them. We are
> all victims in those roles. We need to move past them.
> On this historic stage, we can all become heroes, regardless of our cultures. This
> spiritual field of action has nothing to do with material gain or ascendancy. Instead, the
> prize is the redemption of the collective heart of humanity in furtherance of the will of
> God for this day and age.
> In other words, the time has come for humanity to realize and embody the Baha’i ideal
> of unity in diversity. Far more than an abstract ideal, the Baha’i teachings say that unity
> in diversity acts as a measure of our collective quality of life in societies around the
> world:
> Please God, that we avoid the land of denial, and advance into the ocean of
> acceptance, so that we may perceive, with an eye purged from all conflicting
> elements, the worlds of unity and diversity, of variation and oneness, of limitation
> and detachment, and wing our flight unto the highest and innermost sanctuary of
> the inner meaning of the Word of God.
> – Baha’u’llah, The Book of Certitude, p. 160.
> In reality all are members of one human family—children of one Heavenly Father.
> Humanity may be likened unto the vari-colored flowers of one garden. There is
> unity in diversity. Each sets off and enhances the other’s beauty.
> – Abdu’l-Baha, Divine Philosophy, pp. 25-26.
> 
> 44.What Can We Do About Cultural Appropria5on?
> 
> July 14, 2019
> Co-author: Kevin Locke
> 
> As the conversation about Indigenous messengers of God continues in this series of
> essays, Christopher Buck asks Lakota artist and author Kevin Locke to weigh in on
> cultural misappropriation.
> Q: Kevin, what can we do about cultural misappropriation? Many people have spoken
> out about athletic teams that have taken on “Indian” names and mascots—such as, in
> professional baseball, the Cleveland Indians and the team’s mascot, “Chief Wahoo.” Or
> the Atlanta Braves, with their former mascot, “Chief Noc-A-Homa,” until the 1983
> season, along with “Princess Win-A-Lotta,” dropped at same time as Noc-A-Homa,
> followed by “Tomahawk Chop,” adopted in 1991 and still in use, as far as I know. I’m
> sure you can think of many other examples.
> A: Team sports might represent the best example of cultural/spiritual misappropriation of
> Indigenous cultures like mine. First, let’s look at a little historical information that many
> may not know.
> Team sports, as we know them today, did not exist outside of the Western hemisphere
> before 1492. The earliest Western sporting events, like the Olympics in ancient Greece,
> relied primarily on contests between individual athletes. Throughout the Western
> hemisphere, Indigenous team sports were, and still are, used as a devotional practice.
> In those practices, the ball symbolizes divine favor, and the opposing teams symbolize
> the dialectic of contrasts in all the realms of God, both seen and unseen.
> For example, the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) call lacrosse “the Creator’s game.” In the
> Southeast, the Cherokee “stick ball” is always a part of the Green Corn Dance—the
> central devotional practice of that region. In my culture, the Lakota Tȟápa
> Waŋkáyeyapi “Tossing The Ball Up” sport is one of the foundational prayers.
> Apparently cultural misappropriation occurred when the European immigrants first
> witnessed these devotional practices, these team sports, and inappropriately adopted
> them. It may have been the first instance of cultural appropriation. Consequently
> millions or even billions worldwide now addictively watch these practices, and some
> even deify and worship the participants!
> 
> The Indigenous prophecies attached to this and many other similar misappropriations
> foretell that sad cultural condition, and point to this mindless ignorance as a sign of the
> crying need for spiritual renewal.
> Q: Since cultural appropriation has become such a highly charged, politically incorrect
> practice, can you think of another term—even if you have to invent one—for recognizing
> and respecting Indigenous spiritual heritages, both within the Baha’i community, and in
> society at large?
> A: As we all disengage from the dark place where cultural misappropriation occurs, and
> collectively move into the light of truth, then we can happily discard these terms that
> define such a limited mindset. In all of my programs, I incorporate participation in music
> and dance so that folks can escape the disconnect in which differentness equals
> otherness. Through engagement with each other and with each other’s cultures, we can
> begin to take ownership to internalize and integrate diverse cultures and see that we
> can, and should, see ourselves as legitimate heirs to all the treasures of humankind—
> material, cultural and spiritual. The Baha’i teachings call upon all people to work
> together to establish that exact sort of universal oneness:
> I beg of God to strengthen these spiritual bonds as day followeth day, and make
> this mystic oneness to shine ever more brightly, until at last all shall be as troops
> marshalled together … within the sheltering shade of the Word of God; that they
> may strive with all their might until universal fellowship, close and warm, and
> unalloyed love, and spiritual relationships, will connect all the hearts in the world.
> Then will all humankind, because of this fresh and dazzling bounty, be gathered
> in a single homeland. Then will conflict and dissension vanish from the face of
> the earth, then will mankind be cradled in love for the beauty of the All-Glorious.
> Discord will change to accord, dissension to unison. The roots of malevolence
> will be torn out, the basis of aggression destroyed. The bright rays of union will
> obliterate the darkness of limitations, and the splendours of heaven will make the
> human heart to be even as a mine veined richly with the love of God.
> – Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, pp. 19-20.
> Q: Besides contributing to what academics refer to as “spiritual literacy,” isn’t this
> oneness a good thing, Kevin? If so, should we all promote this kind of spiritual literacy,
> recognition and respect for sacred Indigenous traditions?
> A: Yes. In a word, let’s transform “cultural (mis)appropriation” into “intercultural
> appreciation”—with all of the mutual respect and reciprocity it entails, while expanding
> and enriching our “spiritual literacy.”
> For instance, the sacred teachings of Deganawida, the Peacemaker, as enshrined
> in Concerning the League (recited by Chief John Arthur Gibson in 1912)—a great holy
> book that we should consider part of the world’s sacred literature—offer an excellent
> 
> way for all of us to expand and enrich our spiritual literacy. Certainly we can all know
> about these powerful traditions without misappropriating them.
> In fact, public knowledge of all things Indigenous—such as recognizing and respecting
> the great Indigenous messengers of God as part of our global heritage—can be a good
> thing, especially if it enhances and ensures “unity in cultural biodiversity.”
> As Baha’u’llah wrote:
> The most glorious fruit of the tree of knowledge is this exalted word: Of one tree
> are all ye the fruit, and of one bough the leaves. Let not man glory in this that he
> loveth his country, let him rather glory in this that he loveth his kind.
> – Tablets of Baha’u’llah, pp. 127–128.
> 
> 45.The Navajo Spirit: The Diné Tradi5on and the Baha’i Faith
> 
> July 21, 2019
> Co-author: Bitahnii Wayne Wilson
> 
> The Navajo people know themselves as “Diné,” which simply means “the People.” Their
> powerful spiritual traditions include the practice of Hózhóójí—restoring balance and
> harmony.
> After the Cherokees, the Navajos comprise the largest tribe in the United States, with
> more than 300,000 registered members. In the mid-20th century, many Diné began
> becoming Baha’is and forming thriving Baha’i communities on the Navajo reservation. In
> 1980 they formed the Native American Baha’i Institute, a permanent Baha’i school in
> Houck, Arizona, which has become the center of many Navajo Baha’i activities,
> meetings and projects.
> In these next few BahaiTeachings.org essays, Christopher Buck interviews Bitahnii
> Wayne Wilson, a Diné Baha’i, and together they explore the many connections and
> commonalities between the Navajo beliefs and the Baha’i teachings.
> Q: Greetings, and welcome to this series! First, I’m curious about your Navajo name,
> “Bitahnii.” Would you please tell us the meaning and significance of your Diné name?
> A: Bitahnii is my mother’s clan name. It has several meanings: Folded Arms Clan, or
> Leaf Clan, or “the sacred folding of a corn leaf on a corn stalk.” Bitahnii also means “the
> sacred folding of a bird’s wing when perched up in a tree, within his cover, close to the
> body.” I decided to use Bitahnii after I was instructed by my elders to always address
> myself in my Indigenous language, Diné Bizaad (the Navajo language) whenever I
> introduce myself as a Diné/Navajo.
> Q: How did you discover the Baha’i Faith? Can you tell us about your spiritual journey,
> which led to your becoming a Baha’i?
> A: During the 1970’s, my late grandmother, Nesbah Burnside, took care of my older
> brother, my older sister, and I, taking over the parenting duties from both of my
> biological parents—who were separated at the time, due to alcoholism and domestic
> violence, etc. My siblings and I had a very traumatic experience growing up, and then
> my elderly grandmother fell ill and passed on. Not long after, both of my parents also
> passed away from alcohol-related incidents. That’s when my aunt and uncle adopted
> me, my older brother, and my older sister.
> 
> As a child I used to herd sheep most of the time, in what we called the “summer sheep
> camp wilderness area” near a canyon. There I had my first encounter with Baha’i
> relatives, who also belonged to my Bitahnii clan. As I herded the sheep, they slowly
> worked their way toward my grandmother Alta Kahn’s homestead area. I had no idea
> she was a Baha’i, or even what a Baha’i was at that time. She and Nesbah Burnside
> were sisters through the Bitahnii clan. As the sheep got closer, she came outside and
> called me to come over. So I approached her, thinking she was going to get after me for
> the sheep eating her forage and being around her homestead property. She said with a
> smile: “Ya’ateeh shi tsoii yazhi”—“Greetings, grandchild!” Then she told me to let the
> sheep eat, and she invited me to come inside her home to have something to eat, too.
> So I washed my hands and sat at the table and she fed me.
> As I ate, I noticed some strange writing hanging above her doorway, and I asked her
> about it. She explained to me, in Navajo, that it was written in the language of a people
> from across the ocean and that it praised and called the Great Spirit, God’s “Most
> Glorious Name.” At that time, I didn’t know about the Baha’i Faith, but I became
> interested, so I began meeting and being around the late Alta and Jack Khan’s children
> more often.
> I began to get to know my extended family, my uncles—the late Benjamin Kahn, the late
> Franklin Kahn, and the late Chester Kahn (who recently passed away on in June 1,
> 2019)—and Alfred Kahn, Raymond Kahn, Suzie Khan, Della Kahn-Woody, and
> Evangeline Kahn. The Kahn family taught me the Baha’i Faith little by little. I was raised
> in the Catholic Church, and as a child had many unpleasant boarding school
> experiences, as many native people did. But I never seemed to be drawn to Catholicism
> like I was to the Baha’i teachings.
> I was mainly brought up in the traditional Navajo way of life, in what they call Tádídíín
> da oltsosiji’ (The Carrying of the Corn Pollen Bag Way), which meant praying to the
> Great Spirit and the Holy People, along with giving a pinch of corn pollen for offerings.
> That is our traditional form of reciprocity in the spirit of giving. As you begin to pray by
> giving from the heart, you receive blessings from above.
> Later on, I participated in the Native American Church—a spiritual way that helped me
> through my transition of not having any parents and getting through the 1980s during
> my junior high and high school years. After I graduated from high school, I began to feel
> more alone and confused, so I began drinking alcohol. At the same time, I noticed that I
> had fallen into the same pattern as my parents. So, one day, I got tired of abusing
> alcohol, and I walked over to NABI—the Native American Baha’i Institute. There I met a
> kind Baha’i named Jeff Kiely, an administrator at NABI at that time.
> I told him it was getting dark and I needed a place to stay for the night and Jeff told me,
> “We don’t really have any place where people stay and spend the night.” “But,” he
> hastened to say, “You can stay one night in the prayer hogan, and you will need to
> 
> return the key in the morning.” A hogan—a traditional Navajo structure—is a sacred
> space.
> So I went to the Baha’i prayer hogan and stayed up most of the night asking and
> pleading to the Great Spirit for guidance with my alcohol problem. I basically prayed
> myself sober from there on, then slept soundly until the next morning when I gave the
> key back.
> A year later, I started going to NABI regularly. At that time, another relative had started
> an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, and I began attending there, too. Then I started
> working with my late uncle, Benjamin Kahn, and my aunt, Lorraine Cowboy-Kahn. They
> taught me the Baha’i Faith, as I helped them serve at NABI. I read the Baha’i writings,
> as well as participating in Baha’i deepenings, where we studied and learned more about
> the Baha’i teachings, and in Baha’i firesides, informal meetings where interested people
> can learn more about the Baha’i Faith and its teachings of unity, peace and harmony:
> … the teachings of Baha’u’llah are the very healing of the sick world, the remedy
> for every need and condition. In them may be found the realization of every
> desire and aspiration, the cause of the happiness of the world of humanity, the
> stimulus and illumination of mentality, the impulse for advancement and uplift, the
> basis of unity for all nations, the fountain source of love amongst mankind, the
> center of agreement, the means of peace and harmony, the one bond which will
> unite the East and the West.
> – Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 440.
> In 1990 I decided to become a Baha’i. Since then I’ve had several of my own spiritual
> experiences with my dreams, which reassured and confirmed me about my decision to
> be a Baha’i.
> 
> 46.The Connec5ons Between Navajo and Baha’i Spirituality
> 
> July 28, 2019
> Co-author: Bitahnii Wayne Wilson
> 
> In the previous essay in this series about Indigenous messengers of God, Christopher
> Buck began interviewing Bitahnii Wayne Wilson, a Navajo/Diné Baha’i, about his faith.
> Born and raised on the Navajo reservation in Northern Arizona, Wilson faced
> tremendous challenges as a child. Before he discovered the Baha’i teachings, he was
> raised by abusive alcoholic parents, then by a grandmother—but all three died in quick
> succession when he was still very young, leaving him and his siblings in the care of an
> aunt and uncle. After high school, Bitahnii turned to alcohol, too—but soon realized that
> he would follow in the footsteps of his late parents if he continued. Instead, he walked to
> the Native American Baha’i Institute (NABI), spent a night in its prayer hogan, and
> “prayed himself sober.” After several years of studying the Baha’i teachings and going to
> AA meetings, he became a Baha’i in 1990.
> In this portion of Christopher Buck’s BahaiTeachings.org interview with him, Bitahnii
> recounts the close connections and similarities between the traditional Diné/Navajo
> spiritual practices and the Baha’i teachings.
> Q: Bitahnii, do you practice both Baha’i and Diné sacred teachings? Are they compatible
> with each other?
> A: Yes, I practice my indigenous Navajo “Protection Way” and “Blessing Way” teachings
> and ceremonies, along with participating in my local Baha’i community by having
> devotional gatherings, giving service to others within my community and surrounding
> communities, along with deepenings we all participate in, which include reading Baha’i
> scriptures together and having discussions.
> I spent my childhood around my late grandfather, John Burnside, a Navajo medicine
> man. My mother would take me around sometimes with him, and sometimes he would
> instruct us on how to gather medicinal herbs and the sandstone rocks he crushed and
> used in creating healing ceremonial sand paintings. My grandfather needed me to
> always pick up some specific instruments to be given out and collected before and after
> each Diné prayer ceremony. I later became initiated into those traditions through the
> “Protection Way” and the “Blessing Way.” The three main kinds of Navajo ceremonies
> are the “Blessing Way,” the “Protection Way,” and the “Healing Way.”
> I was also initiated in the Yei Bi Chei or “Night Chant,” also known as the “Nine Night
> Way” ceremony, in which I had memorable spiritual experiences while participating in
> 
> singing the chants and helping out with our traditional Navajo all-night devotional
> ceremonies and purification rites in obtaining healing. There I found a spiritual state
> of Hózhó—the Diné system of principles that guide one’s thoughts, speech and virtuous
> deeds into a state of peace, happiness, beauty, balance and harmony. I learned that
> they are very much the same as reading the Baha’i writings and prayers:
> Shut your eyes to estrangement, then fix your gaze upon unity. Cleave
> tenaciously unto that which will lead to the well-being and tranquillity of all
> mankind. This span of earth is but one homeland and one habitation. It behoveth
> you to abandon vainglory which causeth alienation and to set your hearts on
> whatever will ensure harmony.
> – Baha’u’llah, Tablets of Baha’u’llah, pp. 67-68.
> Q: In Chapter 12 of my book, God & Apple Pie: Religious Myths and Visions of America,
> there is a photograph with this caption:
> Jenny Manybeads, a Diné (Navajo) Baha’i, embraced the Baha’i Faith in the
> 1950’s. At the age of 100, she is pictured here, in 1984, in front of her hogan
> (traditional Navajo sacred home of wooden poles, tree bark and mud) in
> Dinnebito, Arizona. Rug weaver, herbalist, and midwife, Manybeads was
> affectionately called the “Grandmother of Big Mountain.” She passed away on
> November 3, 1999, at the age of 115. (Photo courtesy of David Smith.)
> Did you know Jenny Manybeads?
> A: I never met Jenny Manybeads, but I do know some of her other family members.
> When I attended the Louhelen Baha’i School back in 1991–93, I found out I was
> distantly related to Jenny Manybeads through my clan. So Jenny would have also been
> my grandmother.
> Q: What impact do you think the Baha’i Faith had on her, and on your many other
> Navajo relatives who have become Baha’is?
> A: I can only cite Baha’u’llah, the prophet and founder of the Baha’i Faith, when he
> wrote:
> Beseech ye the one true God to grant that ye may taste the savor of such deeds
> as are performed in His path, and partake of the sweetness of such humility and
> submissiveness as are shown for His sake. Forget your own selves, and turn
> your eyes towards your neighbor. Bend your energies to whatever may foster the
> education of men. Nothing is, or can ever be, hidden from God. If ye follow in His
> way, His incalculable and imperishable blessings will be showered upon you.
> – Baha’u’llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, p. 9.
> 
> 47.The Sacred Covenant of the Navajos—and the Baha’is
> 
> August 4, 2019
> Co-author: Bitahnii Wayne Wilson
> 
> Many Faiths establish a covenant between their founders and followers. That covenant,
> agreement or contract then becomes the guiding framework of the Faith.
> In the Diné/Navajo tradition, and in the Baha’i Faith as well, covenants not only supply
> that guiding framework, but also provide for the protection and continuance of each
> spiritual tradition.
> Continuing the ongoing conversation between Christopher Buck and Diné/Navajo Baha’i
> Bitahnii Wayne Wilson, BahaiTeachings.org examines the impact of those covenants on
> each religious community and their beliefs.
> Q: Bitahnii, I have been reading the work of Linda S. Covey from Missouri State
> University, who has done some research on Navajo-Baha’i connections. In her book
> chapter, “The Navajo Tradition: Transition to the Baha’i Faith,” published in Images,
> imaginations, and Beyond: Proceedings of the 8th Native American Symposium,
> November 2009, Professor Covey wrote on the “Return of the Warrior Twins: Shaping
> Religious Ideology”:
> … when responsibility for the world was given to the Nihookáá Diné (the First
> Navajos), Changing Woman and the other Diyin Dine’ē (Holy People) gave the
> First Navajos the components of their ancestral knowledge in songs, prayers,
> ceremonies, and stories. These together formed a charter for life, a contract or
> covenant between the First Navajos and the Holy People who gave them the
> right to live within Dinétah, the original Navajo land between the four sacred
> mountains in Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado. The Diné would be under the
> special protection of the Holy People as long as they stayed within the guidelines
> or boundaries of this covenant.
> – p. 69.
> Would you please tell us more about this sacred Diné covenant?
> A: Yes. But this is a very delicate topic! You have to remember that some of these
> teachings, stories, and methods are done slightly differently between some of our
> families and distant relatives, like the Apache, who have their own version of their origin
> stories that are similar to our own Navajo traditions.
> 
> These sacred stories vary from region to region, even within the Navajo Nation. So I will
> explain them to you the way my grandfather, the late John Burnside explained them to
> me.
> My grandfather, John Burnside, taught me about Jish do dzil leezh do Ah tsaah—the
> sacred Medicine bag, Mountain Dirt Bundle (dzil leezh) and Pouch. That’s a ceremonial
> basket consisting of a deerskin pouch tied together into a bundle with a prayer and
> chants, that is made up of soil ceremonially taken from the mountain with a prayer
> offerings.
> The Mountain Dirt Bundle connects first to ourselves through our mind, body, soul, the
> Earth, the mountains, the corn fields, the domestic animals, our soft goods, and our
> hard goods. Along with the ceremonial basket and other ceremonial instruments it
> becomes a physical and spiritual Diné/Navajo covenant that constantly reminds you
> about keeping your commitment—that is, your agreement by being truthful within
> yourself, which becomes your foundation of your commitment to the Great Spirit—that
> connects you from your Divine self to a Greater Divine Spirit.
> Now, once again we are starting anew, because the Bab and Baha’u’llah have renewed
> the spirit of our sacred Navajo teachings and given us a new covenant.
> Q: Thank you, Bitahnii. In her book chapter, Professor Covey went on to say:
> The origin story of the Warrior Twins illuminates those ancestral teachings that
> influenced Diné Baha’is to accept the Bab and Baha’u’llah as the return of the
> Warrior Twins. Anthropologist Maureen Trudelle Schwarz tells the story of the
> Warrior Twins through the Diné creation stories of Áłltsé Asdazáá (First
> Woman), Áłltsé Hastiin (First Man), and Changing Woman. Changing Woman
> was found by the “holy spirit” Talking God as an infant, “lying under a dark cloud
> with a rainbow and soft, falling rain; strapped into a cradle made of rainbow,
> lightning, and sunbeams.” The infant was given to First Man and First Woman
> who raised her in a “miracle way” with “sunray pollen from clouds, plants and
> flower dew so that she matured miraculously, coming into womanhood within
> twelve days.” Changing Woman gave birth to the Warrior Twins named Monster
> Slayer and Born For Water who were fathered by the Sun. Later, Changing
> Woman created the Nihookáá Diné (First Navajos) brought to life by her breath
> and the Holy Winds entering into their bodies.
> As young men, the Warrior Twins saved the world by slaying all Monsters except
> for Death, Disease, Hunger, Poverty and Old Age. The Monster Slayers then
> gave the weapons of sacred ceremonies and prayers to the Nihookáá Diné to
> use for “healing and the good life”. Archival material written by an anonymous
> Diné Baha’i explains that the Monster Slayers were expected to return to the
> Diné, “reborn by the iniquities of all humankind,” and give to all humankind “the
> spiritual weapons to battle and slay all the Monsters.” Spoken of as the “New
> 
> Day” and signaled by “terrible trials for the Diné,” the Wise Ones knew that they
> would see “the death throes of the Old Era and the birth of the New Era.”
> – Ibid., p. 70.
> Is the above description accurate? Are the Warrior Twins actually prophets—that is, are
> they “Indigenous messengers of God”? If so, would you please tell us more about the
> Warrior Twins? Are there prophecies of their return? Do you accept the Bab and
> Baha’u’llah as the “return” of the Warrior Twins?
> A: When I first became a Baha’i, my inner spirit spoke and told me that the Bab and
> Baha’u’llah are the return of those ancient Spirit Beings of long ago before the Twin
> Warriors, they would be known as the Grandfathers of the Twin Warrior brothers.
> Their names were Haash ch’eh waan (“First Calling and/or House Spirit”). They were
> known as Holy Beings who had their own spiritual prayers, songs, teachings, and
> ceremonies. The traditions tell us that the first Grandfather would make the
> announcement of the coming of another Holy Being, who would be represented within
> the symbols of the coming of the evening twilight, night, and moon.
> In the Navajo traditions Haash ch’eh Yaalti’ (“First Talking Spirit”) is that Holy Being. He
> is represented within the symbols of the coming of the new morning dawn and the sun
> of a renewed reality. They brought his spiritual prayers, songs, teachings, and healing
> ceremonies to guide his grandchildren in living a good virtuous lifestyle—in obtaining
> and maintaining Hozho, or balance and harmony.
> The Diné nine-night ceremonial chant mentions that this Holy Being has a house made
> of white dawn in the Eastern direction from where the sun rises. That is why all Navajo
> hogans face east, and why we have to get up early in the morning to say our morning
> prayers and give offerings of corn pollen or white ground corn for good blessings.
> Practiced throughout the Navajo Nation, this tradition is so similar to Baha’i dawn
> prayers:
> I have wakened in Thy shelter, O my God, and it becometh him that seeketh that
> shelter to abide within the Sanctuary of Thy protection and the Stronghold of Thy
> defense. Illumine my inner being, O my Lord, with the splendors of the Day-
> Spring of Thy Revelation, even as Thou didst illumine my outer being with the
> morning light of Thy favor.
> – Baha’u’llah, Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u’llah, p. 250.
> In the Navajo spiritual tradition, the “Warrior Twins”—“Monster Slayer” and “Child Born
> of the Water”—were great spiritual teachers and warriors of our people long ago. The
> Warrior Twins also had brothers, named “Reared within the Earth” and “Changing
> Grandchild,” who were also ancient holy Twin warrior figures, who, when they appeared
> with Monster Slayer and Child Born of the Water, represent the four sacred mountains
> of Navajoland. These brothers also represent the female and male essences of their
> 
> grandfathers, First Calling Spirit and First Talking Spirit—so, yes, I believe that a part of
> their essences have come and returned again in the advent of the Bab and Baha’u’llah,
> the twin prophets of the Baha’i Faith.
> This return of the spirit establishes the foundation of the Baha’i “Twin Manifestations”
> concept, through what Navajos call Alkeeh Na Ashi’ or Naki’ Na ashi’—“The Two Who
> Follow One Another,” or “The Two Who Travel Together”—the Primordial Pairs. The
> Diné/Navajo people feel that the Warrior Twins of long ago have faded into nature and
> the universe to establish and verify the twin manifestations of God and/or Holy People
> within this day and age, who have reappeared as the Bab and Baha’u’llah. I have found
> that this is also much the same with in other ancient cultures.
> It is through our way of being a true Diné/Navajo and practicing our indigenous way of
> life that I’m able to understand the Baha’i Faith, because the spirit of both methods and
> ways of life reflect the same qualities. These teachings are all from the Great Spirit—the
> Creator, Almighty God.
> 
> 48.Pressing on to Meet the Dawn: Patricia Locke
> 
> August 18, 2019
> Co-author: Kevin Locke
> 
> Only one Indigenous woman has ever received a MacArthur “genius grant,” a Google
> “Those Who Make a Difference” award, and was inducted into the National Women’s
> Hall of Fame: Patricia Locke.
> Q: Known in her Lakota language as Tawacin WasteWin—which means “She has a
> good consciousness, a compassionate woman”—she is also Kevin Locke’s mother. In
> this installment of our Indigenous Messengers of God series, we ask Kevin to reflect on
> his mother’s legacy and on what he learned from such a remarkable parent. Kevin, can
> you summarize her focus in this life?
> A: Creating a positive awareness of the holy souls who inspired our people was my
> mom’s passion. She grew up in an era when spiritual oppression was especially
> intense. I well remember how delighted she was to support and participate in the
> Indigenous spiritual revitalization movement and readily recognized that the foundation
> of it all was God’s mandate expressed through His holy emissaries to the people of this
> land. Let’s press on to meet the dawn.
> Q: Among her many accomplishments, in 1993 Patricia Locke was elected as the first
> Native American woman to serve as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of
> the Baha’is of the United States.
> In 2006, five years after she passed away, Patricia Locke was inducted into the National
> Women’s Hall of Fame. In 2014, the National Race Amity Conference awarded her
> the “Race Amity Medal of Honor.” (See video: “2014 Medal of Honor Recipient: Patricia
> Locke” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ULcK1B7IRE.)
> Kevin, your mother gained a huge amount of recognition for her work saving Indigenous
> languages, so could you please comment further on your statement that “Creating a
> positive awareness of these holy souls was my mom’s passion”?
> A: Even though it was forbidden and illegal at the time, my mother’s relatives always
> acknowledged and insisted that the foundation of Lakota identity and reality was the
> divine message of the holy revelator: Ptehíŋčala Ska Wiŋ / White Buffalo Calf Woman.
> When the noted pioneer ethnomusicologist Frances Densmore came to our Standing
> Rock Reservation to do research among the most eminent elders in 1911, the elders
> insisted that the document must begin with the teachings of the divine messenger,
> White Buffalo Calf Woman. So foundational was her teaching that some say that even
> 
> the name Lakȟóta or Dakȟóta (“they who are faithful, pious, civilized, blessed”) was
> bestowed by her as recipients of God’s covenant.
> Q: What did you mean, Kevin, when you said “I well remember how delighted she was
> to support and participate in the Indigenous spiritual revitalization movement”?
> A: Perhaps, after having lived through so much oppression and colonization, my mother
> recognized an awakening process in which the people could arise and begin to take
> charge of their own destiny again.
> Q: Is that why you said earlier that she readily recognized the foundation of it all was
> God’s mandate expressed through His holy emissaries to the people of this land?
> A: Yes! Immigrant accounts of the first encounters with North American Indigenous
> peoples typically note that every one of their gatherings began with prayer. What the
> Euro-Americans did not note was that prayer was a divine injunction imparted by the
> holy souls—the prophets, the messengers, what the Baha’i teachings call the
> “Manifestations of God”—who appeared amongst the various Indigenous peoples. My
> mother’s earliest memories were of her family’s participation in secret devotional
> gatherings—far from the reach and ken of the immigrant authorities, who were unaware
> of these sacred ceremonies. Despite overwhelming opposition, Patricia Locke
> recognized the essence of faithfulness to the covenant.
> Q: So what did she mean by “Let’s press on to meet the dawn”?
> A: That comes from the closing paragraph of the April 1994 Universal House of Justice
> message to the Baha’i world:
> Beloved friends: Do not be dismayed or deterred. Take courage in the security of
> God’s law and ordinances. These are the darkest hours before the break of day.
> Peace, as promised, will come at night’s end. Press on to meet the dawn.
> – The Universal House of Justice, to the Baha’is of the World, April, 1994.
> I love this statement, and my mother did, too, because the harbinger of the dawn is the
> morning star—perhaps the most important symbol in Indigenous North America—the
> herald of the new day that appears at the coldest, darkest hour before the dawn and
> announces the fulfillment of the promise that the cold and darkness and death would be
> transmuted into color, light and life. The morning star is often depicted as an 8-pointed
> star. The 8-pointed star gardens surrounding the Shrine of the Bab in Haifa were a
> magnet to the Baha’i Faith for me, especially when I understood that the Bab’s mission
> and life was synonymous with the symbolic meaning of the morning star.
> Q: Kevin, how do you think our current “Indigenous Messengers of God” series helps to
> brighten this “Dawn”?
> 
> A: I pray, Chris, that this series will add to the inspiration required for us to unify and
> collectively arise to fulfill the dreams and aspirations of our ancestors who are ready to
> rush to our assistance to usher in this new day—this Day of God.
> Q: Thanks, Kevin. I think it’s befitting to close with this statement written by Patricia
> Locke and Jacqueline Left Hand Bull for the Parliament of World Religions, in keeping
> with the spirit of this “Indigenous Messengers of God” series:
> 
> DECLARATION OF VISION
> Toward the Next 500 Years from the gathering of the 1993 United Indigenous
> Peoples at the Parliament of World’s Religions Chicago, Illinois, 1993
> We as Indigenous Peoples and Native Nations, honoring our ancestors and our
> future generations, do hereby declare our present and continuing survival within
> our sacred homelands in the Western Hemisphere.
> Since time immemorial, we have lived in a spiritual way in keeping with our
> sacred laws, principles and values given to us by the Creator. Our ways of life
> are based on respect for Mother Earth, a sacred regard for all relations and the
> survival of our languages, cultures and traditions.
> In the “Year of the Indigenous Peoples,” while the United Nations Universal
> Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is still being prepared, we ask
> for solidarity in our cause from the religions of the world.
> We call upon the people of conscience in the Roman Catholic hierarchy to
> persuade Pope John Paul II to formally revoke the Inter Cetera Bull of May 4,
> 1492, which will restore our fundamental rights. That Papal document called for
> our Nations and Peoples to be subjugated so that the Christian Empire and its
> doctrines be propagated. The United States Supreme Court ruling, Johnson v.
> M’Intosh, 21 U.S. (8 Wheat.) 543 (1823), has adopted the same principle of
> subjugation expressed in the Inter Caetera Bull. This Papal Bull has been, and
> continues to be, devastating to our religions, our cultures, and the survival of our
> populations. Since 1492, 85% of our 145,000,000 in population has been
> decimated by the effect of the Papal Bull!
> We call upon the People of conscience in the many other organized religions
> whose historical actions have participated in the dehumanization of our
> Indigenous Nations, to help us put an end to the violation of our Peoples’ human
> rights.
> We call for an end to the deafening silence of religious denominations and
> groups regarding the violations of our peoples’ rights, because this silence
> implies complicity and tolerance of the effects.
> 
> One hundred years ago, during the 1893 Parliament of World Religions, the
> profoundly religious Original Peoples of the Western Hemisphere were not
> invited. We are still here and still struggling to be heard for the sake of our
> Mother Earth and our children. Our spiritual and physical survival continues to be
> threatened all over the hemisphere, we feel compelled to ask you to join us in
> restoring the balances of humanity and Mother Earth in these ways:
> A. Acknowledgement of the myriad of messengers of the Creator, the
> Great Mystery, to the peoples of the Western Hemisphere.
> B. Support in promoting, preserving and maintaining our Indigenous
> languages and cultures.
> C. Involvement in the world outcry against the continuing genocide of
> Indigenous Peoples of the Americas, by taking direct action in support of
> the International Conventions prohibiting genocide in their various
> countries.
> D. Protection and return of the sacred sites and traditional lands of the
> Indigenous Peoples.
> E. Reversal of the environmental degradation that endangers our
> traditional lifeways and threatens our very existence.
> F. Repatriation of our ancestors and sacred objects from the museums
> and holdings of the world.
> With respect for all life, we thank you.
> 
> – Patricia Locke and Jacqueline Left Hand Bull, “Declaration of Vision:
> Toward the Next 500 Years,” from the gathering of the United Indigenous
> Peoples at the Parliament of World’s Religions, Chicago, Illinois, 1993.
> 
> 49.Spiritual Traveling on the Rainbow and Corn Pollen Path
> 
> August 25, 2019
> Co-author: Bitahnii Wayne Wilson
> 
> In these next two essays, Chris Buck continues his deep spiritual conversation with
> Navajo Baha’i Bitahnii Wayne Wilson about the Diné holy traditions and their
> congruence with the Baha’i teachings.
> Q: Greetings, brother Bitahnii! Earlier today, you sent me a very interesting Navajo sand
> painting, which was actually displayed on the cover of a book published by Stanford
> University Press. This sand painting is featured not only on the book cover itself, but
> also as the frontispiece for the book. The text of the frontispiece reads:
> The Pollen Path: A Sand Painting from the Blessing Way Chant Cycle
> The Initiate enters the path of the rainbow at the lower right, passes onto the
> yellow pollen path between the two mysterious Ethkaynaáshi Spirit Bringers, and
> comes into the white field of ritual ceremony through the Navajo tree of life, the
> Great Corn Plant. He has to pass through both female and male experience as
> he does so, the female experience symbolized by the smooth, curved lines of the
> rainbow (red and blue), and the male by the crooked, dynamic lines of the
> lightning. Passing out at the top through the corn tassels, he comes to the Blue
> Bird, which signifies blessing and peace, and goes out into the world again on
> the yellow pollen path at upper right.”
> – Margaret Schevill Link, The Pollen Path: A Collection of Navajo Myths,
> Frontispiece.
> A: That’s good you found it, Chris! It kind of reminds me of how you have begun on a
> new spiritual journey.
> Q: Yes, I have—thanks to you! Is this sand painting known by any other name?
> A: It’s called the “Rainbow and Corn Pollen Path.”
> Q: These sand paintings, as I understand it, are utilized in healing ceremonies done by
> Navajo medicine men—a remarkable coming-together of art, culture and medicine. In
> your own Navajo spiritual life, have you encountered this “Rainbow and Corn Pollen
> Path” sand painting before?
> A: Yes, I’ve seen this version—it was done over me, but not in sand painting form.
> When I say “done over me,” I mean that this same “Rainbow and Corn Pollen Path”
> 
> design was done in ground white corn on a buckskin that was not slayed by a bullet or
> arrow in a sacred ceremony I took part in.
> The sand painting is from a unique ceremony—but one that isn’t done as much
> anymore. The author, Margaret Schevill Link, used this sand painting only to promote
> her book. This sand painting used to be used with the Blessing Way ceremony, but it
> was changed or isn’t being done anymore because of how the author has used it to
> promote the book.
> Q: I see. I also see that the “Pollen Path” is commercially available, with this description:
> Design based on a traditional Navajo sand painting known as the Pollen Path.
> This shows two Yei (supernatural beings) assisting in bringing nourishment from
> the ground up through the roots into the corn plant. In the corn field two
> additional beings represent the balanced forces of day-night and rainbow-
> lightning. Sky bird is perched on top of the tassels and the entire scene is framed
> by a rainbow protection border, left open at the top for beneficial forces to enter.
> – Artist, Kenny Bakeman, Pollen Path, https://www.imagekind.com/pollen-
> path_art?IMID=378eac11-9f19-40d0-840b-0dcf4a0e0881
> A: This rendition of the sand painting is not complete because we Diné/Navajo
> purposely leave it incomplete, unless one is having the ceremony performed over them,
> when the sand painting is then completed as part of the healing ceremony. So that’s
> why it was used on the book cover, since tradition dictates that a complete sand
> painting must be destroyed, once the ceremony for which it was used is done.
> Q: There are many Navajo/Diné sand paintings. Why did you choose this one?
> A: I chose that particular design to explain to my elders and other people in general
> spiritual teachings about the process of renewal, and about how the patient—who wants
> harmony (hozho) to be restored within their mind, body, and soul—can start over and
> new again, after the ceremony is over. It also reminds me of the Baha’i teachings
> regarding the establishment of peace and harmony in the world:
> O ye lovers of God! Make firm your steps; fulfil your pledge to one another; go
> forth in harmony to scatter abroad the sweet savours of God’s love, and to
> establish His Teachings, until ye breathe a soul into the dead body of this world,
> and bring true healing in the physical and spiritual realms to everyone who aileth.
> – Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, p. 244.
> Q: I understand that this sand painting comes from the Blessing Way tradition. I also
> understand that corn is central to Navajo life, and that corn pollen is the essence. For
> that reason, corn pollen is an essential part of Diné/Navajo life, including all of the
> sacred ceremonies. Is the description in the caption to the Frontispiece above generally
> accurate?
> 
> A: This sand painting is not now, or is rarely, performed during the Navajo Blessing Way
> or Beauty Way ceremonies. Also, this sand painting is not of the Nine-Night Way. This is
> how my elders explained this particular sand painting to me:
> 
> As our spirit is traveling from another world, we are traveling on the Rainbow Path.
> Before you approach the Holy Grandfathers, you see four footprints that lead to the Holy
> Grandfathers who are there and who grant you renewal and reawakening. As you take
> the next four steps up the Corn Stalk, you’re reborn into another world making the next
> four steps as you experience the ugly and beautiful sides of life that help you to
> spiritually develop. The Corn Stalk represents enduring the hardships of life and living a
> beautiful life—from birth into the transformation of old age.
> That is where the Spirit Guides come into your life and instruct you on how you’re living
> your life right or wrong, as you’re beginning to reflect the spiritual processes in order to
> develop your spiritual capacity.
> In other words, the Rainbow Path consists of going on a spiritual journey, which is seen
> on the sand painting itself, that shows the rainbow with four footprints leading to the
> Holy Grandfathers. Then you start by going up the Corn Stalk, developing and
> relearning what we call Hozho—peace, beauty, balance, and harmony, experiencing
> your feminine essence, then the masculine essence, as you ascend the Corn Stalk. At
> the top of the Corn Stalk is the final stage of enlightenment, as the result of being
> transformed, by walking upon the pollen path. The bird at the top represents spiritual
> sovereignty.
> Like all other sand paintings, this “Rainbow and Corn Pollen Path” is considered a visual
> prayer that tells us how to live in hozho on this Mother Earth and throughout the many
> worlds of God—through time and eternity. So this sand painting depicts the visual
> spiritual process of reaching the highest potential and capacity in one’s spiritual
> development.
> I’m sharing with you some of my Navajo spiritual knowledge and philosophy that reflects
> the Baha’i spiritual teachings, through my life experiences of this Navajo ceremony, and
> others as well.
> 
> 50.Twin Spiritual Perspec5ves: the Navajo and Baha’i Teachings
> 
> September 1, 2019
> Co-author: Bitahnii Wayne Wilson
> 
> In this essay, Navajo Baha’i Bitahnii Wayne Wilson and Chris Buck continue their
> conversation about the striking parallels between the Navajo spiritual traditions and the
> Baha’i teachings.
> Q: Bitahnii Wayne, I’m curious to know more about the Twin Grandfathers of the Twin
> Warriors in the Diné beliefs. Is the term, “Twin Grandfathers,” ever used in the sacred
> Diné/Navajo traditions?
> A: The reason why I’m informing you about our Holy People and the holy Twin Prophets
> of the Baha’i Faith, the Bab and Baha’u’llah, is because they reflect each other!
> *** IMG: Navajo/Diné sacred sand painting: “Rainbow and Corn Pollen Path”
> In our ancient Blessing Way Ceremony, the “Rainbow and Corn Pollen Path” sand
> painting begins with the Rainbow Path that leads to Two Holy figures that one
> recognizes as First Grandfather “Talking Spirit” or “Talking God” and “First Calling Spirit”
> or “First Calling God.”
> The Corn Pollen Path—or, as we say, the “Restoration of Walking the Beautiful Rainbow
> and Corn Pollen Path—is a highly and richly symbolic sand painting. At the bottom of
> the Corn Stalk, the sand painting shows the Two Holy Grandfathers—or what you called
> the “Twin Grandfathers.” To me, this sand painting shows that one must recognize these
> messengers of God as they’re born into this world.
> Q: So who are the other two figures, appearing on the left and right of the sacred Corn
> Stalk?
> A: The two who are next to the Corn Stalk are considered to be Spirit Guides. One is
> “Corn Pollen Boy” and the other is “Corn Beetle Girl.” They’re Spirit Guides of our
> attitude towards our experiences in life—with the male essence being the lightning, and
> the female essence being the rainbow. The sand painting shows that as we travel up
> the Corn Stalk, we can balance those two essences and restore harmony to ourselves
> and to the world once again.
> Q: So is this sand painting not only a visual prayer, but a visual, symbolic prophecy as
> well?
> 
> A: Yes. Our prophecies are in our ceremonies and chants. They tell of how life can be
> beautiful on Earth, and also tell of the ugly side of life and of Earth’s catastrophic
> changes, due to the loss of our prayers in our Indigenous languages and ceremonial
> ways. All this will bring about mass confusion and chaos. As a result our, environment is
> also becoming more degraded—and now dangerous and life-threatening, due to
> cataclysmic climate change.
> You have to keep in mind that colonization has taken its toll through the assimilation
> process of the boarding school era and also through missionary Christianity and other
> ways of life being forced upon us. So sadly, we have lost some of our ceremonial ways.
> But some have survived—or transitioned—and some have always stayed strong and
> survived.
> Q: You chose this “Rainbow and Corn Pollen Path” sand painting for a good reason—
> partly because it depicts the Two Holy Grandfathers, right? In your view, do the Two
> Holy Grandfathers somehow have a connection with the Bab and Baha’u’llah?
> A: I chose it because it reflects some of what we have been discussing about the two
> Holy Ones at the base of the Corn Stalk. The Corn Stalk is our Indigenous traditional
> Navajo Tree of Life, what the Baha’i teachings refer to symbolically as “the tree beyond
> which there is no passing:”
> Advance, O people, with snow-white faces and radiant hearts, unto the blest and
> crimson Spot, wherein the Tree beyond which there is no passing is calling:
> ‘Verily, there is none other God beside Me, the Omnipotent Protector, the Self-
> Subsisting!’
> – Baha’u’llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, pp. 128-129.
> The Divine Lote-Tree—which Muhammad and Baha’u’llah called in Arabic the Sadratu’l-
> Muntahá, which means the “Lote-Tree of the Utmost Farthest Boundary”—symbolically
> marks the end of the seventh heaven, the border of consciousness which no creation
> can pass. Ultimately, Baha’u’llah said, the Divine Lote-Tree is a metaphor for the
> messenger of God:
> For the faith of no man can be conditioned by any one except himself.
> This is one of the verities that lie enshrined in My Revelation—a verity which I
> have revealed in all the heavenly Books, which I have caused the Tongue of
> Grandeur to utter, and the Pen of Power to inscribe. Ponder a while thereon, that
> with both your inner and outer eye, ye may perceive the subtleties of Divine
> wisdom and discover the gems of heavenly knowledge … that ye may not stray
> far from the All-Highest Throne, from the Tree beyond which there is no passing,
> from the Habitation of everlasting might and glory.
> – Baha’u’llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, p. 143-144.
> 
> Q: So do you connect this sand painting with the appearance of the Twin
> Manifestations, the Bab and Baha’u’llah?
> A: It is already there! I’m saying the Bab and Baha’u’llah were already here—long
> before, and during, the development of humanity.
> This concept and idea is new to you. But, for us traditional Navajo, this spiritual
> guidance, through these Holy Ones, has always been here—and is a recurring event in
> a spiritual way, much like the processes of the cycles of the four seasons and times of
> the day and night, the sun and the moon and their eclipse.
> The way I understand this particular sand painting is that it starts from walking upon the
> Rainbow Path that represents your old beliefs or other religions. But you then you must
> recognize the Bab and Baha’u’llah first in order for you to experience what it means to
> be a Baha’i.
> Ethkaynaashi is what I’ve been sharing. Ałkeeh na ashi’ or Naki’ Na ashi’. They all mean
> the Twins, the Holy Twin Grandfathers, the follower pairs, the two who travel together as
> one, and/or Primordial Pairs—the Twin Manifestations of God. So, as Navajo Baha’is,
> we would say the Ethkaynaashi, Ałkeeh na ashi’, Naki’Na ashi’ of this day and age
> would be the Bab and Baha’u’llah.
> It is what one would say is both a new and ancient revelation of these spiritual
> teachings. The great Holy Ones, Manifestations, prophets, spiritual teachings are all, as
> Baha’u’llah said, of the Great Spirit, Creator, Almighty, God. They all reflect each other
> and reflect back into the universe, if we live by these teachings and sing our chants and
> say our prayers.
> This is what I mean when I say that the Navajo and Baha’i teachings share very similar
> spiritual perspectives—now we’ve gone full circle in both Navajo spiritual teachings and
> Baha’i teachings!
> 
> 51.The Right to Cultural Iden5ty
> 
> September 8, 2019
> Co-author: Kevin Locke
> 
> The Baha’i principle of “unity in diversity” includes cultural diversity, too — which means
> that all people have the right to their unique cultural identity, now considered a human
> right under international law.
> So let’s continue our ongoing conversation with Kevin Locke about the Indigenous
> messengers of God, with the idea of cultural diversity in mind.
> Q: Kevin, in Part 43 of this series, you cited this excerpt from The Prosperity of
> Humankind, an official statement written in 1995 by the Baha’i International Community:
> The principle of collective trusteeship creates also the right of every person to
> expect that those cultural conditions essential to his or her identity enjoy the
> protection of national and international law. Much like the role played by the gene
> pool in the biological life of humankind and its environment, the immense wealth
> of cultural diversity achieved over thousands of years is vital to the social and
> economic development of a human race experiencing its collective coming-of-
> age. It represents a heritage that must be permitted to bear its fruit in a global
> civilization. On the one hand, cultural expressions need to be protected from
> suffocation by the materialistic influences currently holding sway. On the other,
> cultures must be enabled to interact with one another in ever-changing patterns
> of civilization, free of manipulation for partisan political ends.
> – “The Prosperity of Humankind,” Baha’i International Community Office of
> Public Information, Haifa.
> This important statement supports and validates everything that your mother Patricia
> Locke stood for, doesn’t it?
> A: Yes, but much more than that! In my book, Arising, Chapter 5, I wrote about Patricia
> Locke’s activism, including her immediate, as well as long-term, goals and objectives:
> At this time, she had so much going on in her life – most significantly, her
> activism to improve educational opportunities for Indigenous people; to support
> their cultural, spiritual, and linguistic heritage; and to eliminate discriminatory
> practices toward them.
> Note that the Baha’i International Community refers to the “protection of national and
> international law.” My mother knew that national law, standing alone, may not be
> 
> enough. The greater protection, in the long run, may be cultural protection and
> preservation under international law, to which national law should conform. Patricia
> Locke, therefore, was not only an activist at local and national levels, but at the
> international level as well.
> Q: Some of the language in the Baha’i International Community’s remarkable statement
> appears to echo the UNESCO “Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity” declaration,
> which says, in part:
> 
> IDENTITY, DIVERSITY AND PLURALISM
> Article 1 – Cultural diversity: the common heritage of humanity
> Culture takes diverse forms across time and space. This diversity is embodied in
> the uniqueness and plurality of the identities of the groups and societies making
> up humankind. As a source of exchange, innovation and creativity, cultural
> diversity is as necessary for humankind as biodiversity is for nature. In this
> sense, it is the common heritage of humanity and should be recognized and
> affirmed for the benefit of present and future generations.
> Article 2 – From cultural diversity to cultural pluralism
> In our increasingly diverse societies, it is essential to ensure harmonious
> interaction among people and groups with plural, varied and dynamic cultural
> identities as well as their willingness to live together. Policies for the inclusion and
> participation of all citizens are guarantees of social cohesion, the vitality of civil
> society and peace. Thus defined, cultural pluralism gives policy expression to the
> reality of cultural diversity. Indissociable from a democratic framework, cultural
> pluralism is conducive to cultural exchange and to the flourishing of creative
> capacities that sustain public life.
> – “UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity.”
> http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CLT/pdf/
> 5_Cultural_Diversity_EN.pdf
> 
> So Kevin, can you comment on “cultural diversity” and “cultural pluralism”?
> A: Chris, would you please clarify your question by first commenting on “cultural
> pluralism”?
> Q: Sure! The term “cultural pluralism” was first coined in a famous conversation, in
> 1907, at the University of Oxford, after the Harlem Renaissance philosopher and writer
> Alain Locke (who later became a Baha’i in 1918), posed the question: “What difference
> does difference make?”
> 
> In the ensuing conversation with Jewish philosopher Howard Kallen, the term “cultural
> pluralism” – more commonly known today as “multiculturalism” – was born. How does
> that apply to your understanding of the Baha’i idea of unity in diversity today?
> A: Chris, let me cite an example that you may be familiar with. In 1969, the National
> Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Canada published a pamphlet, “The Right to An
> Identity,” which says, in part:
> Our hope is that Canada will be the first nation on earth to give practical force to the
> most fundamental right of all: the right of every citizen to be what God has made him.
> Some of the steps which can contribute to such a breakthrough are:
> •   Recruitment of native Canadians as teachers and teaching assistants.
> •   Kindergarten and some primary instruction in the native language of the
> children.
> •   Development of courses of study covering the entire religious heritage of
> mankind.
> •   Involvement of Indian youth in Canada’s overseas aid programs.
> •   Inclusion of the right to a cultural identity in any civil rights entrenched in the
> Constitution.
> – The Canadian Baha’i Community National Office, The Right to An Identity, p. 9.
> Note here the proposal for a new constitutional right to be added to the Canadian
> Constitution! Also, the Baha’i community of Canada recommended the “Development of
> courses of study covering the entire religious heritage of mankind,” which presumably
> includes Indigenous Canadian and Indigenous American religions.
> Q: Interesting! One way to promote “unity in diversity” is to promote the right to a
> cultural identity, which includes traditional, indigenous religious heritages as well. Would
> you agree?
> A: Yes, definitely. I like the way the “Cultural Settings” section of the August 21, 1994,
> International Teaching Centre letter, “Growth of the Cause in Rural Communities” put
> this concept:
> There is a tendency to feel that other peoples’ cultures are less refined than
> one’s own. This feeling is confirmed when contact with another people is
> superficial. But whenever those from outside penetrate another culture and
> discover its depth and subtleties, they develop an attitude of genuine respect for
> the people. At the most profound depth of every culture lies veneration of the
> sacred.
> – The International Teaching Centre, ““Growth of the Cause in Rural
> Communities,” August 21, 1994.
> 
> Societal transformation starts in the heart, and in that heart lies veneration of the
> sacred. Our series of articles identifies the source of that sacred heart as the holy souls
> sent from the heavenly Source to edify the lives in those rural communities to whom
> they appeared.
> Q: So is the “right to a cultural identity” something that the Patricia Locke Foundation —
> a Baha’i-inspired community service initiative — actively promotes?
> A: Absolutely. My mom’s favorite Baha’i quote says it best:
> O Son of Spirit! The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice; turn not
> away therefrom if thou desirest Me, and neglect it not that I may confide in thee.
> By its aid thou shalt see with thine own eyes and not through the eyes of others,
> and shalt know of thine own knowledge and not through the knowledge of thy
> neighbor. Ponder this in thy heart; how it behooveth thee to be. Verily justice is
> My gift to thee and the sign of My loving-kindness. Set it then before thine eyes.
> – Baha’u’llah, The Hidden Words, pp. 3–4.
> Q: Since this was Patricia Locke’s favorite Baha’i quote, and since the Indigenous
> population is the most underrepresented in the United States government, certainly the
> Patricia Locke Foundation must give serious weight to the topic of promoting the right to
> a cultural/spiritual identity, right?
> A: Interestingly, from a Baha’i perspective, there are six Baha’i national jurisdictions in
> North America: Hawaii, Alaska, Canada, United States, Greenland and Mexico. Two are
> majority Indigenous heritage: Greenland and Mexico. Territorially, Alaska and Canada
> are predominantly Indigenous. Hawaii basically couldn’t exist without its Indigenous
> identity. Only the United States has a collective national amnesia regarding its
> Indigenous heritage. Consequently, we in the United States have the bounty of being
> able to work a little harder to create a positive awareness of the Indigenous element of
> our global heritage.
> Q: It’s also heartening to know that the “right to a cultural identity” is recognized and
> promoted as an independent human right in its own right — as proclaimed and
> promulgated, under international law, by the UNESCO “Universal Declaration on
> Cultural Diversity” — independent of whether or not the Baha’i truths and vision are
> included in that process.
> A: This is yet another human right, among many others, that the Baha’i teachings
> actively support and promote, under the Baha’i watchword: “Human rights are God-
> given rights,” where respect for secular human rights is intensified by recognizing
> human rights as sacred.
> 
> 52.Remembering “Forgoben” Indigenous Religions
> 
> September 15, 2019
> Co-author: Kevin Locke
> 
> What has happened to the ancient religions and spiritual belief systems of many of the
> tribal groups of North and South America? Have most of them been completely
> forgotten?
> In this continuing conversation between Christopher Buck and Kevin Locke, we address
> that important question and explore the Baha’i teachings on the subject.
> Q: Several times in this series, Kevin, we have talked about Abdu’l-Baha’s Tablet to
> Amir Khan:
> In ancient times the people of America were, through their northern regions,
> close to Asia, that is, separated from Asia by a strait. For this reason, it hath been
> said that crossing had occurred. There are other signs which indicate
> communication.
> As to places whose people were not informed of the appearance of Prophets,
> such people are excused. In the Qur’án it hath been revealed: “We will not
> chastise them if they had not been sent a Messenger.” [Qur’an 17:15]
> Undoubtedly in those regions the Call of God must have been raised in ancient
> times, but it hath been forgotten now.
> – Abdu’l-Baha, Extract from a Tablet of Abdu’l-Baha.
> So here’s my question about Abdu’l-Baha’s phrase, “but it hath been forgotten now.”
> Here, the “Call of God” refers to the sacred teachings of Indigenous messengers of God
> who appeared “in ancient times” among “the people of America.”
> Would it be fair to say that these sacred, Indigenous traditions were largely “forgotten”
> because they were effaced and erased by cultural genocide, which wreaked havoc on
> all things Indigenous?
> A: Yes, Chris, it was a forced “forgetting” imposed by the colonizing immigrant
> population.
> I well recall the elders’ emphasis on the tantamount importance of the divine message
> of Ptehíŋčala Ska Wiŋ/White Buffalo Calf Woman, and how key it is to the core of my
> own Lakota identity. This, despite generations of suppression and enforced “forgetting.”
> 
> My uncle, who became a devout Christian toward the end of his life, often spoke of the
> prophecies of White Buffalo Calf Woman — and that they point to an imminent
> fulfillment he had not discovered in his lifetime of searching. So he encouraged me to
> persist in my quest — and never give up until I attained the goal. For me, he
> personalized the reality of White Buffalo Calf Woman and nurtured a great love for her
> and her teachings in my heart — a deep love that grows today through its realization in
> the Baha’i Faith, and in the person and teachings of Baha’u’llah as the “return” — or
> spiritual re-voicing — of the spiritual reality of White Buffalo Calf Woman and of her
> sacred teachings of harmony and the relatedness of all.
> Q: Scorched-earth conquest — driven by the doctrine of “Manifest Destiny,” intensified
> by predatory commerce and greed, and exacerbated by religious and racial prejudice —
> played a huge role in this cultural genocide. For a quick overview, see this video from
> the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), of Kevin Gover’s historic apology, “Never Again,” on
> the occasion of the BIA’s 175th anniversary on September 8, 2000.
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zu52ig696L4
> Obviously, all this matters to Indigenous peoples. It’s a life-and-death issue, after all.
> Should this issue matter to Baha’is? Beyond recognizing and acknowledging this tragic
> historical legacy, how can the Baha’i teachings help point the way forward? What, if
> anything, can Baha’is do — whether individually or collectively — especially in the
> process of community-building and helping to reverse the devastating effects of cultural
> genocide?
> A: There is a critical need for trained individuals skilled in raising up human resources,
> especially in targeted “reservoir” areas. Since Indigenous North Americans are the only
> non-urban based group remaining on this continent, reaching this population implies
> learning to live beyond the grid and, yes, even beyond internet/cell phone connectivity.
> This condition, of course, only applies to more geographically isolated groups. It came
> to mind because, yesterday, at a local pow wow, some urban relatives could only stay
> for a very short time because of the lack of amenities — number one being the lack of
> internet/cell phone service.
> But I am convinced that once the sleeping giant that is the North American Indigenous
> population awakens, it will move the world. Much is required to foster the momentum. I
> invite any and all to join in this process so clearly prophesied by those blessed souls
> who raised the “Call of God” in these regions.
> Q: During this forced “forgetting”—perpetrated by the colonizing and devastating
> conquests by Euro-Americans under the nefarious doctrine of Manifest Destiny — were
> some of the teachings of White Buffalo Woman forcibly “forgotten”?
> A: Yes. One of the primary instruments for this “forced forgetting” was the boarding
> school system, in which entire generations were forcibly removed from their homes and
> subjected to a process whose stated aim was to “Kill the Indian, and save the man.”
> 
> In other words, beat out everything Indigenous and impose a Euro-American identity in
> its place. My mother, when pressed, would speak of the severe martial punishment she
> and her classmates received at the hands of the nuns. One in particular was especially
> brutal and pugilistic. Once, I asked her about that nun’s name. She began digging deep
> into her repressed memories … “Sister?? … Sister?? … oh yeah! Sister Rocky
> Marciano!” This was just a joke on my mom’s part referencing the famous boxer,
> America’s heavyweight champion in the mid-1950s.
> Q: Not everything has been lost, though. Obviously some of the teachings of White
> Buffalo Woman are remembered, and are part and parcel of the sacred Lakota
> traditions that survive as a living tradition today. How should non-Indigenous Baha’is
> regard these teachings and spiritual practices, especially if they are the legacy of White
> Buffalo Calf Woman?
> A: Recently I co-wrote an entire book on this important subject, Chris, called Arising. It
> tells the story of my own quest for meaning as a young Lakota man, and the way I first
> encountered the Baha’i Faith—and how its spiritual principles fit so perfectly with Lakota
> beliefs. This passage from the Baha’i writings explains how Baha’u’llah came to connect
> and unite all of the spiritual traditions — and enable us to discover the true nature and
> reality of all the previous holy messengers:
> The Revelation, of which Baha’u’llah is the source and center, abrogates none of
> the religions that have preceded it, nor does it attempt, in the slightest degree, to
> distort their features or to belittle their value. It disclaims any intention of dwarfing
> any of the Prophets of the past, or of whittling down the eternal verity of their
> teachings. It can, in no wise, conflict with the spirit that animates their claims, nor
> does it seek to undermine the basis of any man’s allegiance to their cause. Its
> declared, its primary purpose is to enable every adherent of these Faiths to
> obtain a fuller understanding of the religion with which he stands identified, and
> to acquire a clearer apprehension of its purpose. It is neither eclectic in the
> presentation of its truths, nor arrogant in the affirmation of its claims. Its teachings
> revolve around the fundamental principle that religious truth is not absolute but
> relative, that Divine Revelation is progressive, not final. Unequivocally and
> without the least reservation it [the Baha’i Faith] proclaims all established
> religions to be divine in origin, identical in their aims, complementary in their
> functions, continuous in their purpose, indispensable in their value to mankind.
> – Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Baha’u’llah, pp. 57–58.
> Q: Excellent answer! In this remarkable passage, let me illustrate how this statement
> may apply to the Lakota sacred traditions, as being among “all established religions.”
> So, if we substitute “the Lakota sacred traditions” in place of “all established religions,”
> we get this result:
> 
> Unequivocally and without the least reservation it [the Baha’i Faith] proclaims [the
> Lakota sacred traditions] to be divine in origin, identical in their aims,
> complementary in their functions, continuous in their purpose, indispensable in
> their value to mankind.
> 
> 53.How Navajo Tradi5ons Lead to the Baha’i Faith
> 
> September 21, 2019
> Co-author: Bitahnii Wayne Wilson
> 
> The Navajo people have a deep, rich, extensive spiritual tradition, which relies on the
> Navajo creation story. That complex cosmology defines every Navajo’s relationship with
> all living creatures.
> In the same way, the Baha’i cosmology – which reflects the oneness of all humanity –
> tells a story of harmony and unity:
> O peoples of the world! The Sun of Truth hath risen to illumine the whole earth,
> and to spiritualize the community of man. Laudable are the results and the fruits
> thereof, abundant the holy evidences deriving from this grace. This is mercy
> unalloyed and purest bounty; it is light for the world and all its peoples; it is
> harmony and fellowship, and love and solidarity; indeed it is compassion and
> unity, and the end of foreignness; it is the being at one, in complete dignity and
> freedom, with all on earth.
> – Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, p. 1.
> As a primary symbol of those unifying relationships, Navajo sand paintings hold deep
> spiritual meanings for the tribe, primarily because they reflect the content of the sacred
> ceremonies used by Navajo medicine men. In this continuing series of interviews with
> Navajo Baha’i Bitahnii Wayne Wilson, Christopher Buck asks about the deep meanings
> of the tribe’s belief system and how they relate to the Baha’i teachings.
> Q: Greetings, Bitahnii Wayne! Do you know of any sacred Navajo/Diné chants
> associated with the “Rainbow and Corn Pollen Path” sand painting, which you told me
> about in our previous two articles?
> A: The Blessing Way Ceremony! The “Rainbow and Corn Pollen Path” sand painting
> was used in the Hail Chant and Ceremony, too. A famous Navajo/Diné Medicine Man,
> the late Hosteen Klah, explained that there were three other sand paintings similar to
> the last and final sand painting, which is the one we spoke of.
> 
> Q: Yes, I understand that the notable Hosteen Klah (Hastiin Tł’a, d. 1937) was also
> known for his weavings of sacred Navajo/Diné sand paintings – created and replicated
> from chants he knew. He made those weavings in order to preserve the sacred
> ceremonial chants traditionally recited during the performance of ritually creating each
> of these sand paintings.
> 
> Although this practice was contrary to the prevailing Navajo tradition of not creating
> permanent images of sacred sand paintings, Hosteen Klah decided to do so since there
> were not enough apprentices to whom he could teach his chants and thereby preserve
> the tribe’s traditions. So, by this ingenious and resourceful means, Hosteen Klah could
> help keep alive the chants associated with these sand paintings, as a living tradition,
> and prevent them from being lost. Of course, he did his very best to avoid offending the
> gods, whose spirits and power would be evoked in these permanent images.
> In 1937, Hosteen Klah, together with the American anthropologist Mary Cabot
> Wheelwright, established the Museum of Navajo Ceremonial Art, known today as the
> Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian in Santa Fe – New Mexico’s oldest non-
> profit, independent museum – which hosts most of Hosteen Klah’s seventeen woven
> sand painting tapestries in its collection. Although he blessed the ground on which the
> museum is built, Hosteen Klah died a few months before it was completed.
> Linda Covey, a Baha’i scholar who has done some important and valuable research in
> this area, has primarily focused on the Navajo Warrior Twins and on the
> Bab and Baha’u’llah as their return. Here’s Linda Covey’s Master’s thesis: Diné
> Becoming Baha’i: Through the Lens of Ancient Prophecies.
> https://bahai-library.com/pdf/c/covey_navajo_becoming_bahai.pdf
> So, Bitahnii Wayne, by drawing attention to “Talking God” and “Calling God,” I think you
> are contributing something new to this discussion about the relationship of the Baha’i
> Faith and Navajo beliefs. I respect your knowledge and insight, so can you tell me more
> about the first “Talking God,” with whom you have associated the spirit of Baha’u’llah?
> As a young Navajo, what were you taught about “Talking God” and “Calling God”?
> Among these teachings, were there any prophecies that they would appear on earth in
> the future? Do other Navajo/Diné Baha’is, besides you, actually identify Baha’u’llah with
> “Talking God” and the Bab with “Calling God”? Or is this a fresh, original theory that you
> offer for the first time?
> A: When I was little, there were many Chanters and Medicine Men. But now, very few
> remain. With the passing of those people, some sacred ceremonies have now become
> extinct, like the “Big Star Way” and the “Big God Way.” Many of our medicine men have
> passed on into the spirit world. Some of the remaining medicine men still do the
> ceremonial ways in their true form, but others have been lost.
> So we’re experiencing a shift, where some of my people have become Christians and
> other denominations, and others, like me, have become Baha’is. We hold on to what
> seems close to the Baha’i way – and that is the Blessing Way and the Beauty Way,
> considered to be the life-way of the essence of who we are as Navajos. All the sacred
> Navajo/Diné Blessing Way and Beauty Way Chants come from “Talking God.”
> Q: Can you tell us more about the Blessing Way and Beauty Way Chants?
> 
> A: In order to understand these chants, you have to really submerse yourself in the
> environment of that ceremonial setting for your spirit to truly understand what is being
> recited. It’s like you going back to the classroom or lecture hall in college as the
> professor is chanting the words over and over until you understand. Then you must take
> the final and recite the chant the exact way it was chanted to you.
> Within these chants, it takes years or sometimes a lifetime for one to know, learn and
> understand the words – they are the words of Talking God and the Holy People, passed
> down for centuries in their original form. In order to truly grasp the spirit of the ceremony,
> one needs to attend – just as Baha’is are encouraged to go on pilgrimage to the Holy
> Land, across the ocean, to visit the Baha’i holy places.
> As just one example, though, I know that the late Navajo Baha’i Annie Kahn stated that
> there is a Chant which explains the coming of the Bab and Baha’u’llah.
> Q: Linda Covey identifies this as the “Unity Chant,” based on Annie Kahn’s
> interpretation:
> In 1963, Navajo Baha’i Annie Kahn, one of the organizers of the Great Council
> Fire Unity Conference, wrote down for the first time the oral story of the Unity
> Chant given to her by her grandfather and the old “Holy Medicine Men” of the
> Navajo tribe. Annie writes in the Unity Chant that “He who is the All-Wise, the All-
> Knowing” brought something to the Navajo people “like a Holy Book,” except they
> couldn’t read or write at the time so the “Great One” gave it to them in chants.
> The Unity Chant says that a new light will come from the east to send its rays to
> those few Indians who are watching from the tops of the mesas. The “glorious
> new light” will be recognized by two signs. The first sign is a nine-pointed star
> whose points symbolize completeness and the love and unity of all religions,
> races, and nations. Annie explains that nine is the “sign of the highest unity
> because all the numbers can be found in this one number.” The nine-pointed star,
> one of three Baha’i religious symbols, is significant because the numerical value
> of [the word] Baha is nine.
> The second sign instructs the Diné to look for a “great chief with twelve feathers”
> or “twelve great principles.” There are twelve basic principles in the Baha’i Faith.
> Annie writes that “if we search carefully we will find that these twelve principles of
> world unity have already come to the world and, even in this day, are beginning
> to bring people together in unity, understanding and love.” The Unity Chant also
> instructs the Navajo people to “look when they see the Glory coming.” Baha is
> the root word for Baha’u’llah and Baha’i, which translate, respectively, as “the
> Glory of God” and “follower of the Glory.” For Navajo Baha’is these images of
> glory connect Baha’u’llah to the “Great One” in the Navajo Unity Chant, who will
> “come like the dawn” and who “gathers His flock, bringing all the wandering
> sheep back together again.”
> 
> Annie quotes one of the Holy Medicine Men as saying that the “Time of the End”
> is like two stages: in the first stage the “Spirit of the People” shall live again and
> in the second stage “people shall melt into one,” meaning that “true love”
> between people will be practiced. Annie writes that the “love of the Great Spirit
> and of mankind that comes in the new day is so great that all the world’s
> afflictions and its dangers can in no way harm us.”
> – Linda S. Covey, “The Navajo Tradition—Transition to the Baha’i
> Faith,” Images, imaginations, and Beyond: Proceedings of the Eighth
> Native American Symposium, November 4–6, 2009, pp. 73–74.
> 
> 54.Baha’u’llah and the Navajo Talking God
> 
> September 29, 2019
> Co-author: Bitahnii Wayne Wilson
> 
> The Baha’i teachings say that the Bab and Baha’u’llah, the twin holy messengers who
> heralded and founded the Baha’i Faith, represent the return of the prophets of the past:
> Contemplate with thine inward eye the chain of successive Revelations … I
> testify before God that each one of these Manifestations hath been sent down
> through the operation of the Divine Will and Purpose, that each hath been the
> bearer of a specific Message, that each hath been entrusted with a divinely-
> revealed Book and been commissioned to unravel the mysteries of a mighty
> Tablet. The measure of the Revelation with which every one of them hath been
> identified had been definitely fore-ordained.
> – Baha’u’llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, pp. 74-75.
> With the primary Baha’i principle of progressive revelation in mind, this series of Chris
> Buck’s interviews with Navajo Baha’i Bitahnii Wayne Wilson continues to explore the
> close relationship between Navajo and Baha’i beliefs.
> Q: Greetings again, Bitahnii Wayne! So what can you tell us from your perspective as a
> Navajo Baha’i about the relationship between “Talking God” and Baha’u’llah, and
> “Calling God” and the Bab?
> A: As a Navajo, my understanding of the relationship between them goes deep. For
> Navajos, the station of Talking God represents the beginning of a new day, dawn’s early
> light, the beginning of springtime and on into summer time. Calling God represents the
> ending process of the day, being the evening twilight. He represents the fall, and, from
> the season of autumn, on into winter.
> Both have a special station. They represent the duality within nature, within the male
> essences of our Grand Father, our father, Universal Father Sky, the sun and the female
> essences of our Grand Mother, our mother, Mother Earth, and the moon. They balance
> and complement one another. They are the ones that teach us to live in Hozho (balance
> and harmony) within oneself and all existence.
> They, too, tell us to live a virtuous lifestyle. During the Nine Night Ceremony, Talking
> God and Calling God appear throughout: one is at the front of the male and female
> dancers, and one is at the tail end. As they dance, they teach by their dancing of the
> 
> cycles in everything. They teach of the many cycles of change, and the many attributes
> of the Great Spirit.
> As a Navajo, I see the same teachings of the Bab and Baha’u’llah within these Holy
> Grand Fathers. Talking God sacrificed his voice for us humans to be able to speak and
> have a voice. I see and experience a similar, if not the same thing, happening as a
> result of the Baha’i revelation. Now that we were given the right to speak in the
> beginning of the development of humanity, today we are given all of the voices of the
> Holy Prophets of God, whose words, in their sacred writings and prayers, have
> developed with humanity to elevate and reach our spiritual capacity. The Talking God
> Chant, to some extent, asks us to aspire to goodness, to holiness, to spirituality:
> 
> Talking God Prayer
> 
> In Kininaekai
> In the house made of dawn.
> In the story made of dawn.
> On the trail of dawn.
> 
> O, Talking God!
> His feet, my feet, restore [or: heal]
> His limbs, my limbs, restore.
> His body, my body, restore
> His mind, my mind, restore
> His voice, my voice, restore
> His plumes, my plumes, restore
> 
> With beauty before him, with beauty before me
> With beauty behind him, with beauty behind me
> With beauty below him, with beauty below me
> With beauty above him, with beauty above me
> With beauty around him, with beauty around me
> 
> With pollen beautiful in his voice, with pollen beautiful in my voice.
> It is finished in beauty.
> It is finished in beauty.
> 
> If you look at this prayer carefully as a Navajo, it tells a story of a sacred and Holy Place
> where there is a White House in the East, where the sun rises: “In the house made of
> dawn. In the story made of dawn. On the trail of dawn.” This, too, tells me of a spiritual
> place. To me, as a traditional Navajo, I know that there is a special meaning within this
> prayer chant, because it tells us, with reassurance, of this sacred place. Now I’m sure
> that when Talking God made and gave us this prayer, he was telling his Grand Children
> and the future generations of this place in some way. It is a message to the future about
> this Sacred and Holy Threshold, that, we as Baha’is, know of this place that some say is
> the Holy Land, or Haifa, Israel.
> Saying “O, Talking God!” would be like Baha’is praying (by paraphrasing this sacred
> Navajo prayer chant): “O, Baha’u’llah! Thy feet, my feet, restore [or: heal]. Thy limbs, my
> limbs, heal. Thy body, my body, heal. Thy mind, my mind, heal. Thy voice, my voice,
> heal. Thy plumes, my plumes, restore.”
> Q: For me, this brings to mind one of Baha’u’llah’s prayers for healing, the “Long
> Healing Prayer,” said to be endowed with a special power:
> 
> I call on Thee O Most Sublime One, O Beauteous One, O Bounteous One! Thou
> the Sufficing, Thou the Healing, Thou the Abiding, O Thou Abiding One! . . .
> I call on Thee O Magnificent One, O Ancient of Days, O Magnanimous One!
> Thou the Sufficing, Thou the Healing, Thou the Abiding, O Thou Abiding One! . . .
> I call on Thee O Greatest Remembrance, O Noblest Name, O Most Ancient Way!
> Thou the Sufficing, Thou the Healing, Thou the Abiding, O Thou Abiding One! . . .
> I call on Thee O Friend, O Physician, O Captivating One! Thou the Sufficing,
> Thou the Healing, Thou the Abiding, O Thou Abiding One!
> I call on Thee O Glory, O Beauty, O Bountiful One! Thou the Sufficing, Thou the
> Healing, Thou the Abiding, O Thou Abiding One!
> I call on Thee O the Most Trusted, O the Best Lover, O Lord of the Dawn! Thou
> the Sufficing, Thou the Healing, Thou the Abiding, O Thou Abiding One!
> I call on Thee O Enkindler, O Brightener, O Bringer of Delight! Thou the Sufficing,
> Thou the Healing, Thou the Abiding, O Thou Abiding One! . . .
> O Sufficer, I call on Thee, O Sufficer!
> O Healer, I call on Thee, O Healer!
> O Abider, I call on Thee, O Abider!
> Thou the Ever-Abiding, O Thou Abiding One!
> – Baha’u’llah, Baha’i Prayers, pp. 90-98.
> 
> I can see, Bitahnii Wayne, that you emphasize the spiritual harmony of Talking God and
> Baha’u’llah, and the beauty of their teachings – and how, through Baha’u’llah’s
> revelation, we voice and universalize the teachings of Talking God.
> 
> The most important Navajo prophecy of Baha’u’llah is the harmony with the teachings of
> Talking God, as enshrined in the sacred Navajo prayer chants. We can think of those
> chants as sacred scriptures in oral form, a living tradition spiritually confirmed,
> complemented, and completed by the teachings of Baha’u’llah, the voice of Talking God
> for this day and age.
> 
> 55.Keeping Indigenous Languages – and Adop5ng a Universal One
> 
> November 28, 2019
> Co-author: Kevin Locke
> 
> The United Nations officially designated 2019 as the UN International Year of
> Indigenous Languages – so what does that mean from a Baha’i perspective?
> In this ongoing conversation about Indigenous messengers of God between Chris Buck
> and Kevin Locke, BahaiTeachings.org examines the profusion of different languages
> among Indigenous cultures and the misunderstandings that diversity has traditionally
> led to, as well as the clear and present danger of the loss of those linguistic traditions
> among so many Indigenous peoples. We also explore the solution – the Baha’i principle
> of a universal auxiliary language, a key part of the Baha’i goal of universal peace:
> Baha’u’llah has proclaimed the adoption of a universal language. A language
> shall be agreed upon by which unity will be established in the world. Each person
> will require training in two languages: his native tongue and the universal
> auxiliary form of speech. This will facilitate intercommunication and dispel the
> misunderstandings which the barriers of language have occasioned in the world.
> All people worship the same God and are alike His servants. When they are able
> to communicate freely, they will associate in friendship and concord, entertain the
> greatest love and fellowship for each other, and in reality the Orient and Occident
> will embrace in unity and agreement.
> – Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 300.
> Q: Kevin, I just watched a video of Emma Stevens performing the Beatles song
> “Blackbird” – sung in her native tongue Mi’kmaq, the language of her
> indigenous Eastern Algonquian tribal people.
> https://www.youtube.com/embed/99-LoEkAA3w
> What a pure, authentic, and soulful voice! I don’t understand a word of the Mi’kmaq
> language, but I immediately understood the spirit in which she sang this version of
> “Blackbird.” It was beautiful, moving, entrancing.
> The Baha’i teachings, as you well know, advocate the adoption of a universal auxiliary
> language, taught alongside the mother tongues of all peoples – a call for universal
> bilingualism as a tool for global communication, but also a way to preserve each group’s
> original language:
> 
> Diversity of languages has been a fruitful cause of discord. The function of
> language is to convey the thought and purpose of one to another. Therefore, it
> matters not what language man speaks or employs. … Baha’u’llah advocated
> one language as the greatest means of unity and the basis of international
> conference. He wrote to the kings and rulers of the various nations,
> recommending that one language should be sanctioned and adopted by all
> governments. According to this each nation should acquire the universal
> language in addition to its native tongue. The world would then be in close
> communication, consultation would become general, and dissensions due to
> diversity of speech would be removed.
> – Ibid., pp. 232–233.
> So given this primary Baha’i principle, how important is preserving the mother tongues
> of indigenous languages, such as Mi’kmaq and Lakota, for example? Also, didn’t your
> mother, the late Patricia Locke, dedicate much of her time and energy to preserving
> Lakota indigenous language and culture, while promoting the Baha’i Faith as well?
> A: Yes, Chris, my mother was dedicated to the highly important task of language
> revitalization. Her mother grew up speaking Lakota and her father spoke only Ojibwe in
> his younger years. Consequently my mother and her sister were raised with English as
> the common household language, and only heard Indigenous languages when their
> parents’ relatives visited. Of course, their classmates in school were non-English-
> speaking. But since their father was transferred from one BIA [Bureau of Indian Affairs]
> post to another every three or four years – and the suppression of Indigenous
> languages was horrendous at each school and post – they were not able to achieve
> fluency in any of the languages they heard. Since my mother witnessed first-hand the
> trauma of forced language/culture eradication, she applied herself full force to healing
> these deep wounds.
> In recent years, abundant research has revealed the merits of bilingualism/
> multiculturalism and vindicated my mom’s dedication.
> Q: Many preservation efforts now exist to defend, protect and save endangered
> Indigenous languages around the world. We know that language underpins every
> society, and when Indigenous languages die out, part of the culture dies with them. The
> United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) estimates
> that the world now speaks about 7,000 languages – but that half of the world’s
> population speak only the eight most common ones. They also report that
> approximately 3,000 of the world’s languages are spoken by less than 10,000 people
> each, which makes them endangered, especially if those languages aren’t taught to the
> younger generations. What, in your view, can be done to save the hundreds of
> endangered Indigenous languages and the cultures they represent?
> 
> A: Only two things, as far as I know, can truly save those endangered tongues – first,
> the ongoing efforts by various tribes and peoples to ensure the continuation of their
> linguistic traditions, and second, the adoption of a universal auxiliary language, as
> the Baha’i teachings recommend. When that happens, every culture could continue
> speaking their native tongue, but still communicate with the wider world in one accepted
> universal language. Otherwise, the world’s dominant languages, and the cultural
> hegemony that often comes along with them, will soon make many languages unheard,
> unpracticed and untaught.
> 
> 56.The Legend of the Eastern Algonquian Holy Man Gluskap
> 
> December 5, 2019
> Co-author: Kevin Locke
> 
> Preserving indigenous languages goes hand-in-hand with preserving indigenous
> cultures and sacred traditions. If that doesn’t happen, humanity will lose much of its rich
> spiritual heritage forever.
> To examine those preservation efforts, and to delve into the less-widely-known
> Indigenous spiritual traditions, this series of conversations between Chris Buck and
> Kevin Locke focuses on various Indigenous messengers of God – the founders,
> prophets and culture heroes of tribal peoples in the Americas.
> Q: Kevin, one way of promoting and ensuring preservation of cultural identity is by
> raising public awareness and appreciation of Indigenous knowledge about their own
> spiritual traditions. This kind of information deeply interests Baha’is, who prize the
> primary Baha’i principle of the independent investigation of the truth:
> God has created in man the power of reason, whereby man is enabled to
> investigate reality. God has not intended man to imitate blindly his fathers and
> ancestors. He has endowed him with mind, or the faculty of reasoning, by the
> exercise of which he is to investigate and discover the truth, and that which he
> finds real and true he must accept. He must not be an imitator or blind follower of
> any soul. He must not rely implicitly upon the opinion of any man without
> investigation; nay, each soul must seek intelligently and independently, arriving at
> a real conclusion and bound only by that reality.
> – Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 291.
> The St. George’s Indian Band (Mi’kmaq), for instance, has one of the most attractive
> and informative websites (http://www.sgibnl.ca) that I’ve recently seen. So naturally, as
> a Baha’i highly committed to the independent investigation of the truth, I became
> interested in seeing if that site included anything about the teachings of Gluskap (or
> Glooscap or Kluskap, with a wide array of alternate spellings), the storied “holy man” of
> the Mi’kmaq tradition. To my surprise and delight, I found this statement:
> 
> Legend of Glooscap
> The following is taken from the book “Glooscap Legends“ by Stanley T. Spicer
> 
> The land of the Wabanaki, the land nearest to the sunrise, comprises the area
> along the Atlantic seaboard inhabited by numerous Indian tribes including the
> Micmacs, Malecites, Penobscots and Passamaquoddies. Through the years one
> of the great legendary figures among these peoples has been the god-man
> Glooscap.
> Glooscap was endowed with supreme powers. … Always he was portrayed as
> kind, benevolent, a warrior against evil and the possessor of magical powers. –
> St. George’s Indian Band, Legend of Glooscap. http://www.sgibnl.ca/legend-of-
> glooscap
> Note that the tribe uses the word, “legend” here, instead of the more frequently-
> encountered and sometimes pejorative term “myth.” The Oxford English
> Dictionary defines “legend” this way:
> A traditional story sometimes popularly regarded as historical but not
> authenticated; a fable, a myth. In scholarly use legend is distinguished from myth
> as typically involving (potentially) historical figures acting within an earthly
> environment, though supernatural elements are frequently present.
> 
> So, based on this definition, a legend may have a real historical origin, or core of facts,
> later embellished by stories, some of which may strike readers as fanciful in nature.
> Would you like to comment, Kevin, on how this choice of the word “legend” might serve
> as the best term – located somewhere between history, with its hard, verifiable facts;
> and myth, those unverifiable and often impossible narratives which often operate as
> stories that convey sacred, moral, and social truths?
> A: Each of the English words: “legend,” “myth,” “fable” have seriously loaded and
> freighted connotations. They all suggest, in one way or another, that these oral histories
> of holy people, the Indigenous messengers of God, are somehow specious, made up or
> not really true. This minimizes our traditions and makes them seem somehow inferior to
> other spiritual teachings.
> In Lakota, we use the term “wóyakapi” or narrative as a general descriptor of these
> accounts. Other qualifiers can be added to achieve equivalent English meanings, such
> as sacred narrative, fanciful narrative, etc. As we begin the process of “decolonizing”
> our consciousness, it’s good to find the terms that elicit the least alarm – and to use
> them in the most straightforward and honest way:
> The first remedy of all is to guide the people aright, so that they will turn
> themselves unto God, and listen to His counsellings, and go forth with hearing
> ears and seeing eyes. … They must cleanse their hearts from even the slightest
> trace of hatred and spite, and they must set about being truthful and honest,
> conciliatory and loving to all humankind – so that East and West will, even as two
> 
> lovers, hold each other close; that hatred and hostility will perish from the earth,
> and universal peace be firmly rooted in their place.
> – Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, p. 244.
> Q: Kevin, you recently traveled to the Passamaquoddy Tribe of Indian Township – the
> largest Indian reservation in the Northeast state of Maine, close to Canada – where you
> were invited to perform. When we spoke shortly afterwards, you told me that you had a
> very pleasant talk with a Passamaquoddy Baha’i, and that, in the course of your
> conversation, she mentioned the important indigenous figure of “Gluskap” (which
> actually means the “Liar”). You told her that you had heard of Gluskap before, and that
> you understood that Gluskap was a “trickster” figure. The Baha’i was taken somewhat
> aback by your comment, and hastened to correct you. The Baha’i said that, in her view,
> Gluskap was an Indigenous messenger of God. Is that true? If so, would you please tell
> us more about your experience at Passamaquoddy?
> A: I have never been able to figure out how to go deeper into a conversation about
> Gluskap, but I do know exactly the people to approach. One Baha’i in particular is an
> impeccable Mi’kmaq linguist, who I’m sure could solve this riddle for us.
> Q: Several times before, you have recommended that we talk and write about Gluskap.
> This has been a challenging task for me, because there’s some controversy, among
> scholars, regarding the authenticity of some of the traditions, owing to bad early
> scholarship on the part of one major anthropologist in the past.
> Another reason why Gluskap has been a daunting topic for me is that the stories are so
> varied and, in many cases, disconcerting to a non-indigenous person, like myself.
> Here’s why: Gluskap has been variously described as a Creator, trickster, transformer,
> culture hero, the “Good Twin,” “the Liar” (for promising to return and failing to do so, and
> for other reasons as well), “Cheat,” “Deceiver,” etc. As you would expect, the less-than-
> worthy stories about Gluskap, which depict him as not only mischievous but downright
> deceitful, are difficult for me to understand and appreciate, much less accept as part of
> the hypothetical core tradition regarding Gluskap’s role as an Indigenous messenger of
> God. What’s your take on this?
> A: If the mistakes perpetuated about the Mi’kmaq holy messenger are anything
> comparable to what has happened with the Lakota, then it would be imperative to check
> with a competent speaker who also has a grasp of the traditional spiritual heritage.
> Q: I agree, so I did a lot of searching and sifting, critically reading the sources I
> consulted. Let me disclose my method and choice of traditions: I have chosen to focus
> on Penobscot traditions regarding Gluskap, as documented by the highly respected
> anthropologist, Frank G. Speck. The Penobscot Nation, one of the tribal groups of the
> Eastern Algonquians, inhabits the Penobscot river valley of central Maine.
> 
> So, Kevin, before asking you to comment on some of the Gluskap narratives that I have
> selected, let me ask you this question: Is it okay for me to be a little bit skeptical about
> some of the sacred Indigenous conditions regarding Gluskap, for instance? The same
> question can be broadened to include other Indigenous traditions, of course – or any
> tradition, for that matter.
> Another way of putting this question is this: Would you agree that not everything in
> Indigenous traditions is necessarily original and otherwise authentic, even if widely
> believed? I understand that this is a culturally sensitive question, and that’s why I’m
> asking your views on this, since you are an indigenous person. What are your
> thoughts?
> A: Yes, I am very skeptical about everything. Anything one encounters can be very
> slanted in opposite extremes, depending on the lens of the viewer. Some information is
> pointedly mean-spirited, while other information can be overly romanticized. You are
> very correct to identify well-respected, credible scholars – and, I would add, to consult
> knowledgeable members and elders of the tribe, as well. As the Baha’i teachings say,
> we should investigate reality with our eyes wide open:
> Discover for yourselves the reality of things, and strive to assimilate the methods
> by which noble-mindedness and glory are attained among the nations and
> people of the world.
> No man should follow blindly his ancestors and forefathers. Nay, each must see
> with his own eyes, hear with his own ears and investigate independently in order
> that he may find the truth. The religion of forefathers and ancestors is based
> upon blind imitation. Man should investigate reality.
> – Abdu’l-Baha, Divine Philosophy, p. 24.
> Q: Thanks for these insights, Kevin. In our next article, I’ll ask you about some very
> interesting Penobscot legends of Gluskap.
> 
> 57.Gluskap the Indigenous Messenger: Tall Tales, or Timeless Truths?
> 
> December 15, 2019
> Co-author: Kevin Locke
> 
> Several of the Indigenous tribes in the Americas have been subjected to vigorous study
> by anthropologists and other scientists – so much, in fact, that jokes have arisen as a
> result.
> The well-known Navajo Baha’i Franklin Kahn once joked that a Navajo family consists
> of a grandmother, her married daughters and their husbands, her daughters’
> children, and an anthropologist!
> Speaking of anthropologists, in our previous article, I wrote that I did a lot of searching
> and sifting, critically reading and carefully considering the various sources I consulted
> about the Penobscot traditions regarding Gluskap, as documented by the highly
> respected anthropologist, Frank G. Speck.
> I did so much critical sifting because the following journal article put my scholarly
> instincts on guard: Thomas Parkhill, “Of Glooskap’s Birth, and of His Brother Malsum,
> the Wolf”: The Story of Charles Godfrey Leland’s “Purely American Creation,”
> in American Indian Culture and Research Journal Vol. 16, No. 1 (1992): pp. 45–69, in
> which Professor Parkhill cautioned:
> Whatever else it is, Leland’s disregard for the integrity of the traditions he studied
> is bad scholarship that has encouraged more bad scholarship. … The process of
> how Leland came to compose “Of Glooskap’s Birth,” indeed his story-gathering
> and editing methods in general, serve to remind students of Native American
> religions to be careful, even suspicious, when considering sources and to be
> tentative about their findings.
> I have to be tentative myself about the impact of Leland’s promotion of the
> Kluskap twin story on the self-understanding of native people. There is some
> evidence that some Abenaki and Micmac peoples have appropriated the
> Kluskap-Malsum story, that their creative response has been to make this story
> their own.
> – Parkhill, “Of Glooskap’s Birth,” p. 61.
> I took this statement as a word of caution, to be ever-vigilant, circumspect and careful
> when vetting the primary sources on which we rely.
> 
> Q: So Kevin, would you say that in this “Indigenous Messengers of God” essay series,
> you and I have been careful and circumspect in selecting our sources? Would you
> agree that we’ve practiced this one implication of two fundamental Baha’i principles: (1)
> independently investigating truth; and (2) harmonizing science and religion?
> A: I am always very cautious, Chris, about believing anything I read that I am not
> already familiar with. Here’s a good example – the universally accepted English
> translation of Dakota/Lakota to mean “allies” or “friends.”
> Too bad no one bothered to ask one of the tens of thousands of fluent native speakers
> who could have instantly rebutted this translation.
> Another example: the widely accepted but wrong idea that there are three dialects
> spoken in South Dakota; Dakota, Lakota and Nakota. Nakota is a separate language
> division (sometimes referred to as Assiniboine and Stoney) with its own dialects spoken
> by a small group in Montana and more extensively throughout Manitoba, Saskatchewan
> and Alberta. It is not intelligible to the four Dakota dialects and one Lakota dialect
> spoken in various communities in South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Montana,
> Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
> Although I have traveled extensively through Micmac, Passamaquody, Penobscot
> communities in Maine and Nova Scotia, I have never heard much about Gluskap. I think
> the people of that region are collectively known as Wabanaki. It is fascinating to me that,
> despite overwhelming pressure from contact with Europeans from the beginning of the
> colonization era, they retain total fluency in their languages and have maintained
> enduring community cohesion. This alone indicates to me a powerful spiritual tradition,
> possibly established by Gluskap.
> Q: The anthropologist Frank G. Speck died in 1950, the year when I was born. In an
> obituary published in 1951, scholar A. Irving Hallowell wrote, in part:
> Speck not only studied American Indians, but was deeply attached to them. They
> were as much a part of his personal as his professional life. … In fact, the abiding
> interest he had in their languages and all other aspects of their mode of life and
> thought long antedated his entrance into anthropology as a scholarly discipline.
> – quoted by Elisabeth Tooker, “Frank G. Speck,” Expedition
> Magazine 29.1 (1987), https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/frank-g-
> speck
> Among others, I consulted this long article: Frank G. Speck, “Penobscot Tales and
> Religious Beliefs,” Journal of American Folklore Vol. 48, No. 187 (Jan.–Mar., 1935), pp.
> 1–107.
> 
> The official “Penobscot Nation” website opens with this greeting: “kkʷey (hello), and
> welcome to the home of the Penobscots ‘… the oldest continuous government in the
> world …’.” https://www.penobscotnation.org.
> 
> So, Kevin, what do you know about the Penobscot Nation? Are the Penobscot closely
> related to the Passamaquoddy?
> A: All of the various Wabanaki speak cognate languages of the Algonquin language
> family.
> Q: Professor Speck wrote: “The spiritual force dominating the universe is a power, or
> opinions of some a being, called Ketci-Ni’-wskwe, Great Being” (p. 4). Baha’u’llah also
> uses this term, the “Great Being,” as a name for God:
> The Great Being saith: O well-beloved ones! The tabernacle of unity hath been
> raised; regard ye not one another as strangers. Ye are the fruits of one tree, and
> the leaves of one branch. … That one indeed is a man who, today, dedicateth
> himself to the service of the entire human race.
> The Great Being saith: Blessed and happy is he that ariseth to promote the best
> interests of the peoples and kindreds of the earth. In another passage He hath
> proclaimed: It is not for him to pride himself who loveth his own country, but
> rather for him who loveth the whole world. The earth is but one country, and
> mankind its citizens.
> – Baha’u’llah, Tablets of Baha’u’llah, pp. 164, 167.
> Interesting coincidence, isn’t it?
> A: Many if not most Indigenous North Americans refer to the supreme deity as “Great
> Spirit,” Great Being” or something analogous to that.
> Q: Professor Speck went on to say:
> Gluskabe the Transformer: The most important personage in Penobscot religious
> lore and one purely aboriginal in character is named Gluskabe (gluski is
> translated as “deceit, lie, nothing.” -dbe or -abe is a stem denoting “person”),
> “deceiver, liar,” or “man from nothing,” according to different opinions among
> informants. The translation may be Deceiver or Trickster, the epithet is not
> uncomplimentary because it refers to the ability to outwit one’s enemies by
> strategy and cunning. He is the hero and transformer personage of the Wabanaki
> tribes.
> – “Penobscot Tales and Religious Beliefs,” pp. 5–6.
> Does that tally in your experience? Would you say that this statement remains true
> today?
> A: I find it fascinating how universal and yet how diverse the role of the “trickster” is from
> one Indigenous group to the next. Generally, though, a trickster could certainly be a
> messenger of God, because tricksters usually have a high level of intellectual
> 
> acumen or secret, mystical knowledge, and they use those attributes to change,
> challenge, upend or disobey normal rules and conventions.
> Q: Here is Professor Speck’s summary of Gluskap’s achievements:
> Penobscot mythology credits Gluskabe with some twenty major achievements for
> the benefit of man, to wit: distributing over the world the game animals, food, fish,
> hares and tobacco; renewing the warmth of summer; protecting the eagle above
> who regulates daylight and darkness; moderating the destructive force of the
> wind; tempering the winter; bringing the summer north; reducing giant animals to
> a harmless size; domesticating the dog; clearing obstructions from the portages
> along the routes of hunting and travel; smoothing out the most dangerous
> waterfalls; creating the whole Penobscot river system; moderating the power of
> fire; making burns curable; creating sweetgrass; and serving as a source of
> power for those who come to his distant dwelling with their troubles. His benefits
> to mankind reach a climax in the mission he allots to himself to watch over his
> people and to return to the land at some unknown date, against which time he is
> preparing food and armament to save them in a crisis. By inference the
> Penobscot are also inclined to attribute to him the origin of their arts and
> inventions. In some twelve episodes, moreover, he puts into practice the ethical
> code of the northeastern Indians, by punishing early mankind as well as fabulous
> beasts.
> – Ibid., p. 10.
> These narratives of exploits and wonders performed by Gluskap may strike some non-
> indigenous readers as “tall tales”—much like the early American “Paul Bunyan” tales.
> How best to understand these Gluskap stories? What is their purpose and function? Are
> they vehicles meant to convey moral and social truths? How should Baha’is regard this
> sacred tradition, in the context of recognizing and respecting Indigenous messengers of
> God?
> A: If this messenger continues to capture the faith and influence the current generations
> of spiritual descendants, then we must certainly accord proper respect and reverence to
> this heavenly soul.
> 
> 58.Gluskap: Ancient and Modern Teachings
> 
> December 22, 2019
> Co-author: Kevin Locke
> 
> Have popular and romantic “pan-Indigenous” ideas influenced the traditional teachings
> of Indigenous messengers of God, and thereby altered some of the original native
> spiritual traditions?
> In this series of essays on Gluskap – the Mi’kmaq holy figure – Lakota artist, author and
> performer Kevin Locke and religious scholar Chris Buck ponder that possibility and what
> we can potentially do about it.
> Q: Kevin, can you help me understand what appears to be a tendency to ascribe all
> modern Mi’kmaq Indigenous beliefs to Gluskap’s ancient teachings?
> For instance, I just accessed this publication by the University of New Brunswick’s
> Mi’kmaq-Wolastoqey Centre, as part of the “Wabanaki Collection”: “Wolastoqiyik and
> Mi’kmaq Studies: Elementary Level.”
> https://www.wabanakicollection.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Teacher-Curriculum-
> Handbook.pdf
> 
> Here are some teachings that are ascribed to Gluskap (here spelled “Koluskap”):
> 
> “All My Relations”
> In the beginning, Creator made the stars, moon, sun, clouds, and thunder beings.
> Creator also made Mother Earth and upon Mother Earth Creator placed many
> gifts such as trees, streams, rivers, oceans, mountains, plants, and stones.
> Creator then made the four-leggeds such the moose, deer, bear, wolf, fox, and all
> of the other animals found in the forest. Creator made the winged-people such as
> the eagle, crow, robin, butterflies and the sparrow.
> Creator made the water-people such as the salmon, trout, whale, and dolphins.
> Creator placed the water-people in rivers, streams, lakes and oceans. Creator
> made the plant people such as sweetgrass, sage, red willow tobacco, cedar, and
> many more.
> 
> Creator then decided to make the Wabanaki people. The word “Wabanaki”
> means “people of the dawn”. The Wabanaki people include the Wolastoqewiyik,
> Mi’kmaq, Penobscot, and Passamaquoddy. The Wabanakis wondered why they
> were placed on Mother Earth and so our Creator decided to send Koluskap
> [Gluskap] to teach them. Koluskap gathered the Wabanaki people and held a
> council. Everyone was asked to sit in a circle and Koluskap began the council by
> lighting a Sacred Fire and smoking a Sacred Pipe. Koluskap then began his
> teachings:
> “Brothers and sisters, our Creator has sent me to teach you the sacred ways of
> the red road. If you follow this road, it will take you to the Sacred Lodge of our
> Creator. First, you will always honor our Creator and give thanks for the many
> gifts that our Creator has placed on Mother Earth. You will also honor your Elders
> because they have wisdom and knowledge that everyone will need. Their
> wisdom will guide you and help you to remain on the red road.
> You will honor creation by saying “All My Relations”. This will remind you that you
> are related to the four-leggeds, winged people, water people, tree people, plant
> people and all of creation. Because they are your relations, you will respect them,
> honor them, value them and learn from them. They have lessons to pass on to
> you. Your mind must be open to their messages. Your heart must be filled with
> love and compassion for all of creation.
> When you look up to the sky during the day, you will see Father Sun. In the
> evening, you will see Grandmother Moon as well as the stars who are your
> ancestors. Look to the sky each day and each evening and say “All My
> Relations”. Look to the mountains, rivers, streams, brooks, and say “All My
> Relations”. Look to the forest and say “All My Relations” because it is the home
> of the four-leggeds, winged people and plant people.
> My brothers and sisters, thank you for listening. Remember these teachings and
> pass them on to your children and grandchildren. Instruct them to pass these
> teachings on to their children and grand-children as well. These teachings will
> remain with you forever. I must leave for now but I will be back to share more
> teachings with you. We will have another council when I return from the Sacred
> Lodge. All My Relations!”
> Koluskap ended the council by asking everyone in the circle to offer red willow
> tobacco to the Sacred Fire. This offering was made to give thanks for Koluskap’s
> teachings. The smoke from the Sacred Fire also sends a message to our Creator
> that the teachings will always guide them in their actions.
> – “Wolastoqiyik and Mi’kmaq Studies: Elementary Level,” p. 37.
> 
> Do you see the problem that I have with this text? Repeated invocations of the phrase,
> “All My Relations” (as well as the reference to “Mother Earth”) make it sound like all this
> may have been borrowed from Lakota sacred traditions ascribed to White Buffalo Calf
> Woman. Do you agree?
> A: Yes, Chris, as far as I know, the Lakota/Dakota are the only ones who use the
> phrase: “mitákuye oyás’iŋ” or “all my relations.” Also the terms “four legged,” “winged,”
> etc. seem like they are taken directly from the well-known book Black Elk Speaks.
> Q: If so, would you like to comment on what appears to be going on here? Are the
> teachings of White Buffalo Calf Woman being universalized in a kind of “pan-
> Indigenous” way, such that they are being ascribed to Gluskap, and put in his mouth, as
> it were, since his original teachings may have been irretrievably lost?
> A: That is an interesting question! Anywhere that the language is intact, those who
> document spiritual traditions would tend to translate phrases directly from the original
> language.
> Several years ago I tutored a Baha’i study class at Eskasoni, Nova Scotia, with about
> 10 participants. (The Eskasoni folks are Mi’kmaq.) Because English is a distant, second
> language for them, every few minutes the group would have to take a break to process
> the information in their mother tongue, which made me think that certainly Gluskap or
> some divine being bestowed a language rich in spiritual nuances.
> Q: Interesting and insightful! So here we are, you and I, advocating for recognition and
> respect of the Indigenous messengers of God. At the same time, so far, we have tried to
> be judicious in our selection of primary sources. We have done our best to critically sift
> the authentic from the inauthentic. Would you agree that it is really an impossible task to
> do these things with any degree of certainty?
> A: Yes, it is daunting. But I am so appreciative that you have taken the lead to begin the
> process of introducing the spiritual foundations of this land to a broad readership.
> Q: So how can we reconcile what appear to be pan-Indigenous teachings seemingly put
> into the mouth of Gluskap? Of course, we cannot and should not accuse the authors of
> the above text of essentially plagiarizing Lakota teachings! So help me out here, Kevin,
> because I’m struggling to understand what’s going on with all this information, and how
> to put it in perspective.
> A: I see it all as part of an awakening process. As we become more fully conscious,
> erudite individuals will be able to provide clarification, just as we are attempting to do in
> this series.
> Q: It has often been said that popular culture “romanticizes” sacred Indigenous
> teachings. We ourselves may be vulnerable to such a criticism! We are not, are we?
> What would you say?
> 
> A: Our Indigenous spiritual heritage has been suppressed, persecuted and vilified for so
> many centuries that it is hard not to perhaps over-compensate on the positive side.
> Q: So what’s the takeaway from all this? What is your best advice for Baha’is, and for
> the public in general, in understanding and responding to these modern presentations of
> ancient Indigenous sacred teachings?
> A: As in all things, we must seek out reliable sources. Fortunately, we have a divine
> standard in the Baha’i writings, which we can use as a powerful light that we can shine
> on any matter and discern the true, universal elements therein.
> Q: What implications does all this have for the “Baha’i-Indigenous” encounter? Do
> Baha’i teachings complement and complete Indigenous sacred teachings and further
> universalize them? In a sense, do the modern Baha’i teachings authenticate,
> rejuvenate, and update Indigenous sacred teachings? Or am I going too far here?
> A: The Baha’i teachings enable us see Indigenous spiritual teachings as part of a
> progressive enlightenment, or spiritual evolution. All of these God-sent revelators
> brought information attuned to the exigencies and temperament of the people who they
> appeared to and taught – as the Universal House of Justice so beautifully and
> eloquently expressed in its message to the Baha’i Unity Conference on the Navajo
> Nation in 1972:
> 
> Beloved Friends,
> Praise be to the Almighty that you have gathered in that beautiful spot in a spirit
> of love and harmony for the purpose of strengthening the bonds of unity between
> yourselves and among all men.
> The All-Wise Creator of earth and heaven has from the beginning which has no
> beginning sent to His peoples Divine Messengers to guide them to the Straight
> Path. These Wise Ones have come to establish the unity of the Kingdom in
> human hearts. This great evolutionary process of building the organic unity of the
> human race has entered a new stage with this mighty message of Baha’u’llah.
> His voice is the voice of the Great Spirit. His love for human kind is the force of
> the New Age.
> He who sends the rain, who causes the sun and the stars to shine, the rivers to
> flow, the winds to blow and the earth to give forth her bounties has in this Great
> Day sent to all mankind Baha’u’llah. It is this Great One who has opened the
> door of divine knowledge to every soul. It is His teachings that will establish world
> unity and bring about universal peace.
> The people of the world are the tools in His hand. They must strive to understand
> His message and to walk in the path of His divine guidance. Every human being
> 
> is responsible in this day to seek the truth for himself and thereafter to live
> according to that wise counsel. The old ones have all longed for this sweet
> message. Praise God that you have found it.
> Now awakened to new wisdom, now guided to the straight path, now illumined
> with this mighty message, strive you day and night to guide and assist the thirsty
> ones in all lands to the ever-flowing fountain, the wandering ones to this fortress
> of certainty, the ignorant ones to this source of knowledge and the seekers to that
> One for whom their hearts long.
> May your consultation reach so high a level of endeavor and purpose that the
> Great One will open before your faces the doors of the paradise of wisdom and
> love and cause the light of the Abha Beauty [Baha’u’llah] to shine in your midst.
> With loving Baha’i greetings,
> The Universal House of Justice, 18 May 1972
> 
> 59.4 Indigenous Steps to “Enlighten the Whole World”
> 
> January 30, 2020
> Co-author: Kevin Locke
> 
> This extensive series of articles on Indigenous Messengers of God has now become a
> visual presentation on the Baha’i prophecy that “these Indians … will … enlighten the
> whole world.”
> This new slideshow basically presents our thoughts and reflections on two key
> statements by Abdu’l-Baha regarding the importance and eventual destiny of the
> Indigenous peoples of the Americas:
> Attach great importance to the Indigenous population of America. … Likewise,
> these Indians, should they be educated and guided, there can be no doubt that
> they will become so illumined as to enlighten the whole world.
> – Abdu’l-Baha, Tablets of the Divine Plan, p. 33.
> Undoubtedly in those regions [the Americas] the Call of God must have been
> raised in ancient times, but it hath been forgotten now.
> – Abdu’l-Baha, The Tablet to Amir Khan.
> Q: Kevin, would you like to comment on how these two Baha’i texts relate to each
> other?
> A: Yes, Chris, these two statements by Abdu’l-Baha are intimately related, because of
> the high destiny he envisioned precisely because the “Call of God” was “raised” on this
> land among the many different groups of Indigenous peoples. This call summoned the
> faithful to turn their sights toward the higher realm in obedience to universal holy
> ordinances of prayer, fasting and all things leading to piety and spiritual growth. Both
> statements foresee a day of fulfillment, in which the descendants of all the Indigenous
> tribal peoples would be illumined and ennobled. Praise be God that they now have the
> ability to bear witness to the realization of the trust reposed in the hearts of those who
> initially heard the Call of God in “ancient times,” as the Tablet to Amir Kahn so clearly
> and eloquently states.
> Q: In the slideshow, we offer a list of the following Indigenous messengers of God as
> identified in some of the more well-known Indigenous spiritual traditions. In this list,
> we’ve included specific references to various BahaiTeachings.org articles on each of
> these prophets and enlighteners in this Indigenous Messengers of God series:
> 
> 1. Deganawida, the Peacemaker (Parts 5, 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 17, 18, 22 & 25)
> 2. White Buffalo Calf Woman (Parts 3, 16, 19, 23, 24, 25, 27 & 28)
> 3. Sweet Medicine (Part 30)
> 4. Lone Man (Parts 38 & 39)
> 5. Breathmaker (Part 40)
> 6. Quetzalcoatl (Parts 2 & 32)
> 7. Viracocha (Part 4)
> 8. Gluskap (Parts 56, 57 & 58)
> 9. Talking God (Part 54)
> 10. Bunjil (Part 34)
> So Kevin, what, in your opinion, is the significance of this list? Would you agree that
> here, Abdu’l-Baha clearly establishes a foundational Baha’i principle regarding the
> messengers of God to First Nations peoples? Although the names of these Indigenous
> messengers of God cannot be added to the official Baha’i list of the manifestations of
> God who founded the best-known world religions, can they be recognized and
> respected by Baha’is and the followers of all other major global Faiths?
> A: This brief list represents only a tiny fraction of those who raised the “Call of God” in
> the Americas before they were called the Americas, during the “pre-contact” era. After
> 500 years of brutal genocide of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, so much of the
> divine heritage of this land has been utterly effaced. So we are fortunate to have as
> much of a record as we do. Just as we revere and recognize the spiritual power and
> wisdom of messengers like Moses, Abraham, Krishna, Buddha, Christ and Muhammad,
> we all need to recognize the light of the teachings of these Indigenous messengers.
> 
> 1. Building Spiritual Parity between Traditions
> Q: Next, Kevin, you and I offer four proposed steps for helping to hasten the fulfillment
> of Abdu’l-Baha’s remarkable prophecy that the Indigenous peoples of the Americas
> could enlighten the world. So let’s go one step at a time – the first step, as we see it,
> builds equal spiritual parity between Baha’i and Indigenous sacred traditions. Would you
> agree, Kevin, that the first precondition for the fulfillment of Abdu’l-Baha’s remarkable
> prophecy is a dynamic interaction, or interplay, between the sacred teachings of the
> Baha’i Faith and sacred Indigenous traditions? Could the dynamic and exemplary
> synergy between the two become the greatest cause of the enlightenment foreseen and
> foretold by Abdu’l-Baha?
> 
> A: Abdu’l-Baha’s “Tablet to Amir Khan” assures us that the “Call of God” had been
> raised in this land, long ago, before Europeans reached the Americas. The continuity,
> and survival, of the teachings of those Indigenous messengers who raised that Call,
> against all odds, could be construed as a proof of the power and efficacy of the
> universality of those teachings. For a community which has survived 500 years of
> unparalleled genocide and marginalization, a Herculean effort must be made to achieve
> the fulfillment of Abdu’l-Baha’s remarkable prophecy.
> For that synergy to occur, first there needs to be reciprocal recognition and respect of
> Indigenous and Baha’i spirituality. Spiritual parity between Baha’i and Indigenous sacred
> traditions, as equal, is a first step in the process of progress and fulfillment of Abdu’l-
> Baha’s prophecy. As the Baha’i teachings so clearly and cogently say:
> … the proofs applicable to one Prophet are equally applicable to another. …
> since the Prophets themselves, the Founders, have loved, praised and testified
> of each other, why should we disagree and be alienated? God is one. He is the
> Shepherd of all. We are His sheep and, therefore, should live together in love
> and unity. We should manifest the spirit of justness and goodwill toward each
> other. Shall we do this, or shall we censure and pronounce anathema, praising
> ourselves and condemning all others? What possible good can come from such
> attitude and action?
> – Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 409.
> Q: How could this begin to occur?
> A: Perhaps Baha’u’llah offers us a perfect example of what might need to occur in this
> passage:
> … view all the Prophets and Messengers of God as one soul and one body, as
> one light and one spirit, in such wise that the first among them would be last and
> the last would be first. For they have all arisen to proclaim His Cause and have
> established the laws of divine wisdom. They are, one and all, the Manifestations
> of His Self, the Repositories of His might, the Treasuries of His Revelation, the
> Dawning-Places of His splendour and the Daysprings of His light. Through them
> are manifested the signs of sanctity in the realities of all things and the tokens of
> oneness in the essences of all beings. Through them are revealed the elements
> of glorification in the heavenly realities and the exponents of praise in the eternal
> essences. From them hath all creation proceeded and unto them shall return all
> that hath been mentioned. And since in their inmost Beings they are the same
> Luminaries and the self-same Mysteries, thou shouldst view their outward
> conditions in the same light, that thou mayest recognize them all as one Being,
> nay, find them united in their words, speech, and utterance.
> – Baha’u’llah, Gems of Divine Mysteries, pp. 24–25.
> 
> Similarly, Indigenous peoples need to first understand that the illumination shed by
> those Indigenous messengers of God who first raised the Call of God in this
> hemisphere, the Americas, can find its fulfillment in the message of Baha’u’llah, which
> will result in the enlightenment of the entire planet.
> You can download the new slideshow here:
> h t t p s : / / w w w . a c a d e m i a . e d u / 4 1 1 9 5 0 5 3 /
> Buck_Locke_2019_Prophecy_Indians_Enlighten_World
> Click here for a smaller version of the slideshow:
> https://bahai-library.com/buck_locke_enlighten_world
> 
> 60.The Spiritual Des5ny of Indigenous Peoples
> 
> February 5, 2020
> Co-author: Kevin Locke
> 
> Previously in this series, we discussed a potential first step in the fulfillment of the
> Baha’i prophecy that tribal peoples in the Americas “will become so illumined as to
> enlighten the whole world”:
> Attach great importance to the Indigenous population of America. … Likewise,
> these Indians, should they be educated and guided, there can be no doubt that
> they will become so illumined as to enlighten the whole world.
> – Abdu’l-Baha, Tablets of the Divine Plan, p. 33.
> That first step – establishing spiritual parity between Baha’i and Indigenous sacred
> traditions as equals – requires a deep recognition of the core Baha’i principle of the
> unity of all religions:
> The purpose of religion as revealed from the heaven of God’s holy Will is to
> establish unity and concord amongst the peoples of the world; make it not the
> cause of dissension and strife. The religion of God and His divine law are the
> most potent instruments and the surest of all means for the dawning of the light
> of unity amongst men.
> – Baha’u’llah, Tablets of Baha’u’llah, p. 129.
> Today the one overriding need is unity and harmony among the beloved of the
> Lord, for they should have among them but one heart and soul and should, so far
> as in them lieth, unitedly withstand the hostility of all the peoples of the world;
> they must bring to an end the benighted prejudices of all nations and religions
> and must make known to every member of the human race that all are the leaves
> of one branch, the fruits of one bough.
> – Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, p. 277.
> Once this step is achieved, the Indigenous peoples of the Americas and the Baha’is can
> productively consult together on an equal footing. In this continuing dialogue between
> Chris Buck and Lakota Baha’i Kevin Locke, let’s explore the next three steps in this
> process.
> 
> 2. Parity in Consultation
> Q: Kevin, would you please tell us your thoughts about the spiritual and social
> implications of achieving parity in consultation between Baha’is and Indigenous peoples
> in the Americas? Of course, since many Indigenous people are Baha’is, when we
> say Baha’i and Indigenous, we want our readers to understand that these two groups
> overlap, since many Indigenous people belong to both groups. Given that fact, how do
> you think more Baha’i and Indigenous consultation can and should occur on an equal
> basis?
> A: Reviewing historical documentation on the interactions between Indigenous peoples
> and colonists, we can see that, in every instance, the Indigenous peoples invoked the
> principle of spiritual unity. They would always kindle the sacred fire and beseech God to
> bend low and give ear and bless the meeting, so that truth and divine abundance would
> ensue. Parity in consultation has ever been a requirement for progress and release of
> the pent-up divine blessings. Unfortunately, in the past, this goodwill, based on such
> good-faith consultation, was reciprocated with deceit and betrayal by the colonizers.
> Now, in this new day, as the Baha’i teachings define it, the consultative process must be
> transformed and placed firmly on a heavenly foundation of parity and love — that is, of
> equality, mutual respect, and true friendship. This takes dedication, work and patience.
> In fact, it resembles how Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Baha’i Faith, described the
> reconciliation Baha’is should endeavor to create between black and white people:
> A tremendous effort is required by both races if their outlook, their manners, and
> conduct are to reflect, in this darkened age, the spirit and teachings of the Faith
> of Baha’u’llah. Casting away once and for all the fallacious doctrine of racial
> superiority, with all its attendant evils, confusion, and miseries, and welcoming
> and encouraging the intermixture of races, and tearing down the barriers that
> now divide them, they should each endeavor, day and night, to fulfill their
> particular responsibilities in the common task which so urgently faces them.
> – Shoghi Effendi, The Advent of Divine Justice, pp. 39-40.
> 
> 3. Parity in Social Action: Baha’is and Indigenous Peoples as Equal Partners
> Q: What’s the next step, Kevin?
> A: Step Three involves Baha’is and Indigenous peoples becoming equal partners in
> social action. Baha’is have a clear mission — to unify the world and to make this world a
> better place. This mission does not make Baha’is missionaries. Instead, it asks each
> Baha’i to become an ambassador of the Baha’i universal teachings of harmony and
> unity among all peoples.
> 
> Q: So how can Baha’is and Indigenous groups best work together? If there is
> agreement to go forward with any initiative, can Baha’i and Indigenous groups work
> together as equal partners?
> A: Yes, now that we are equipped with the mandate and practical tools for individual and
> societal transformation, we must transcend all of the old, outworn and destructive
> paradigms and go forward, together, with parity, vision and resolve. That way we can
> initiate and carry out social action projects to enhance and advance the quality of
> Indigenous community life across the Americas, throughout the far reaches of the
> Western Hemisphere.
> 
> 4. Parity in Education: Baha’i and Indigenous Models to Enlighten the World
> Q: Can you explain the final step, Kevin?
> A: Step Four – parity in education – has tremendous spiritual and social implications.
> Through this kind of parity – equal and collaborative participation in the literary, cultural,
> moral and spiritual education of Indigenous children and youth (as well as adults),
> Baha’i and Indigenous groups can develop social models to enlighten the world.
> Abdu’l-Baha, over 100 years ago, famously asked the Baha’is to:
> Attach great importance to the Indigenous population of America. … Likewise,
> these Indians, should they be educated and guided, there can be no doubt that
> they will become so illumined as to enlighten the whole world.
> – Tablets of the Divine Plan, p. 33.
> Notice that the conditional verb, “should,” occurs before the words, “educated and
> guided.” Education and guidance are key to the fulfillment of Abdu’l-Baha’s prophecy of
> the future destiny of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, which is also a social
> mandate. In other words, Abdu’l-Baha gives instructions — a social formula, if you will
> — as to how we can help hasten the time when the fulfillment of this prophecy will
> surely come to fruition. This education and guidance must be entirely based on the
> divine teachings.
> 
> 61.Advance Permission, Appropria5on and Sacred Indigenous
> Knowledge
> 
> February 13, 2020
> Co-author: Kevin Locke
> 
> In this installment of our continuing series on Indigenous messengers of God, Kevin
> Locke and Chris Buck tackle the difficult issue of cultural appropriation and Indigenous
> peoples.
> Q: Kevin, I knew this was coming. Offline, we’ve been criticized – and commended – for
> what we have written online about Indigenous messengers of God. One criticism: that
> we’ve failed to follow Indigenous protocols, to learn from elders who are the preservers
> and transmitters of sacred Indigenous knowledge, and to ask for and receive their
> permission to share some of their sacred traditions. Have we, in the past, tried to do so,
> in a good faith effort?
> A: Yes Chris, this is a very sensitive topic! Especially in view of the fact that the
> Indigenous peoples — and the legacy of our holy messengers’ sacred teachings and
> traditions — have undergone centuries of colonial, physical, and cultural genocide,
> condemnation, vilification, etc. Despite the profound spirituality of their teachings, they
> have been suppressed, persecuted and slandered:
> All the holy ones of God have tried with heart and soul to spread the light of love
> and unity throughout the world, so that the darkness of materiality might
> disappear and the light of spirituality might shine forth among the children of
> men. Then would hate, slander and murder disappear, and in their stead love,
> unity and peace would reign.
> All the Manifestations of God came with the same purpose, and they have all
> sought to lead men into the paths of virtue. Yet we, their servants, still dispute
> among ourselves! Why is it thus? Why do we not love one another and live in
> unity?
> It is because we have shut our eyes to the underlying principle of all religions,
> that God is one, that He is the Father of us all, that we are all immersed in the
> ocean of His mercy and sheltered and protected by His loving care.
> – Abdu’l-Baha, Paris Talks.
> But thankfully, things have changed. We now live in a time of a sea-change, awakening
> to the importance of attuning ourselves to the rising Indigenous voices. The foundation
> 
> of the efficacy and power of that collective voice are the universal spiritual principles
> deposited in the hearts of the ancestors through the very Indigenous messengers we
> describe in this series of articles.
> The knowledge and significance of these divine messengers has been repressed for so
> long that the process of awakening to the power of their divine light sometimes seems
> slow and painful. In my own Lakota tradition, I have witnessed that dynamic firsthand.
> Q: What are some of the problems and challenges in doing so?
> A: It would be difficult, if not impossible to attempt to follow the various tribal protocols
> for each and every Indigenous messenger of God whom we present in this series.
> Fortunately, previous generations have left much to posterity with their precious,
> authentic insights. Chief John Arthur Gibson of the Haudenosaunee is perhaps the best
> example, when, in 1912 — just months before his death later that same year — he
> recited the epic saga and “The Great Law” of Deganawida, the Peacemaker.
> When famed ethnomusicologist Frances Densmore came to Standing Rock in 1911,
> she made no progress until a consultative body of eminent elders commandeered her
> research by insisting that, since all light and reality is attributed to the messenger –
> Ptehíŋčala Ska Wiŋ, White Buffalo Calf Woman — an account of her appearance and
> legacy must precede all else. Fortunately we have pioneering examples such as these
> on which to base our articles.
> Q: Good point! It’s clear that you’re referring to books like Concerning the League: The
> Iroquois League Tradition as Dictated in Onondaga by John Arthur Gibson, the winner
> of the 1994 SSILA Book Award; and also to Teton Sioux Music, by Frances Densmore.
> I’d like to now ask you if you agree that, in a sense, “advance permission” has been
> given if an Indigenous faith-keeper, or elder, had previously given sacred indigenous
> knowledge to someone, like an anthropologist, for publication. Can that be considered
> “advance permission”?
> A: Many of the aforementioned informants explicitly stated that their motive was to
> benefit future unborn generations. Today we’re blessed to live in these times, when we
> can bring this knowledge to fruition.
> Q: Another source of information that we’ve sometimes used is information provided by
> various First Nations online. Would you agree that there is another source of “advance
> permission”?
> A: The most important point here is intent. What is our goal? I’ll cite some of my
> thoughts on this issue from my book, Arising:
> In 1993, my mom was elected to serve on the National Spiritual Assembly of the
> Baha’is of the United States. … I learned much from my mother, as a part of her
> everyday discourse, about sharing the teachings of the Baha’i Faith in the most
> 
> natural way. Teaching as a part of her everyday life was a manifestation of her
> generosity and magnanimity. Without any airs and in numerous settings, whether
> in a public talk or on a visit to a friend’s home, she mentioned Baha’u’llah and
> shared passages from The Hidden Words. Her favorite point of conversation was
> progressive revelation – that God has revealed Himself to mankind throughout
> time in the form of spiritual teachers who have brought to us religious laws and
> teachings suited for the time in which we live. She loved the quote:
> Unto the cities of all nations He hath sent His Messengers, Whom He hath
> commissioned to announce unto men tidings of the Paradise of His good
> pleasure, and to draw them nigh unto the Haven of abiding security, the
> Seat of eternal holiness and transcendent glory.
> – Baha’u’llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah.
> … I had come to understand that God had not forsaken us and had sent a great
> message through Baha’u’llah to connect the Lakota spiritual traditions with the
> other great world religions. The White Buffalo Calf Maiden is not directly
> mentioned in the Baha’i writings, as Abraham, Zoroaster, Buddha, Moses, Jesus,
> and Muhammad are. The Baha’i writings further clarify that the names of some
> Prophets “seem to be lost in the mists of ancient history.”
> – Letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, October 4, 1950, to an
> individual Baha’i.
> My growing understanding of Baha’i teachings did not undermine Lakota spiritual
> traditions. Rather, the Lakota ceremonial life and the practices I cherished so
> dearly were given new meaning, and I did not have to abandon my background
> but could appreciate the gems within it more fully.
> For the first time, in the Baha’i Faith, I had direct and lucid answers to many of
> my questions. I sensed that my search for meaning – for the red road – was not
> over, however; it was beginning afresh every day.
> – Kevin Locke, Arising, pp. 227-274.
> Q: I see that in the Introduction to your excellent book, that Kenneth E. Bowers,
> Secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the United States —
> although writing as an individual — states, in much the same vein, and with the same
> quote from Baha’u’llah that your mother loved so much.
> Baha’is believe that Baha’u’llah is the latest in a series of Messengers of God to
> humanity Who have guided our spiritual and social evolution down through the
> ages. The Messengers are part of one divine plan, the ultimate goal of which is
> the unification of the entire world and the creation of a new civilization based
> upon the principles of divine justice. Baha’u’llah taught respect for the spiritual
> heritage of the entire human race, in all its vastness and diversity. He stated
> 
> categorically that no nation or people have been deprived by the all-loving
> Creator of their share of divine knowledge and that none are to be condemned or
> disdained:
> Unto the cities of all nations He hath sent His Messengers, Whom He hath
> commissioned to announce unto men tidings of the Paradise of His good
> pleasure, and to draw them nigh unto the Haven of abiding security, the
> Seat of eternal holiness and transcendent glory.
> – Baha’u’llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah.
> Kevin found in this message a welcome contrast to the demands from various
> quarters to reject the beliefs of his ancestors. For the first time, he was able to
> link his ancestors to the history of humanity’s encounter with God in all its forms.
> Virtually all cultures revere certain great spiritual visionaries whose teachings
> have provided the moral foundations for their respective societies. Baha’u’llah,
> Who lived in the Middle East in the nineteenth century, mentioned some of these
> Messengers by name, especially those known to the people of His place and
> time. Given the vast number of tribes and nations in the world, He did not
> specifically name all those sent by God for the spiritual education of His children.
> Yet a person of any particular background might well consider certain souls to
> have been among such spiritual teachers. White Buffalo Calf Maiden, for
> example, figures prominently in Lakota tradition and was a source of inspiration
> and guidance in Kevin’s life. She ranks in his heart among these great spiritual
> luminaries.
> – Kenneth E. Bowers, in the Introduction to Kevin Locke’s Arising, p. xiv.
> 
> 62.Sacred Council Fires and the Baha’i Spark
> 
> February 23, 2020
> Co-author: Kevin Locke
> 
> In Kevin Locke’s recent autobiography, Arising, he writes about a “Continental
> Indigenous Council Fire” that he attended in the summer of 1980 – and that changed his
> life.
> Q: Kevin, you devote an entire chapter of your book Arising to the account of this signal
> event. Here’s an excerpt from your narrative of that memorable experience:
> In the summer of 1980, as I finished my Master’s degree in Community
> Education and was preparing to start my doctoral studies, a Baha’i friend, Ed
> Roberts, gave me a call. He was traveling to a gathering at the Baha’i House of
> Worship for Native American Baha’is and pioneers to the reservations in North
> America. Over the course of three days, this gathering, the Continental
> Indigenous Council Fire, would include teaching workshops, prayer, and
> fellowship. The National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the United States,
> as the national administrative body for the Baha’i community, was hosting this
> gathering. …
> One of the most powerful presentations that weekend was by an elder from the
> Tlingit tribe in Alaska, Eugene King. Eugene was a very tall man, over six feet,
> and had been blind all of his adult life. His erudite bearing made his presentation
> incredibly compelling. Eugene had descended from Tlingit Chiefs but had faced
> ostracization upon becoming a Baha’i and had ultimately sacrificed his chiefdom.
> Hearing of his sacrifices for our beliefs moved me. Eugene talked about how the
> Baha’i Faith fulfills both Christian and Indigenous prophetic traditions. He shared
> long passages from the Baha’i writings and Christian scripture from memory. One
> of the common strands was how the light of the revelation enables one to see his
> or her own spiritual heritage and identify the universal aspects that will benefit all
> of humanity.
> – Kevin Locke, Arising
> In our previous article, Kevin, I asked you about “advance permission” to share the
> information on Indigenous messengers of God, which has now developed into quite a
> number of articles. Would you agree that one of the purposes of this Indigenous
> Messengers of God series is to show “how the light of the revelation enables one to see
> 
> his or her own spiritual heritage and identify the universal aspects that will benefit all of
> humanity”?
> A: Yes, this is a process that all must go through both individually and collectively as we
> advance towards an awareness that we all have precious gifts, both as individuals and
> as a part of one or more of the many of the thousands of diverse kindreds and cultures
> on our planet – as the Baha’i teachings clearly say:
> The progress of the world, the development of nations, the tranquillity of peoples,
> and the peace of all who dwell on earth are among the principles and ordinances
> of God. Religion bestoweth upon man the most precious of all gifts, offereth the
> cup of prosperity, imparteth eternal life, and showereth imperishable benefits
> upon mankind.
> – Baha’u’llah, Tablets of Baha’u’llah
> This collective process was illustrated powerfully during the 1992 Baha’i World
> Congress, in New York, when, as requested by the Universal House of Justice, Juan
> Bejerano spoke about how his Ngöbe (or Ngäbe)-Buglé (Guaymi) people from Panama
> had used the Revelation of Baha’u’llah as a light to shine upon and illuminate those
> aspects of their tribal heritage that align with the Divine Standard – and then to develop
> those qualities in order to present them as a gift to the emerging global civilization. Mr.
> Bejerano spoke on how his community, inspired by the divine principles, had refined
> and developed aspects of their music, dance, culture and language with an eye towards
> enriching all of humanity. He mentioned how the Baha’i revelation had been infused into
> and enriched the well-being and vitality of every aspect of their identity, as a kindred
> people, moving into the light of this Day of God.
> Q: Interesting! I see that, today, the Ngöbe-Buglé people live in the largest and most
> populous of Panama’s five Indigenous administrative provinces (comarcas indígenas),
> in which the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé was created in 1997 when the Panamanian
> government finally granted land rights to the Ngöbe-Buglé. (Shouldn’t it have been the
> other way around, that the invading Europeans should have asked the Ngöbe-Buglé, as
> the original Indigenous inhabitants of that area, for land rights?) In that region, Baha’i
> development work has been quite significant, as this present-day example illustrates:
> Radio Baha’i in Soloy, Panama, was established in the 1980s to give voice to
> and serve as an educational and cultural channel for indigenous peoples. The
> station broadcasts in both Spanish and Ngäbere, the language of the local
> population, and has at least 7,000 listeners. It produces and airs content
> especially for children, youth, and women on themes of spiritual import including
> service, truthfulness, love, and generosity in the form of original songs, skits,
> announcements, and interviews.
> – For the Betterment of the World: The Worldwide Baha’i Community’s
> Approach to Social and Economic Development, Prepared by the Office of
> 
> Social and Economic Development, Baha’i International Community, p.
> 36.
> So, as an illustrative example, how does “the light of the [Baha’i] revelation enable” you
> yourself — both as an Indigenous Lakota and and Anishinabe individual and as a
> spiritually enkindled Baha’i — “to see his or her own spiritual heritage and identify the
> universal aspects that will benefit all of humanity”?
> A: We all pray that God will use us as instruments to serve His greater purpose, and
> then endeavor to align ourselves with that purpose. I was abundantly blessed, upon
> becoming a Baha’i, to have doors open in my life that completely transformed and
> rerouted my life in the direction of developing and using the Indigenous traditional arts
> to accentuate universal themes. This “rerouting” has enabled outreach to millions of
> people in nearly 100 countries.
> Q: Here, I hear you obliquely referring to your work as “a world-famous visionary Hoop
> Dancer, preeminent player of the Indigenous Northern Plains flute, traditional storyteller,
> cultural ambassador, recording artist and educator,” according to one online description
> of you and your international outreach and renown — and further:
> Kevin’s goal is to empower today’s youth in culture and “raise awareness of the
> Oneness we share as human beings.” His belief in the unity of humankind is
> expressed dramatically in the traditional Hoop Dance which illustrates “the roles
> and responsibilities that all human beings have within the hoops (circles) of life,”
> reflects Kevin. “Through my music and dance, I want to create a positive
> awareness of the oneness of humanity.” Since 1982, Kevin has recorded twelve
> albums of music and stories, most recently The First Flute, Open Circle, Keepers
> of the Dream, and Dream Catcher. Kevin Locke dedicates his life’s work to
> Baha’u’llah.
> – KevinLocke.com
> So the year 2020 will mark 40 years since that memorable and important “Second
> Native Baha’i Council of North America” in 1980. Would you encourage another such
> Continental Indigenous Council Fire to be held in the near future? If so, why?
> A: The “Continental Indigenous Councils,” the “Trail of Light” expedition, and many other
> continental/hemispheric Indigenous activities were initiated by the Baha’i Continental
> Board of Counselors serving the Western Hemisphere in response to a groundswell of
> hemisphere-wide interest from Indigenous communities, eager to fulfill prophecies
> regarding the in-gathering of the widely dispersed and persecuted kindreds from this
> half of the planet. I personally feel that, as Indigenous communities arise and make a
> quality response to the forces released through the Revelation of Baha’u’llah, there will
> be amazing permutations and developments based upon the seeds planted during
> those original Continental Indigenous Councils.
> 
> Q: Kevin, tell me this: from your unique Indigenous-Baha’i perspective, how can
> Indigenous peoples benefit from the teachings of the Baha’i Faith? How can the world at
> large benefit from the presence and influence of Indigenous peoples, who are further
> enlightened and empowered by the teachings of the Baha’i Faith?
> A: The brutal legacy of conquest, campaigns of extermination, genocide and oppression
> on this half of the planet are unmatched in the annals of human history. The negative
> roles resulting from this half-millennium period of darkness will be made illumined and
> heroic through the power of God in this new day.
> Throughout the Western Hemisphere today, we can hear and acknowledge, with
> profound respect and admiration, the rising Indigenous voices, speaking dynamically to
> issues of environmental protection, women’s rights, the education and moral uplift of
> children, the empowering of youth, the need for equality and equity, and so forth. The
> power of these strong, inspiring Indigenous voices is rooted in the seeds planted by
> God through the Indigenous Messengers we have been extolling throughout this series
> of articles. Those divine voices, filtered through languages and cultures that have
> appeared, like a beautiful heavenly garden on this land, are now echoing, reverberating
> and pulsating in hearts throughout the length and breadth of this land, as we speak.
> Q: Thanks, Kevin! By the way, this video featuring Indigenous artists, is worth watching:
> https://www.youtube.com/embed/XHhbeRJudY4
> 
> 63.Preserving Spiritual Seeds for Posterity and Prosperity
> 
> March 13, 2020
> Co-author: Kevin Locke
> 
> In February of 2020, the Cherokee Nation became the first tribe in U.S. to send
> heirloom seeds to the global seed vault in Norway. The Nation’s news release said:
> TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Cherokee Nation is the first tribe in the United States
> to receive an invitation to deposit its traditional heirloom seeds to the Svalbard
> Global Seed Vault, a long-term seed storage facility housed deep inside a
> mountain on a remote island in Norway.
> The Cherokee Nation Secretary of Natural Resources office collected nine
> samples of Cherokee heirloom crops to send to Svalbard, including Cherokee
> White Eagle Corn, the tribe’s most sacred corn, which is typically used during
> cultural activities, and three other varieties of corn grown for consumption in
> distinct locations to keep the strains pure. Other seeds sent to the seed bank
> include Cherokee Long Greasy Beans, Cherokee Trail of Tears Beans, Cherokee
> Turkey Gizzard black and brown beans, and Cherokee Candy Roaster Squash.
> All nine varieties sent to the seed bank predate European settlement.
> “This is history in the making, and none of it could have been possible without the
> hard work of our staff and the partnership with the team in Norway,” said
> Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. “It is such an honor to have a
> piece of our culture preserved forever. Generations from now, these seeds will
> still hold our history and there will always be a part of the Cherokee Nation in the
> world.”
> – Ibid (https://www.cherokeephoenix.org/Article/index/114106)
> Christopher Buck: So I have a three-part question for you, Kevin: Beyond the physical
> seeds that germinate plants, is there such a thing as traditional heirloom spiritual
> “seeds” that could be “a piece of our culture preserved forever?” If so, should those
> spiritual seeds be taught as part and parcel of our global spiritual heritage? Finally, how
> does the Baha’i perspective relate to this question?
> Kevin Locke: Much of the current U.S. population lives in the ancestral homelands of
> the historic Mound Builder civilization – around the Great Lakes and in the Mississippi
> and Ohio River valleys. Those cultures, including the Calusa, Adena, Hopewell
> and Mississippian cultures, made the monumental earthworks that still surround us and
> 
> remind us of a rich spiritual heritage. Many of those earthworks, the ones not
> assiduously removed to make way for modern agriculture and development, are burial
> mounds.
> The sacred seeds from the Cherokee Nation are a direct legacy of this land’s
> foundational civilizers – the holy souls who enriched this land through divine laws,
> teachings and prophecies. Many of these heavenly teachings concern the sanctity and
> continuity of the soul.
> Corn especially represents a physical manifestation of the soul’s mysterious spiritual
> reality. The holy revelators brought the divine gift of corn and taught how to properly
> care for it. This Baha’i prayer, often associated with children, perfectly portrays the
> spiritual dimension of corn and other divinely revealed horticultural knowledge, including
> squash, beans, etc.:
> O God! Educate these children. These children are the plants of Thine orchard,
> the flowers of Thy meadow, the roses of Thy garden. Let Thy rain fall upon them;
> let the Sun of Reality shine upon them with Thy love. Let Thy breeze refresh
> them in order that they may be trained, grow and develop, and appear in the
> utmost beauty. Thou art the Giver. Thou art the Compassionate.
> – Abdu’l-Baha, Baha’i Prayers
> The beloved souls lovingly and ceremoniously “planted” within the burial mounds
> surrounding us are analogous to the sacred seeds that the divine messengers taught
> Indigenous people to plant in mounded gardens. The “rain,” “Sun of Reality” and
> “breeze” symbolize the universal heavenly injunctions, laws, prayers, virtues that the
> child must receive as they are “trained,” “grow,” “develop” and “appear in the utmost
> beauty.”
> When the corn reaches the height of a man, it produces a sweet, nutritious fruit that has
> been the foundation of civilization on this land for thousands of years. The Huŋká or
> Corn Dance is a divine ordinance bestowed to create the spiritual infrastructure and
> relationship to allow for the soul to mature to produce the fruit – those divine human
> attributes – that will in turn provide spiritual sustenance for the well-being of humankind.
> The mounds with the seeds of the departed souls planted within represent the growth of
> the soul in the heavenly realms, whose fruit continues to shine, waft and rain down
> eternal blessings.
> CB: Would you agree, Kevin, that an important, if not the most important, key to
> traditional spiritual legacies are the teachings, where preserved, of the various
> “Indigenous Messengers of God” – especially in connection with this important Baha’i
> statement:
> The principle of collective trusteeship creates also the right of every person to
> expect that those cultural conditions essential to his or her identity enjoy the
> 
> protection of national and international law. Much like the role played by the gene
> pool in the biological life of humankind and its environment, the immense wealth
> of cultural diversity achieved over thousands of years is vital to the social and
> economic development of a human race experiencing its collective coming-of-
> age. It represents a heritage that must be permitted to bear its fruit in a global
> civilization.
> – “The Prosperity of Humankind,” Baha’i International Community
> Previously you’ve also cited this key statement: “At the most profound depth of every
> culture lies veneration of the sacred.” – The International Teaching Centre, “Growth of
> the Cause in Rural Communities,” August 21, 1994. So why does the legacy of the
> “Indigenous Messengers of God” matter? Does preserving such legacies for posterity
> also promote, in some way, local and global prosperity?
> KL: For thousands of years, here in North America, we can attribute every wondrous
> blessing to the influence of the divine educators. They planted the seed of faith in the
> hearts of the various peoples, which effloresced into a plethora of wonderful
> civilizations. Acknowledgement of these divine educators was the milieu in which my
> mother, Patricia Locke, was raised. Little wonder that she was devoted to restoring due
> recognition to these holy souls.
> 
> 64.Honoring Indigenous Customs: Promo5ng Reciprocal Respect
> 
> March 19, 2020
> Co-author: Kevin Locke
> 
> Do Baha’is recognize, honor and even practice the traditions of Indigenous peoples
> around the world?
> In our continuation of the ongoing BahaiTeachings.org discussion of Indigenous
> messengers of God, Christopher Buck asks Lakota Baha’i Kevin Locke that interesting
> and important question.
> Christopher Buck: In a 1988 letter to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of
> Canada, the Universal House of Justice states that the Baha’i Faith has “the best
> interests of the Native community at heart,” and further says:
> The Faith seeks to maintain cultural diversity while promoting the unity of all
> peoples. Indeed, such diversity will enrich the tapestry of human life in a peaceful
> world society. The House of Justice supports the view that in every country the
> cultural traditions of the people should be observed within the Baha’i community
> as long as they are not contrary to the Teachings.
> – Letter from the Universal House of Justice, 25 July 1988
> This guidance to the world’s Baha’is refers to “traditional activities” such as “festivals,
> which may be regarded as having a religious origin long ago.” The House of Justice
> further states that Indigenous “cultural traditions of the people should be observed
> within the Baha’i community as long as they are not contrary to the Teachings.” Can you
> offer some examples of this practice from your personal experience? Is this a good
> practice? If so, why?
> Kevin Locke: A good example of this might be the Baha’is of the Ngobe Bugle people of
> Panama, who undertook the process of collective analysis of their cultural/spiritual
> heritage in the light of the Divine Standard with an eye to honoring the prayers of their
> ancestors by offering the best of their ancestral legacy as a gift toward the emerging
> global civilization.
> Another personal experience is the hoop dance (see article 62), which originates as a
> choreographed prayer invoking the universal symbolism of the circle/hoop – a
> ubiquitous archetype portraying unity, wholeness, continuity, etc. The designs create the
> unfoldment of Spring, thus enfolding the people into the embrace of this powerful
> 
> prayer. Only in recent times, under the influence of an enshrouding, dominant material
> culture, has this dance devolved into the category of mere “entertainment.”
> CB: Kevin, in the very same letter, the Universal House of Justice recommends that
> Baha’is undertake the following community service projects, where welcome, in
> Indigenous settings:
> When the Baha’i community in a village is a significant proportion of the
> population, it has a wide range of opportunities to be an example and an
> encouragement of means of improving the quality of life in the village. Among the
> initiatives which it might take are measures to foster child education, adult
> literacy and the training of women to better discharge their responsibilities as
> mothers and to play an enlarged role in the administrative and social life of the
> village; encouragement of the people of the village to join together in devotions,
> perhaps in the early morning, irrespective of their varieties of religious belief;
> support of efforts to improve the hygiene and the health of the village, including
> attention to the provision of pure water, the preservation of cleanliness in the
> village environment, and education in the harmful effects of narcotic and
> intoxicating substances. No doubt other possibilities will present themselves to
> the village Baha’i community and its Local Spiritual Assembly.
> – Ibid.
> So Kevin, can you offer some examples of such Baha’i-inspired community educational
> and social development initiatives from your personal experience?
> KL: Yes! Recent videos from the Baha’i World Centre portray many such examples
> brilliantly, in Indigenous settings around the world. In the United States, NABI – the
> Native American Baha’i Institute, situated on the Navajo Nation – has several such
> initiatives. In the Dakotas, the communities on the Rosebud, Pine Ridge and Turtle
> Mountain reservations are developing effective outreach that includes elements from
> the message above. Here at Standing Rock, under the auspices of the Baha’i-inspired
> Indigenous non-profit organization the Patricia Locke Foundation
> (patricialockefoundation.org), we are launching several school/community garden
> projects, including indoor tower gardens to provide fresh produce year round. We pray
> that the seeds of these endeavors will take root in the hearts of the people and bring
> physical and spiritual sustenance and release the sweet fruits latent in our communities.
> CB: Can traditional Indigenous ceremonies be performed during Baha’i events?
> KL: Yes. This has been occurring as long as I can recall, especially when Baha’i events
> are within Indigenous communities. I recall Ruhiyyih Khanum, the wife of the Guardian
> of the Baha’i Faith, Shoghi Effendi, would eagerly participate in pipe ceremonies and
> other Native devotional activities. In New Delhi, she had the prayer dot on her forehead
> at the India Temple dedication. She would always encourage the Baha’is to integrate
> with the communities in which they resided. The Baha’i communities here in the
> 
> Dakotas have a long history of integrating these universal ways. I’m sure it is the same
> in other Indigenous communities, like Navajo-land.
> CB: Ruhiyyih Khanum wrote about her participation in an Indigenous pipe ceremony
> among the Piikani (Peigan), one of the three nations of the Blackfoot Confederacy:
> I need not tell you what a profound experience the Pipe Ceremony on the Peigan
> Reservation was. It was probably the most moving thing that happened to me in
> my whole trip, and one of the most moving things that happened to me in my
> whole life. As I could neither understand the Indian words nor clearly see what
> was happening, it was undoubtedly the profound spiritual feeling of the Indians
> connected with this most sacred ceremony that affected me. . .
> When I spoke to the Baha’is of Regina they asked me to say something in
> Persian at the end of my talk, and I spoke as strongly as one can humanly do on
> the subject of not going near the Indians or approaching them or going to the
> Reservations unless they could treat them with respect and honour their customs
> and feelings. . . Obviously this does not mean we must grace all Baha’i
> occasions with the Pipe Ceremony! But it certainly should be an eye-opener to
> us.
> – Ruhiyyih Khanum, Letter to the National Spiritual Assembly of the
> Baha’is of Canada, 28 October 1986.
> So what’s the take-away from all this? How important is preserving spiritual “seeds” for
> posterity – and for prosperity? Is there a vital connection between past, present and
> future legacies?
> KL: Yes, there certainly is. Among the teachings of the Indigenous messengers was the
> establishment of harmony and balance between humankind, the environment and the
> Creator. Humankind is assigned as the stewards of this balance. The messengers
> planted the seeds of this Covenant in the hearts of the ancestors. The prayers, visions
> and hopes they made in obedience to that covenant are now being realized – and we,
> the current generation, have the bounty of fulfilling them on their behalf.
> 
> 65.How Baha’is Promote the Recogni5on of Indigenous Beliefs
> 
> May 30, 2020
> Co-author: Kevin Locke
> 
> How do Baha’is promote the recognition of Indigenous beliefs? We explore that
> question in our continuing conversation between scholar Chris Buck and Lakota artist
> and author Kevin Locke.
> 
> Q: Kevin, I recently came across this remarkable letter from the Universal House of
> Justice, the democratically-elected international Baha’i council that oversees the affairs
> of the Baha’i world:
> 
> It is, of course, true that new movements of thought, especially in the field of
> religion, tend to obliterate old ones, or to transform their nature in the eyes of the
> people ….
> 
> The House of Justice feels that in discussion with … you should not challenge
> this point, nor should you enter into criticisms of the often ruthless manner in
> which the followers of new religions have suppressed the old ways. It is
> suggested that, instead, you present the Baha’i concepts, as expressed by
> Abdu’l-Baha, namely that the fountainhead of all religions is to be found in God
> through the Teachings of His Prophets, and that all peoples have drunk at this
> ocean of divine Revelation ….
> 
> The Baha’i attitude to earlier religions, therefore, is not that they are false or
> “heathen”, but that, at root, they are all true and that these fundamental truths still
> persist within them. Baha’is encourage Indians in South America, for example, to
> see and reverence the profound spiritual truths which are to be found in both
> their pre-Christian religions and in the Catholicism which, in later centuries, has
> to varying degrees supplanted or overlaid their archaic faiths. Through the Baha’i
> teachings, the inner conflict which many still feel between their ancient religions
> and Christianity is resolved and, at the same time, they are enabled to
> understand their spiritual unity with the peoples of other continents, such as
> 
> Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims with whom they will undoubtedly come into
> contact with increasing frequency.
> 
> An example of the Baha’i attitude is to be found in the operation of such radio
> stations as Radio Baha’i Ecuador, which has a policy of encouraging Indian arts
> and music and fostering in the Indians pride in their heritage.
> – Letter dated 22 March 1988, written on behalf of the Universal House of
> Justice to a National Spiritual Assembly (https://bahai-library.com/
> compilation_cultural_diversity_maturity)
> 
> So Kevin, would you please comment on this Baha’i “policy of encouraging Indian arts
> and music and fostering in the Indians pride in their heritage”?
> 
> A: Yes! Unlike the U.S., where the policy towards Indigenous people was extermination,
> in the Andean region of South America, colonizers enslaved the Indigenous population
> to work the mines. Consequently, the traditional arts and music were suppressed and
> marginalized. Radio Baha’i Ecuador has long been the sponsor of beautiful music and
> dance festivals in the regions they serve. I had the bounty of attending such a festival in
> the Aymara and Quechua area surrounding Lake Titicaca. Each village displayed their
> own unique ancestral traditions. My feeling was that it was not so much pride as the
> release of a long pent-up, suppressed collective voice from the heart of the Andes,
> celebrating a new day in which this voice could be conjoined with and heard by all in our
> emerging global civilization.
> 
> Q: In your book, Arising, I see that this experience took place in the summer of 1988,
> when you were asked to travel to Bolivia and Peru with the “Trail of Light” expedition.
> This team of Baha’i travel teachers consisted of Indigenous people like Sabino Ortega,
> “a prominent, respected Indigenous man, who provided us with Quechua translations;”
> Dr. Eloy Anello, founder of University Nur, who “served as our Spanish translator”;
> Jacqueline Left Hand Bull; Randy Chipps-Dihtidaht, from Western Vancouver Island;
> Phil Lane, Jr., Dakota/Choctaw from Washington State, your late mother, Patricia Locke,
> and yourself. You write, in part:
> 
> My mother had spent much of her adult life working in political activism. Though
> she and her colleagues had achieved victories to improve educational access
> and cultural preservation for Indigenous people, she abhorred the negativity and
> divisiveness of politics, with its potential for corruption. Because the Baha’i
> 
> teachings offered relief from the political corruption around the world and offered
> common-sense and progressive teachings, such as the equality of men and
> women, the eliminations of the extremes of wealth and poverty, and the
> dismantling of prejudices of all kinds, she was intellectually curious.
> 
> However, her negative encounters with Christianity had made her cautious when
> dealing with religion. As a child in Catholic boarding school, my mother disdained
> the restrictions placed on women within the Church and the persecution of
> Indigenous culture, including its spiritual practices, within the school. During her
> career, she had endeavored to create an awareness of and preserve North
> American Indigenous spiritual heritage, and she had worked tirelessly to dispel
> the prevailing view of Indigenous culture as satanic. She feared that the Faith
> was another organized religion that would ultimately oppress Indigenous people.
> …
> 
> We had many conversations in which I shared how the Faith affirms Indigenous
> spirituality. …
> 
> Of all the villages we visited in Bolivia and Peru, the small mountain community
> of Miskipampa held a significant place in my heart, especially for the profound
> impact its people had on my mother. … Many of these families were members of
> the Baha’i Faith. Though they were considered to be among the poorest
> Indigenous people materially, we regarded them as unbelievably wealthy
> because of the spirit of cooperation and love that pervaded their village. …
> 
> At the entrance of the village, we passed under an archway of woven branches.
> The entire village had arisen and come out to greet us at this early hour. The
> entire land was filled with the light of the brilliant flames of the candles they held.
> I was moved beyond words by their hospitality. My travel companions and I had
> entered a community of spiritual connection and unity. The moment we walked
> beneath that archway, we transitioned from being strangers to relatives of
> Miskipampa.
> 
> Each of the village members, as we approached them, looked in our eyes with
> the utmost tenderness and embraced us. They placed their left cheek on our
> right cheek and then their right cheek on our left. “Allah’u’abha,” they said. This
> greeting, used among the Baha’is of the world, means “God is most Glorious” in
> 
> Arabic. We walked from village member to village member. Each person
> embraced us as family and lovingly greeted us with “Allah’u’abha.”
> 
> My mother, who did not yet consider herself a Baha’i, began to reciprocate the
> loving greeting back to our hosts. “Allah’u’abha,” she replied after each embrace.
> “Allah’u’abha.” At the end of this long procession, this warm and phenomenal
> welcome, her association with the pure-hearted people of Miskipampa opened
> her own heart and mind more completely to the teachings of Baha’u’llah. That
> night, she gave her heart to Baha’u’llah, even though her official declaration
> occurred upon our return to the United States.
> – Excerpt from Kevin Locke’s Arising, pp. 177-185.
> 
> Q: Thanks for relating that wonderful story, Kevin. I can see how this Baha’i “policy of
> encouraging Indian arts and music and fostering in the Indians pride in their heritage”
> greatly promotes unity, both in the local Indigenous communities, and also across the
> Americas, and then with the rest of the world. What an enlightened approach to
> Indigenous arts, music, and heritage – which includes Indigenous spiritual heritages! In
> the next article in this series, I’ll ask you specifically about this related Baha’i policy from
> the Universal House of Justice as well: “Baha’is encourage Indians in South America,
> for example, to see and reverence the profound spiritual truths which are to be found in
> … their pre-Christian religions.”
> 
> 66.To “Reverence the Profound Spiritual Truths” in Indigenous Religions
> 
> Jun 6, 2020
> Co-author: Kevin Locke
> 
> In this continuing conversation about Indigenous beliefs and their relationship to
> the Baha’i teachings, Chris Buck and Kevin Locke discuss seeing the profound spiritual
> truths in both.
> 
> Q: Kevin, could you please comment on this Baha’i policy from the Universal House of
> Justice, the governing body of the world’s Baha’is?:
> 
> The Baha’i attitude to earlier religions, therefore, is not that they are false or
> “heathen”, but that, at root, they are all true and that these fundamental truths still
> persist within them. Baha’is encourage Indians in South America, for example, to
> see and reverence the profound spiritual truths which are to be found in both
> their pre-Christian religions and in the Catholicism which, in later centuries, has
> to varying degrees supplanted or overlaid their archaic faiths.
> – The Universal House of Justice, Letter to a National Spiritual Assembly
> (https://bahai-library.com/compilation_cultural_diversity_maturity).
> 
> A: Thanks, Chris, I’d love to discuss this powerful concept. When one goes beyond the
> Disney World-esque bubble ride, pre-packaged for tourists experience in the Andes,
> one finds a universe peopled by very non-European ancestry. The colonizers were not
> successful in eradicating the core Indigenous identity and language from most of the
> Andean region. In large part, because of their core spiritual identity, the Indigenous
> Andean region was the first place where large numbers of Indigenous people became
> Baha’is in the western hemisphere. I will never forget visiting Machu Picchu with Baha’i
> Quechua and Aymara elders, who shared the true history and significance of this sacred
> spot and were able to perform the proper protocols of reverence for Inti Punku (“Gate of
> the Sun”) and other sacred sites there.
> 
> Q: Located near Cuzco (also called the “City of Stone,” as is Machu Picchu as well) in
> Peru, Inti Punku is along the “Path of Viracocha,” from Tiahuanaco, to Cuzco, onward to
> 
> Ollantaytambo and finally to Machu Picchu. About Viracocha (see “The Return of
> Viracocha, the Prophet of the Incas,” Part 4 in this “Indigenous Messengers of God”
> series), Hooper Dunbar, retired Universal House of Justice member, said:
> 
> “… from a Baha’i point of view, all the teachers have been at the same college.
> That is, they’re inspired with the same universal knowledge. But they’re not able
> to deliver a message which is not relative to the time that they appear in. Christ is
> going to call us to a united mankind? Let the globe be one? Let the earth be one?
> The earth was flat when he spoke. It was still flat. Nobody knew about America
> except the Americans, the early Americans. They had their own messengers. But
> you go amongst the tribes in South America, and so on. They’ve had lesser
> guides and they have had greater guides. Viracocha was the great Incan prophet
> …. And he taught the basic virtues is what he taught. And when the Christian
> missionaries go and speak to them and tell them that Christ walked on the water
> in the Sea of Galilee, they said, ‘Oh, he may be then. He may be right, because
> our Viracocha walked on the Lake Titicaca. We have traditions about that!‘”
> — Hooper Dunbar, “Introduction to the Baha’i Faith” (January 2019,
> Pasadena, CA).
> 
> So when we read that “Baha’is encourage Indians in South America, for example, to see
> and reverence the profound spiritual truths which are to be found in … their pre-
> Christian religions,” do you see that policy as quite remarkable and extraordinary, in and
> of itself?
> 
> A: Yes, Chris, is it correct to say that, although individuals from other faith traditions may
> acknowledge aspects of the spiritual heritage of the Indigenous peoples of the Western
> Hemisphere, the Baha’i Faith is the only world religion that has taken an official
> affirmative stance in this regard.
> 
> I also find it very noteworthy that Ruhiyyih Khanum, the last survivor of the Baha’i holy
> family, made a particular point to visit Indigenous communities no matter how remote
> they might be. Personally, I well recall visiting Indigenous villages that required arduous
> journeys via all-terrain vehicles and then, having reached the limit of motorized travel,
> walking treacherous mountain pathways to a village that Ruhiyyih Khanum had traveled
> to decades before. As the most prominent member of the Baha’i Faith during her
> lifetime – after her husband, Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Baha’i Faith, passed
> away in 1957 — her actions speak volumes.
> 
> Q: In that same vein, let’s take a close look at a similar statement by the Baha’i
> International Community, an agency of the Universal House of Justice and which serves
> as a nongovernmental organization (NGO) with consultative status at the United
> Nations:
> 
> “Baha’is, believing in all revealed religious truth of past ages as an unfoldment of
> one divine plan, have respect for the customs and traditions relating to these
> religions and cultures. They desire to preserve the cultural elements that
> contribute to the well-being of man. An effort is made to acquaint people with
> their own history on earth. … Because of the Baha’i belief in the unity of
> mankind, all people are recognized as valued members of society and play an
> equally important part in building world order.”
> – From information submitted by the Baha’i International Community for a “Study
> of the Problem of Discrimination against Indigenous Populations,” undertaken by
> the United Nations Sub-commission on Prevention of Discrimination And
> Protection of Minorities,” [U.S.] Baha’i News (February, 1975), p. 19 (https://
> bahai.works/index.php?title=File:Baha%27i_News_527.pdf&page=21).
> 
> So one key way that the Baha’i Faith seeks to promote unity within and among
> Indigenous peoples – and with the world at large – is to honor, respect, preserve and
> discover more about Indigenous spiritual heritages, by accentuating their spiritual
> harmonics with the best that other religions around the world have offered in their own
> sacred teachings – all of which the Baha’i Faith recognizes, respects, reinvigorates and
> revoices in global octaves, in what could be called the spiritual “music of the spheres.”
> Wouldn’t you agree?
> 
> A: Yes, of course. That’s a good way of putting it. These official Baha’i statements –
> which you have quoted and asked me about – validate and confirm everything we have
> been talking about throughout this “Indigenous Messengers of God” series. To show
> respect to people of all cultures is a Baha’i virtue, encouraged throughout the Baha’i
> writings. Beyond showing respect to the people themselves is respecting their cultures.
> Deeper than that is respecting their religions. Speaking of the spiritual “music of the
> spheres,” Indigenous peoples in the Western Hemisphere have their own spiritual
> “music” – their sacred traditions. Encouraging study of Indigenous sacred traditions is
> like “music appreciation.” All of the Baha’i teachings about “Progressive Revelation” can
> – and should – apply to Indigenous sacred traditions. One has to be open-minded to
> 
> learn about, understand, and respect the spiritual melodies and music of Indigenous
> traditions that are outside of our dominant culture.
> 
> As I’ve said before, the Western Hemisphere is the “other half” of the world. Religions
> are not only part of the so-called “Old World.” They are part of the “New World” as well!
> If we do not respect and appreciate Indigenous sacred traditions, then we cannot fully
> embrace the Baha’i principle of the oneness of religion. As Baha’is, not only should we
> each “Consort with all religions with amity and concord, that they may inhale from you
> the sweet fragrance of God,” as Baha’u’llah advised us to do in his Most Holy Book, but
> Baha’is should also promote “harmony and peace among religions.” What better way to
> do this, with respect to Indigenous peoples across the Americas, than to respect their
> sacred traditions? From a Baha’i point of view, the greatest respect that we can show to
> Indigenous peoples’ sacred traditions is to recognize and respect their respective
> Indigenous messengers of God, who originally brought those sacred teachings in the
> first place!
> 
> Q: Thanks, Kevin. Well put! That said, this is a perfect segue into our next article, where
> we’ll discuss the most frequent criticism that I’ve encountered, over the past quarter-
> century, in promoting this Baha’i-inspired respect for Indigenous messengers of God –
> those “Wise Ones” spoken of by Universal House of Justice.
> 
> 67.Listening to the Wise Ones – Voices of the Great Spirit
> 
> Jun 13, 2020
> Co-author: Kevin Locke
> 
> In the pursuit of religious unity, do Baha’is only recognize the founders of the world’s
> most well-known religions – or do they also recognize the Indigenous messengers of
> God?
> 
> In this ongoing conversation between Baha’i scholar and author Chris Buck and Lakota
> artist and author Kevin Locke, we address that important subject.
> 
> Q: Greetings, Kevin! At the end of our article in Part 58 of this series (“Gluskap: Ancient
> and Modern Teachings”), we quoted the following remarkable letter from the Universal
> House of Justice to the 1972 Baha’i Unity Conference on the Navajo Nation — a letter
> that you introduced to me, and which you have posted on a wall in your house on the
> Standing Rock Reservation:
> 
> Beloved friends,
> 
> Praise be to the Almighty that you have gathered in that beautiful spot in a spirit
> of love and harmony for the purpose of strengthening the bonds of unity between
> yourselves and among all men.
> 
> The All-Wise Creator of earth and heaven has from the beginning which has no
> beginning sent to His peoples Divine Messengers to guide them to the Straight
> Path. These Wise Ones have come to establish the unity of the Kingdom in
> human hearts. This great evolutionary process of building the organic unity of the
> human race has entered a new stage with this mighty message of Baha’u’llah.
> His voice is the voice of the Great Spirit. His love for humankind is the force of
> the New Age.
> 
> He who sends the rain, who causes the sun and the stars to shine, the rivers to
> flow, the winds to blow and the earth to give forth her bounties has in this Great
> Day sent to all mankind Baha’u’llah. It is this Great One who has opened the
> door of divine knowledge to every soul. It is His teachings that will establish world
> unity and bring about universal peace.
> 
> The people of the world are the tools in His hand. They must strive to understand
> His message and to walk in the path of His divine guidance. Every human being
> is responsible in this day to seek the truth for himself and thereafter to live
> according to that wise counsel. The old ones have all longed for this sweet
> message. Praise God that you have found it.
> 
> Now awakened to new wisdom, now guided to the straight path, now illumined
> with this mighty message, strive you day and night to guide and assist the thirsty
> ones in all lands to the ever-flowing fountain, the wandering ones to this fortress
> of certainty, the ignorant ones to this source of knowledge and the seekers to that
> One for whom their hearts long.
> 
> May your consultation reach so high a level of endeavour and purpose that the
> Great One will open before your faces the doors of the paradise of wisdom and
> love and cause the light of the Abha Beauty [Baha’u’llah] to shine in your midst.
> 
> With loving Baha’i greetings,
> The Universal House of Justice
> 
> Since Ganado, Arizona, is part of the Navajo Nation, I presume that most of the
> participants were Navajos, including Navajo Baha’is. In our live-streamed presentation
> on April 16, 2020 (hosted by the Green Acre Baha’i School), I asked you about this
> extraordinary letter. Would you please comment again?
> 
> First, Kevin, who are “These Wise Ones” the Universal House of Justice refers to? Are
> they one and the same as the “Divine Messengers”? Since the immediate audience
> were primarily Navajo Baha’is, did the “Wise Ones” include the Indigenous messengers
> of God we’ve discussed in this series of articles?
> 
> A: Chris, this is one of my favorite messages from the Baha’i World Centre. When this
> message was sent, one of the members of the Universal House of Justice at the time
> had lived and served in the Ganado area of the Navajo Nation for many years, and was
> well familiar with the sentiments, perceptions and culture of the predominantly Navajo
> people there. This message from the Universal House of Justice was sent to a non-
> European language-speaking community, firmly rooted in their Indigenous spiritual
> heritage. For them, the “Wise Ones” (when translated into the Navajo language) would
> have implicitly meant those Indigenous messengers of God, who had planted the divine
> message in the hearts of the Navajo ancestors’ people of the Ganado area, prior to the
> arrival of immigrants to this land.
> 
> Q: Who are “the old ones” who “have all longed for this sweet message”?
> 
> A: The “old ones” are certainly those Navajo and other Indigenous ancestors, who, in
> ancient times, received the spiritual glad-tidings from those teachers whom the
> Universal House of Justice respectfully referred to as “Wise Ones.” One of the well-
> known Navajo customs is to rise before sun-up and run towards the dawn to receive
> and welcome the resplendent rays of the new day. This is the spirit with which we are to
> embrace the promised message of the Day of God – with energy and enthusiasm!
> 
> I find it noteworthy that one of the beautiful metaphors in the House of Justice’s
> message is to “to guide and assist the thirsty ones in all lands to the ever-flowing
> fountain.” This choice metaphor is as rich in meaning as it is poetic, being so culturally
> relevant to the immediate Navajo audience at the Ganado Baha’i conference. The
> Navajo live in the midst of a vast desert, where water is scarce and precious and is
> therefore symbolically strongly linked to God’s bestowals.
> 
> Q: The Universal House of Justice, in this same letter, refers to the “Great Spirit,” God,
> who has sent “this Great One” (Baha’u’llah) in “this Great Day” who brings a “new
> wisdom.” What is this “new wisdom” and “sweet message” that the “old ones” have “all
> longed for”? Does this refer to Baha’u’llah’s “teachings that will establish world unity and
> bring about universal peace”?
> 
> A: Throughout the Western Hemisphere, the first places where large numbers of people
> accepted Baha’u’llah’s message and became Baha’is were all among Indigenous
> populations – in Navajo-land, Saskatchewan, Bolivia, Peru, Panama, etc. These were
> 
> all places where the Indigenous populations had rejected the immigrant culture and
> language and clung to the ancestral promises of renewal and fulfillment. The “new
> wisdom” they received was not the false promise of material civilization but was the
> “sweet message” clearly enunciated by those Wise Ones who had raised the Call of
> God on this land from time immemorial.
> 
> Q: So I think you and I agree that the Universal House of Justice, in explicitly referring
> to the “Divine Messengers” as “these Wise Ones” — who were sent to “all lands” —
> implicitly includes those Indigenous messengers of God who were sent to the
> Americas.
> 
> A: Yes, we do. The all-inclusive unity of religions that Baha’u’llah taught makes that
> undoubtedly true.
> 
> Q: So each of these Wise Ones was a voice of the Great Spirit, culminating, after “this
> great evolutionary process of building the organic unity of the human race,” in “this
> Great Day,” in the appearance of Baha’u’llah, the Great One whose voice is the voice of
> the Great Spirit, whose “love for humankind is the force of the New Age,” and whose
> “teachings that will establish world unity and bring about universal peace?”
> 
> A: Yes.
> 
> 68.Why the Indigenous Messengers of God Maber
> 
> Jun 20, 2020
> Co-author: Kevin Locke
> 
> In this installment of our extensive series of BahaiTeachings.org articles on Indigenous
> messengers of God, Chris Buck and Kevin Locke consult together on why those
> messengers matter to the modern world.
> 
> Q: Kevin, let’s talk a little more about the whole idea of the Indigenous messengers of
> God, in general, from a Baha’i perspective, and why those messengers are so important
> to consider. You and I have very clear reasons for creating this “Indigenous Messengers
> of God” series — a very real and practical purpose, in fact. But first, let’s review the
> fundamental basis for the series.
> 
> Baha’u’llah, as you know, did not mention the Indigenous messengers of God directly.
> He did so indirectly, in such passages of his writings as this one, a favorite passage of
> your late mother, Patricia Locke:
> 
> Unto the cities of all nations He hath sent His Messengers, Whom He hath
> commissioned to announce unto men tidings of the Paradise of His good
> pleasure, and to draw them nigh unto the Haven of abiding security, the Seat of
> eternal holiness and transcendent glory.
> – Baha’u’llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah
> 
> Here, Kevin, you and I agree that “the cities of all nations” must refer to all countries
> around the world, including the Americas – the “First Nations.”
> 
> Now please follow my logic here: The following letter from the Universal House of
> Justice states that Abdu’l-Baha had, in effect, added the Buddha to the Manifestations
> 
> (Messengers or Prophets) of God not previously mentioned by Baha’u’llah. After quoting
> this passage below, I will explain the relevance of this interesting point:
> 
> Baha’u’llah made no mention of Buddha, and if it had not been for Abdu’l-Baha’s
> statement we would not have been in a position to state definitely that Buddha
> had been a Manifestation of God. There are a myriad traditions in the legends of
> peoples that point back to some sort of divine revelation but, as the beloved
> Guardian’s secretary pointed out on his behalf in a letter written to an individual
> believer on 13 March 1950, “… We cannot possibly add names of people we (or
> anyone else) think might be Lesser Prophets to those found in the Qur’an, the
> Bible and our own Scriptures. For only these can we consider authentic Books.”
> We must just accept that there are undoubtedly many prophetic figures of whom
> all authentic record has been lost.
> – Letter, dated 27 October 1986, sent on behalf of Universal House of
> Justice to an individual (https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/
> the-universal-house-of-justice/messages/19861027_001/1#284343382).
> 
> As to those “many prophetic figures of whom all authentic record has been lost,” we
> know that anything lost may later be found. (We’ll discuss this idea further in a
> subsequent article.)
> 
> This process of adding to — and thereby augmenting and enriching — the list of names
> of the messengers of God to those previously mentioned by Baha’u’llah gets more
> interesting, considering that Abdu’l-Baha also added the name of Krishna to
> those messengers of God whom Baha’is recognize as well. In his Tablet to Amir Khan,
> Abdu’l-Baha also added the category, or class, of Indigenous messengers of God to the
> Americas, but without mentioning specific names:
> 
> In ancient times the people of America were, through their northern regions,
> close to Asia, that is, separated from Asia by a strait. For this reason, it hath been
> said that crossing had occurred. There are other signs which indicate
> communication.
> 
> As to places whose people were not informed of the appearance of Prophets,
> such people are excused. In the Qur’an it hath been revealed: “We will not
> chastise them if they had not been sent a Messenger.” (Qur’an 17:15.)
> 
> Undoubtedly in those regions the Call of God must have been raised in ancient
> times, but it hath been forgotten now.
> – Abdu’l-Baha, Tablet to Amir Khan.
> 
> Although we have referred to this passage several times throughout this series, let’s see
> what the internal evidence, standing alone, suggests, by way of a close reading and
> textual analysis.
> 
> Here, “the people of America” who lived “in ancient times” refers to those who dwelled
> on the American continents during the pre-contact period prior to Columbus and the
> subsequent European colonization (to put it politely). The “people of America” who lived
> “in ancient times” clearly identifies the Indigenous peoples – the original inhabitants of
> the Americas.
> 
> Consequently, the places where the Indigenous people of the Americas lived refers not
> only to “their northern regions” (i.e. North America), but evidently to all of the Americas
> as well — that is, to the entire length and breadth of the Western Hemisphere, the so-
> called “New World.”
> 
> Interestingly, Abdu’l-Baha doesn’t fully endorse the Bering Land Bridge theory, but
> simply mentions it (“it hath been said”) by way of acknowledging a contemporary
> scientific theory, perfectly in keeping with the Baha’i principle of the harmony of science
> and religion.
> 
> In the final sentence of this brief yet significant tablet, Abdu’l-Baha added the category
> of Indigenous messengers of God to those already identified in the writings of
> Baha’u’llah. He also added the Buddha and Krishna, as previously mentioned.
> 
> The context makes it clear that the terms “Call of God” and “Messengers of God” are
> synonymous, because the “Messengers of God” are the ones who originally raise the
> “Call of God,” as Baha’u’llah states in this exemplary passage:
> 
> These sublime words have streamed forth from the Pen of the Most High. He
> saith, exalted be His glory: “This is the day of vision, for the countenance of God
> is shining resplendent above the horizon of Manifestation. This is the day of
> hearing, for the call of God hath been raised. It behoveth everyone in this day to
> uphold and proclaim that which hath been revealed by Him Who is the Author of
> all scripture, the Dayspring of revelation, the Fount of knowledge and the Source
> of divine wisdom.”
> – Baha’u’llah, The Tabernacle of Unity, p. 21 (emphasis added)
> 
> Space does not permit any further elaboration on this point – but suffice it to say that
> there is plenty of evidence in the Baha’i writings to support this interpretation, which is
> my personal understanding, and not an “official” position.
> 
> That said, that which is “forgotten” may also be remembered. We previously addressed
> this issue in Part 52 (“Remembering ‘Forgotten’ Indigenous Religions”) of this
> “Indigenous Messengers of God” series.
> 
> Kevin, do you have any further comments to add? Why is this topic important? Why
> have we spent so many articles in this series addressing it? What do we do with this
> information? Why is it useful? Why is it needed?
> 
> A: Just because a portion of humankind occupying half the planet Earth were ruthlessly
> slaughtered and disenfranchised of their birthright as human beings does not justify that
> their spiritual heritage — through which a huge portion of the world’s basic foods,
> medicines and institutions were divinely inspired — should continue to be ignored.
> Now that the world is on a forced time-out in a worldwide lockdown, it is fitting to
> meditate on the spiritual heritage of half the planet and how it has benefitted us all. Two
> good references for reflection on this point are by Jack Weatherford, DeWitt Wallace
> Professor, Emeritus, Macalester College: Indian Givers: How the Indians of the
> Americas Transformed the World (1988) and Native Roots: How the Indians Enriched
> America (1991). His findings are summarized in a 1996 article, “Impact of American
> Indian Civilizations on Europe and the World,” in The Encyclopedia of the American
> Indian. What Professor Weatherford omits is that the Indigenous people themselves
> attribute their contributions to America and to world civilization to those “Wise Ones”
> commissioned by the “Great Spirit” to raise the “Call of God” throughout the Western
> Hemisphere.
>
> — *Indigenous Messengers of God (Used by permission of the curator)*