By Chief Dan Evehema, Hopi Traditional Caretaker

The story of the Blue Kachina is a very old story, very old. I have been aware of the story of the Blue Kachina since I was very young. I was told this story by grandfathers who are now between 80 and 108 years of age. Frank Waters also wrote about Saquasohuh, the Blue Star Kachina, in “The Book of the Hopi.” The story came from Grandfather Dan, oldest Hopi.

It was told to me that first the Blue Kachina would start of be seen at the dances, and would make his appearance known to the children in the plaza during the night dance. This event would tell us that end times are very near. Then, the Blue Star Kachina would physically appear in our heavens, which would mean that we were in the end times.

In the final days, we will look up in our heavens, and we will witness the return of the two brothers, who helped create this world in the birthing time. Poganghoya is the guardian of our North Pole, and his brother, Palongawhoya, is the guardian of the South Pole. In the final days, the Blue Star Kachina will come to be with his nephews, and they will return the Earth to its natural rotation, which is counter-clockwise.

This fact is evidenced in many petroglyphs that speak of the Zodiac, and within the Mayan and Egyptian pyramids. The rotation of the Earth has been manipulated by not so benevolent star beings. The twins will be seen in our northwestern skies. They will come and visit to see who still remembered the original teachings, flying in their Patuwvotas, or flying shields. They will bring many of their star family with them in the final days.

The return of the Blue Star Kachina, who is also known as Nan ga sohu, will be the alarm clock that tells us of the new day and the new way of life, a new world that is coming. This is where the changes will begin. They will start as fires that burn within us, and we will burn up with desires and conflict if we do not remember the original teachings, and return to the peaceful way of life.

Not far behind the twins will come the Purifier, the Red Star Kachina, who will bring the day of purification. On this day the Earth, her creatures, and all life as we know it will change forever. There will be messengers that will precede this coming of the Purifier. They will leave messages to those on Earth who remember the old ways.

The messages will be found written in the living stone, through the sacred grains, and even the waters. (Crop circles have been found in ice) From the Purifier will issue forth a great Red Light. All things will change in their manner of being. Every living thing will be offered the opportunity to change from the larges to the smallest thing.

Those who return to the ways given to us in the original teachings, and live a natural way of life will not be touched by the coming of the Purifier. They will survive and build the new world. Only in the ancient teachings will the ability to understand the messages be found.

It is important to understand that these messages will be found upon every living thing, even within our bodies, even within a drop of our blood. All life forms will receive the messages from the twins, those that fly, the plants, even the rabbit. The appearance of the twins begins a period of seven years, which will be our final opportunity to change our ways. Everything we experience is all a matter of choice.

Many will appear to have lost their souls in these final days. So intense will the nature of the changes be that those who are weak in spiritual awareness will go insane, for we are nothing without spirit. They will disappear, for they are just hollow vessels for anything to use. Life will be so bad in the cities that many will choose to leave this plane, some in whole groups.

Only those who return to the values of the old ways will be able to find peace of mind. For in the Earth we shall find relief from the madness that will be all around us. It will be a very hard time for women with children for they will be shunned, and many of the children in these times will be unnatural. Some being from the stars, some from past worlds, some will even be created by man in an unnatural manner, and will be soulless. Many of the people in this time will be empty in Spirit. They will have Sampacu, no life-force in their eyes.

As we get close to the time of the arrival of the Purifier, there will be those who walk as ghosts through the cities, through canyons they will have constructed in their man-made mountains. Those that walk through these places will be very heavy in their walk. It will appear almost painful as they take each step for they will be disconnected from their spirit and the Earth.

After the arrival of the twins, they will begin to vanish before your eyes like so much smoke. Others will have great deformities, both in the mind and upon their bodies. There will be those who would walk in the body that are not from this reality, for many of the gateways that once protected us will be opened. There will be much confusion, confusion between sexes, and children and their elders.

Life will get very perverted, and there will be little social order in these times. Many will ask for the mountains themselves to fall upon them just to end their misery. Still others will appear as if untouched by what is occurring – the ones who remember the original teachings and have reconnected their hearts and spirit – those who remember who their mother and father is – the Pahana who have left to live in the Mountains and forest.

When the purifier comes we will see him first as a small Red Star which will come very close, and sit in our heavens watching us. Watching us to see how well we have remembered the sacred teachings.

This Purifier will show us many miraculous signs in our heavens. In this way, we will know Creator is not a dream. Even those who do not feel their connection to spirit will see the face of Creator across the sky. Things unseen will be felt very strongly.

Many things will begin to occur that will not make sense, for reality will be shifting back in and out of the dream state. There will be many doorways to the lower world that will open at this time. Things long forgotten will come back to remind us of our past creations. All living things will want to be present for this day when time ends, and we enter the forever cycle of the Fifth World.

We will receive many warnings allowing us to change our ways from below the Earth as well as above. Then one morning, in a moment, we will awaken to the Red Dawn. The sky will be the color of blood. Many things will then begin to happen that right now we are not sure of their exact nature, for much of reality will not be as it is now.

There will be many strange beasts upon the Earth in those days, some from the past and some that we have never seen. The nature of mankind will appear strange in these times when we walk between worlds, and we will house many spirits, even within our bodies. After a time we will again walk with our brothers from the stars, and rebuild this Earth, but not until the Purifier has left his mark upon the universe.

No living thing will go untouched, here or in the heavens. The way through this time, it is said, is to be found in our hearts, and reuniting with our spiritual self. Getting simple and returning to living with and upon the Earth and in harmony with her creatures, remembering that we are the caretakers, the fire keepers of the Spirit. Our relatives from the stars are coming home to see how well we have fared on our journey.

Hopi Prophecy – Hopi Creation – Blue Star Kachina – True White Brother

The Elders:
Yukioma – David Monongye – Dan Katchongva – Dan Evehema – Thomas Banyacya – Martin Gashweseoma

These Elders were highly versed in the ancient Hopi prophecy guiding the Hopi People, including the prophesied coming of the automobile and soon after the ‘First Shaking of the World’ – The First World War.

“… And so they knew something very important would happen. There would be an attempt to make peace on earth on the west coast of this land.  They began to hear that there was going to be a League Of Nations in San Francisco, so the elders gathered in Arizona around 1920 or so, and they wrote a letter to Woodrow Wilson. They asked if the Indian People could be included in the League Of Nations. The United States Supreme Court had held that a reservation is a separate and semi-sovereign nation, not a part of the United States, but protected by it.

[But for the government] this became a concern, because people didn’t want them [Native peoples] to be considered nations. So they did not write back, and the Native people were left out of the League of Nations.  So that circle was incomplete, and the elders knew that peace would not come on the earth until the circle of humanity is complete.”  — Lee Brown, Cherokee, Continental Indigenous Council, Fairbanks, Alaska, 1986.

United Nations

Then, in 1948 an unprecedented gathering of traditional spiritual leaders from every village of the Hopi nation came together to consider the body of oral history and prophetic knowledge of their oral history, triggered by signs (‘gourde of ashes’, or World War II), indicating that the time of great purification was beginning.

This assembly appointed four messengers from among the Hopi Traditional Elders to attempt to bring this message of the coming purification by fire to the world.  Their prophecies foretold that if the Hopi’s request to address the House of Mica was refused after knocking (visiting) four times, mankind would surely be destroyed.  The first delegation to the House of Mica was refused, in 1949.

In 1959, another delegation of six traditional Hopi elders, led by Dan Katchongva, traveled to the UN building and were also refused.  It was only in 1991 that Thomas Banyacya knocked for the fourth time, and was finally permitted to address the General Assembly for a few minutes during the opening ceremonies of the UN’s International Year of Indigenous Peoples December 10, 1992. He was the last speaker, and only a few UN delegates remained to hear him.

He said:

“We have made a sacred covenant to follow Maasaw, the Great Spirit’s Life Plan at all times, which includes the responsibility of taking care of this land and life for his divine purpose. Our goals are not to gain political control, monetary wealth, or military power, but rather to pray and to promote the welfare of all living beings and to preserve the world in a natural way. Hopi in our language means a peaceful, kind, gentle, and truthful people. We made a sacred covenant which includes the responsibility of taking care of this land and life for (Maasauu, the Great Spirit’s) purpose. Our goal is to pray and promote the welfare of all living beings and to preserve the world in a natural way.” 
 — Thomas Banyacya, United Nations General Assembly

White Roots of Peace Gatherings

In addition to these attempts to communicate with World Leaders, the mandate given to the four Hopi Elders also included creating unity amongst the many indigenous peoples of the world, including whites, through “White Roots of Peace” gatherings that would share prophetic and sacred knowledge, and oral and cultural histories.  This began across the United Stated but rapidly expended to include North, Central and South American Tribes, and eventually the rest of the world.  They began to have these around 1950, and eventually many Pow Wow’s began to include spiritual gatherings, discussion and ceremony:

” ‘We’re going to divide the United States into four sections and each year we’re going to have a gathering. We’re going to call these the White Roots of Peace Gatherings.’  And they authorized certain men to speak in English for the first time about these prophecies.”  
— Dr. Allen Ross, We Are All Related

The “Gathering of the Eagles” is one of many annual gatherings that has grown out the White Roots of Peace of the 1950’s.  Held throughout the Americas, and most recently in July, 2011 in New Mexico, Gathering of Eagles is about the coming together of North and South American Indigenous Elders for spiritual and cultural exchange.

“All are welcome who come in peace and respect.  Ceremonies, prayer and general sharing of wisdom will be part of the circle.”  — Wisdom of the Grandmothers Foundation

Hopi History

The Hopi and others who were saved from the Great Flood made a sacred covenant with the Great Spirit never to turn away from him. He made a set of sacred stone tablets, called Tiponi, into which he breathed his teachings, prophecies, and warnings. Before the Great Spirit hid himself again, he placed before the leaders of the four different racial groups four different colors and sizes of corn; each was to choose which would be their food in this world.

The Great Migrations – Past and Future

Upon their arrival in the Fourth World, the Hopis divided and went on a series of great migrations throughout the land. Sometimes they would stop and build a town, then abandon it to continue on with the migration.  However, they would leave their symbols behind in the rocks to show that the Hopi had been there. Long the divided people wandered in groups of families, eventually forming clans named after an event or sign that a particular group received upon its journey.

“The elder brother was told to go immediately to the east, toward the rising sun, and upon reaching his destination to start back immediately to look for his younger brother, who remained on Turtle Island (the Continental United States of America). His mission was to help his younger brother to bring about the Purification Day, at which time all evildoers would be punished or destroyed, after which real peace, brotherhood, and everlasting life would be established. The elder brother would restore all land to his younger brother, from whom the Evil one among the white men had taken it. The elder brother [of the shining light] also would come to look for the Tiponi tablets and fulfill the mission given him by the Great Spirit. The younger brother was instructed to travel throughout the land and mark his footsteps as he went about. Both brothers were told that a great white star would appear in the sky; when that happened, all people would know that the elder brother had reached his destination.

Thereupon all people were to settle wherever they happened to be at that time, there to remain until the elder brother returned. The Hopi settled in the area now known as Four Corners, where the state lines of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado meet. They lived in humble simplicity and the land produced abundant crops. This area is the heart of Turtle Island (the U.S.) and of Mother Earth, and it is the microcosmic image of the macrocosm of the entire planet. Each Hopi clan perpetuates a unique ceremony, and the ceremonies together maintain the balance of natural forces of sunlight, rain and winds, and reaffirm the Hopi respect for all life and trust in the Great Spirit.”   – White Feather, Hopi Bear Clan

According to Hopi belief, the survivors of the Great Deluge thousands of years ago split up into four groups that moved North, South, East and West.  Only one group completed their journey — to the North Pole and back — under the guidance of a brilliant ‘star’ within which Maasauu traveled.

Old Oraibi

There is one particular village on the Hopi Mesas of Northwestern Arizona that once had all the different medicine societies represented by Kivas. These societies determine the leadership hierarchy within all the villages. Then there are clans, and the clans each represent a different knowledge.

Oraibi was founded sometime before the year 1100 AD, making it one of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements within the United States.

Oraibi remained unknown to European explorers until about 1540 when Spanish explorer Don Pedro de Tovar (who was part of the Coronado expedition) encountered the Hopi while searching for the legendary Seven Cities of Gold.   In the 1540s the village was recorded as having 1,500–3,000 residents.  Contact with the Europeans remained scant until 1629 when the San Francisco mission was established in the village.  In 1680 the Pueblo Revolt resulted in decreased Spanish influence in the area and the cessation of the mission. Subsequent attempts to reestablish the missions in Hopi villages were met with repeated failures. The former mission is still visible today as a ruin.

Hopi interaction with outsiders slowly increased during the 1850–1860 time period through missionaries, traders and surveyors for the US government. Contact remained sporadic and informal until 1870 when an Indian agent was appointed to the Hopi, followed by the establishment of the Hopi Indian Agency in Keams Canyon in 1874.

Friendlies v.s. Hostiles

Interaction with the US government increased with the establishment of the Hopi reservation in 1882. This led to a number of changes for the Hopi way of life. Missionary efforts intensified and Hopi children were kidnapped from their homes and forced to attend school, exposing them to new cultural influences.

In 1890 a number of residents more receptive to the cultural influences moved closer to the trading post to establish Kykotsmovi Village, sometimes called New Oraibi. The continuing tension caused by the ideological schism between the “friendlies” (“New Hopi” to the traditional Hopi), those who were open to these cultural influences, and the “hostiles” (or “Traditionalists” led by Yukiuma) who opposed them (those who desired to preserve Hopi ways)led to an event called the Oraibi Split in 1906. Tribal leaders on differing sides of the schism engaged in a bloodless competition to determine the outcome,which resulted in the expulsion of the hostiles (Traditionalists), who left to found the village of Hotevilla. Subsequent efforts by the displaced residents to reintegrate resulted in an additional split, with the second group founding Bacavi.

Before the split, Old Oraibi was a very complicated society. We were involved with different organizations, with fraternities, with groups (comparable to) the Masons, many things we don’t know too “There were fourteen kivas in Old Oraibi before the breakup.” much about today. There were fourteen kivas in Old Oraibi before the breakup. With the loss of much of its population Oraibi lost its place as the center of Hopi culture.

“Before the white man moved in on us and sent missionaries in, the Hopis had been practicing their old religion according to their prophecies and the supervision of the high priests who had inherited the knowledge and according to the ritual calendar of the clans and the kiva societies. We also had a sun watcher, an astronomer you might say, who kept track of where the sun came up every day and told the people when it rose at a certain particular point, meaning that a certain ceremony should take place. Every clan had a particular responsibility, it had to do special things for the village. My own clan, the Coyote, had the responsibility of taking the lead to protect the village in time of danger. When the Catholic priests were thrown out back in the 1600s some time, we took the responsibility in that and in tearing down the Catholic mission. Every clan had something particular to do for the village. It was very complicated. We had a village chief, a war chief, a crier chief, and many other officials who carried out their tasks. If there were difficulties between kiva societies or clans, they were discussed and thrashed out in council in the kivas, and whatever was decided down there was carried out. You could say that we had a wonderful social organization that really worked.”  

— Homer Cooyama, Kikeuchmovi, July 1970

Although the Hopi tribal constitution, maneuvered into being by the Coal Mining Interests in 1939, provides each village with a seat on the tribal council, Hotevilla, where most of the traditional Hopi settled, has declined to elect a representative and maintains independence from the tribal council. Kykotsmovi Village is now the seat of the Hopi tribal government.

Hopi Creation

“In the beginning there were only two: Tawa, the Sun God, and Spider Woman (Kokyanwuhti), the Earth Goddess. All the mysteries and the powers in the Above belonged to Tawa, while Spider Woman controlled the magic of the Below.   There was neither man nor woman, bird nor beast, no living thing until these Two willed it to be.

In time they decided there should be other gods to share their labors, so Tawa divided himself and there came Muiyinwuh, God of All Life Germs and Spider Woman divided herself and there came Huzruiwuhti, Woman of the Hard Substances (turquoise, silver, coral, shell,etc.).   Huzruiwuhti became the wife of Tawa and with him produced Puukonhoya, the Youth, and Palunhoya, the Echo, and later, Hicanavaiya, Man-Eagle, Plumed Serpent and many others.

Then did Tawa and Spider Woman have the Great Thought, they would make the Earth to be between the Above and the Below. As Tawa thought the features of the Earth, Spider women formed them from clay.   Then did Tawa think of animals and beasts and plants, all the while Spider Woman formed them from the clay. At last they decided they had enough, then they made great magic and breathed life into their creatures. Now Tawa decided they should make creatures in their image to lord over all the rest. Spider Woman again formed them from clay. Again the Two breathed life into their creations. Spider Woman called all the people so created to follow where she led.

Through all the Four Great Caverns of the Underworld she led them, until they finally came to an opening, a sipapu, which led to the earth above.” — Hopi Elder

The Four Worlds and The Sacred Stone Tablets

Hopi oral history tells us that the current earth is the Fourth World, to be inhabited by Tawa’s creations. The story essentially states that in each previous world, the people, though originally happy, became disobedient and lived contrary to Tawa’s plan; they engaged in sexual promiscuity, fought one another and would not live in harmony. Thus, the most obedient were led to the next higher world, with physical changes occurring both in the people in the course of their journey, and in the environment of the next world. In some stories, these former worlds were then destroyed along with their wicked inhabitants, whereas in others the good people were simply led away from the chaos which had been created by their actions.

The Emergence to the future Fifth World has begun.  It is being made by the humble people of little nations, tribes, and racial minorities. You can read this in the earth itself. Plant forms from previous worlds are beginning to spring up as seeds. This could start a new study of botany if people were wise enough to read them. The same kinds of seeds are being planted in the sky as stars. The same kinds of seeds are being planted in our hearts. All these are the same, depending how you look at them. That is what makes the Emergence to the next, Fifth World. These comprise the nine most important prophecies of the Hopis, connected with the creation of the nine worlds: the three previous worlds on which we lived, the present Fourth World, the three future worlds we have yet to experience, and the world of Taiowa, the Creator, and his nephew, Sotuknang. The Hopi and others who were saved from the Great Flood made a sacred covenant with the Great Spirit never to turn away from him. This covenant and the responsibilities it entailed were recorded in stone tablets.

“And so a long time passed, and the Great Spirit gave each of the four races stone tablets. Ours are kept at the Hopi Reservation in Arizona at Four Corners Area on the Third Mesa.”   
— Lee Brown

“He made a set of sacred stone tablets, called Tiponi, into which he breathed his teachings, prophecies, and warnings.   Before the Great Spirit hid himself again, he placed before the leaders of the four different racial groups four different colors and sizes of corn; each was to choose which would be their food in this world. The Hopi waited until last and picked the smallest ear of corn. 

At this, the Great Spirit said:

‘It is well done. You have obtained the real corn, for all the others are imitations in which are hidden seeds of different plants. You have shown me your intelligence; for this reason I will place in your hands these sacred stone tablets, Tiponi, symbol of power and authority over all land and life to guard, protect, and hold in trust for me until I shall return to you in a later day, for I am the First and I am the Last.’ ”  
 –White Feather, Hopi Bear Clan

It was indicated on the stone tablets that the Hopis would have the first brothers and sisters that would come back to them (reincarnate) as turtles across the land. They would be human beings, but they would come as turtles. So when the time came close the Hopis were at a special village to welcome the turtles that would come across the land and they got up in the morning and looked out at the sunrise. They looked out across the desert and they saw the Spanish Conquistadores coming, covered in armor,  just like turtles across the land.  So this was the turtles coming toward them across the land. So they went out to the Spanish men and they extended their hand, hoping for the handshake but into the hand the Spanish man dropped a trinket. And so word spread throughout North America that there was going to be a hard time, that maybe some of the brothers and sisters had forgotten the sacredness of all things and all the human beings were going to suffer for this on the earth.

So tribes began to send people to the mounds to have visions to try to figure out how they could survive.  At that time there were 100,000 cities in the Mississippi Valley alone, called the mound peoples civilization: cities built on great mounds. Those mounds are still there. If you ever go out to Ohio or the Mississippi Valley, they’re tourist attractions now. There was 100,000 cities of Native people and they were wondering how they could survive. They began to try to learn to live off the land because they knew a hard time was going to come. They began to send people to have visions to see how we could survive this time. People came on the east coast and they went across this land to the west and they were told in the prophecies that we should try to remind all the people that would come here of the sacredness of all things. If we could do that, then there would be peace on earth.  But if we did not do that, if we had not come together as a human family, the Great Spirit would grab the earth with his hand and shake it violently.

True White Brother

The Hopi were told that after a time White Men would come and take their land and try to lead the Hopi into evil ways. But in spite of all the pressures against them, the Hopi were told they must hold to their ancient religion and their land, though always without violence. If they succeeded, they were promised that their people and their land would be a center from which the True Spirit would be reawakened. It is said that after many years the elder brother might change the color of his skin, but his hair will remain black. He will have the ability to write, and he will be the only person able to read the Tiponi. When he returns to find his younger brother, the Tiponi will be placed side by side to show all the world that they are true brothers. Then great judgment will take place, for the elder will help the younger brother to obtain real justice for all Indian brothers who have been cruelly mistreated by the white man since he came to Turtle Island.

The transformed elder brother, the True White Brother, will wear a red cloak or a red cap, similar to the pattern on the back of a horned toad. He will bring no religion but his own, and will bring with him the Tiponi tablets. He will be all-powerful; none will be able to stand against him. He will come swiftly, and in one day gain control of this entire continent.

“If he comes from the East, the destruction will not be so bad. But if he comes from the West, do not get up on your housetops to see because he will have no mercy.”

The True White Brother will bring with him two great, intelligent and powerful helpers, one of whom will have a sign of a swastika (a masculine symbol of purity), and the sign of the sun. The second great helper will have the sign of a Celtic cross with red lines (representing female life blood) between the arms of the cross.

When the Great Purification is near, these helpers will shake the earth first for a short time in preparation. After they shake the earth two times more, they will be joined by the True White Brother, who will become one with them and bring the Purification Day to the world. All three will help the younger brother (the Hopi and other pure-hearted people) to make a better world. In the prophecies, the two helpers are designated by the Hopi word for population, as if they were large groups of people. The Hopi were warned that if these three great beings failed, terrible evil would befall the world and great numbers of people would be killed. However, it was said that they would succeed if enough Hopi remained true to the ancient spirit of their people.

The True White Brother and his helpers will show the people of earth a great new life plan that will lead to everlasting life. The earth will become new and beautiful again, with an abundance of life and food. Those who are saved will share everything equally. All races will intermarry and speak one tongue and be a family.

The Blue Star Kachina

The end of all Hopi ceremonialism will come when a Kachina removes his mask during a dance in the plaza before uninitiated children [the general public]. For a while there will be no more ceremonies, no more faith. Then Oraibi will be rejuvenated with its faith and ceremonies, marking the start of a new cycle of Hopi life. World War III will be started by those peoples who first revealed the light (the divine wisdom or intelligence) in the other old countries (India, China, Islamic Nations, Africa.) The United States will be destroyed, land and people, by atomic bombs and radioactivity. Only the Hopis and their homeland will be preserved as an oasis to which refugees will flee. Bomb shelters are a fallacy.  It is only materialistic people who seek to make shelters. Those who are at peace in their hearts already are in the great shelter of life. There is no shelter for evil. Those who take no part in the making of world division by ideology are ready to resume life in another world, be they Black, White, Red, or Yellow race. They are all one, brothers.

The war will be a spiritual conflict with material matters. Material matters will be destroyed by spiritual beings who will remain to create one world and one nation under one power, that of the Creator. That time is not far off. It will come when the Saquasohuh (Blue Star) Kachina dances in the plaza and removes his mask. He represents a blue star, far off and yet invisible, which will make its appearance soon. The time is foretold by a song sung during the Wuwuchim ceremony. It was sung in 1914 just before World War I, and again in 1940 before World War II, describing the disunity, corruption, and hatred contaminating Hopi rituals, which were followed by the same evils spreading over the world. This same song was sung in 1961 during the Wuwuchim ceremony.

The Great Chieftain of the Bow Clan led the faithful ones to this new land, but he fell into evil ways. His two sons scolded him for his mistake, and after he died they assumed the responsibilities of leadership. Each brother was given a set of Tiponi, and both were instructed to carry them to a place to which the Great Spirit directed them.

Hopi prophecy states that World War III will be started by the people who first received the Light — China, Palestine, India and Africa. When the war comes, the United States will be destroyed by gourds of ashes, which will fall to the ground, boiling the rivers and burning the earth, where no grass will grow for many years, and causing a disease that no medicine can cure. This can only mean nuclear or atomic bombs; no other weapon causes such effects. Bomb shelters will be useless, for “Those who are at peace in their hearts already are in the Great Shelter of Life. There is no shelter for evil.

When the Saquahuh (blue Star) Kachina dances in the plaza and removes his mask, the time of the great trial will be here. The Hopi believe that only they will be saved.

“Koyaanisqatsi:  world out of balance … a state of life that calls for another way.”

"Hopi prophecy tells us that there will be a [future] mass migration of Indigenous peoples northward from Mexico, Central and South America. The migration will be led by a 130-year old Guatemalan Indigenous Chief named Etchata Etchana.  Many prophecies south of the USA Boarder have said that with this very great influx of indigenous peoples will come a reclaiming of their lands especially California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Southern Colorado.  To strike the balance!  Many of this movement say that Montezuma will return as well.  The movement will come after the huge fire and explosion that will herald the advent of the True White Brother’s Return.  Some say the huge fire and explosion will come from the Yellow Stone National Park volcano or from the volcanos in the Pacific Northwest around Seattle, Washington.  Some say it will be nuclear explosion as a retaliation or both!”  
— Lee Brown, Continental Indigenous Council, Fairbanks, Alaska, 1986

Fulfillment of Hopi Prophecy

On April 1st, 1991 the Ministry of the Children attended the prophetic farewell meeting with His Holiness the Dalai Lama whom had visited the Tibet Project in Santa Fe, New Mexico on behalf of the recent placement of many Tibetan refugees to Santa Fe from his headquarters in Dharmsala, India.  Hopi Elders Dan Evehema, Thomas Banyacya, Martin Gashweseoma, Caroline Monongye and Titus Qomayumptewa were also in attendance; it was the first time in the 20th Century that they had all come together for a common purpose since their spiritual elder, David Monongye had passed on in the early 1980’s.

The week before this historic gathering Martin Gashweseoma had brought the sacred Fire Clan Tablets to show to the New Mexico Governor Bruce King at Santa Fe, the first capitol of the West, based on an ancient prophesy he has held sacred to his heart and soul:

“When the snake comes out of its hole in the winter and the cactus flowers blooms as well it is the time to take the tablets to the capitol of the west.” 
— Hopi Prophecy, Fire Clan Tablet 

In mid-December, 1990, Martin Gashweseoma did in fact witness the above in Hopi Land.  It was this fulfillment of ancient prophecy that inspired the Ministry of the Children to present publicly for the first time the Manifesto for a Sovereign United Nations:

“Martin brought the sacred Tablets to the Governor of Santa Fe.  His Holiness the Dalai Lama synchronistically was in town and was invited to privately view the Fire Clan Tablets as well. This meeting was a part of the ancient Hopi prophesy and its fulfillment.  At the farewell audience for the Dalai Lama, with the historic presence of the five Hopi Elders, The Sovereign United Nations Manifesto was handed directly to each elder and the Dalai Lama.”  
— Amarushka, Ministry of the Children

Tom Talbot, a Santa Fe author and reporter rode in a caravan of white limos with the Hopi Elders and the Dalai Lama to the airport. He witnessed the Elders and the Dalai Lama reading and discussing the Sovereign United Nations for over an hour on that ride, and stated that an additional hour waiting at the airport was spent in discussions about the impact of a truly Sovereign United Nations on the World community.

Hopi Message of Peace

The above photo shows Chief Dan Evehema Hopi Spiritual Elder in front of the United Nations in New York, the “House of Mica”.  Chief Dan Evehema died on January 15, 1999 at the age of 108. He was a spiritual leader, Snake Priest, Society Father and Eldest Elder of the Traditional Hopi Nation — a culture more than 22,000 years old.  Chief Dan was deeply involved in the prophesied visits to the United Nations by Hopi Elders. He was the coauthor of Hotevilla Shrine of the Covenant and Hopi Survival Kit and coauthor with David Monongye Techqua Ikachi, the Traditional Hopi Newsletter. The statement below was his last formal teaching which he was anxious to communicate to as many people as possible.

From Hotevilla, Arizona, in the Hopi Sovereign Nation, Chief Dan Evehema, then the Eldest Elder, gave a message to mankind:

“I am very glad to have this time to send a message to you. We are celebrating a time in our history which is both filled with joy and sadness. I am very glad that our Hindu brothers have given us this opportunity to share these feelings with you because we know many of you are having the same troubles. We Hopi believe that the human race has passed through three different worlds and life ways since the beginning.

At the end of each prior world, human life has been purified or punished by the Great Spirit ‘Masau’u’ due mainly to corruption, greed, and turning away from the Great Spirit’s teachings. The last great destruction was the Flood which destroyed all but a few faithful ones who asked and received a permission from the Great Spirit to live with Him in this new land.

The Great Spirit said, ‘It is up to you, if you are willing to live my poor, humble, and simple life way. It is hard but if you agree to live according to my teachings and instructions, if you never lose faith in the life I shall give you, you may come and live with me.’

The Hopi and all who were saved from the great Flood made a sacred covenant with the Great Spirit at that time. We Hopi made an oath that we will never turn away from Him.

For us the Creator’s laws never change or break down. To the Hopi the Great Spirit is all powerful. He appeared to the first people as a man and talked with them in the beginning of this creation world. He taught us how to live, to worship, where to go and what food to carry, gave us seeds to plant and harvest.

He gave us a set of sacred stone tablets into which He breathed all teachings in order to safeguard his land and life. In these stone tablets were made, instructions and prophecies and warnings. This was done with the help of a Spider woman and Her two grandsons. They were wise and powerful helpers of the Great Spirit.

Before the Great Spirit went into hiding, He and Spider woman put before the leaders of the different groups of people many colors and sizes of corn for them to choose their food in this world. The Hopi was the last to pick and then choose their food in this world. The Hopi then chose the smallest ear of corn.

Then Masau’u said, ‘You have shown me you are wise and humble.  For this reason you will be called Hopi and I will place in your authority all land and life to guard, protect, and hold trust for Me until I return to you in later days for I am the First and the Last.’

This is why when a Hopi is ordained into the higher religious order, the earth and all living things are placed upon his hands. He becomes a parent to all life on earth. He is entitled to advise and correct his children in whatever peaceful way he can.

So we can never give up knowing that our message of peace will reach our children. Then it is together with the other spiritual leaders the destiny of our future children is placed.

We are instructed to hold this world in balance within the land and the many universes with special prayers and ritual which continue to this day.

It was to the Spider woman’s two grandsons the sacred stone tablets were given. These two brothers were then instructed to carry them to a place the Great Spirit had instructed them.

The older brother was to go immediately to the east, to the rising sun and upon reaching his destination was instructed to immediately start to look for his younger brother who shall remain in the land of the Great Spirit.

The Older brother’s mission when he returned was to help his younger brother (Hopi) bring about peace, brotherhood and everlasting life on his return. Hopi, the younger brother, was instructed to cover all land and mark it well with footprints and sacred markings to claim this land for the Creator and peace on earth.

We established our ceremonials and sacred shrines to hold this world in balance in accordance with our first promise to the Creator.

This is how our migration story goes, until we meet the Creator at Old Orabi (place that solidifies) over 1000 years ago.

It was at that meeting when he gave to us these prophecies to give to you now at this closing of the Fourth World of destruction and the beginning of the Fifth World of peace.

He gave us many prophecies to pass on to you and all have come to pass. This is how we know the timing is now to reveal the last warnings and instructions to mankind.

We were told to settle permanently here in Hopi land where we met the Great Spirit and wait for Older Brother who went east to return to us. When he returns to this land he will place his stone tablets side by side to show all the world that they are our true brothers.

When the road in the sky has been fulfilled and when the inventing of something, in Hopi means, gourd of ashes, a gourd that when drops upon the earth will boil everything within a large space and nothing will grow for a very long time. When the leaders turned to evil ways instead of the Great Spirit we were told there would be many ways this life may be destroyed.

If human kind does not heed our prophecy and return to one’s original spiritual instructions.

We were told of three helpers who were commissioned by the Great Spirit to help Hopi bring about the peaceful life on earth would appear to help us and we should not change our homes, our ceremonials, our hair, because the true helpers might not recognize us as the true Hopi.

So we have been waiting all these years.

It is known that our True White Brother, when he comes, will be all powerful and will wear a red cap or red cloak. He will be large in population, belong to no religion but his very own.

He will bring with him the sacred stone tablets. With him there will be two great ones both very wise and powerful.

One will have a symbol or sign of swastika which represents purity and is Female, a producer of life. The third one or the second one of the two helpers to our True White Brother will have a sign of a symbol of the sun.

He, too, will be many people and very wise and powerful.

We have in our sacred Kachina ceremonies a gourd rattle which is still in use today with these symbols of these powerful helpers of our True Brother.

It is also prophesied that if these three fail to fulfill their mission then the one from the west will come like a big storm.

He will be many, in numbers and unmerciful. When he comes he will cover the land like the red ants and over take this land in one day.

If the three helpers chosen by the Creator fulfill their sacred mission and even if there are only one, two, or three of the true Hopi remaining holding fast to the last ancient teaching and instructions the Great Spirit, Masau’u will appear before all and our world will be saved. The three will lay out a new life plan which leads to everlasting life and peace.

The earth will become new as it was from the beginning. Flowers will bloom again, wild game will return to barren lands and there will be abundance of food for all.

Those who are saved will share everything equally and they all will recognize Great Spirit and speak one language. We are now faced with great problems, not only here but throughout the land.

Ancient cultures are being annihilated. Our people’s lands are being taken from them, leaving them no place to call their own.

Why is this happening? It is happening because many have given up or manipulated their original spiritual teachings.

The way of life which the Great Spirit has given to all its people of the world, whatever your original instructions are not being honored. It is because of this great sickness called greed, which infects every land and country that simple people are losing what they have kept for thousands of years.

Now we are at the very end of our trail. Many people no longer recognize the true path of the Great Spirit. They have, in fact, no respect for the Great Spirit or for our precious Mother Earth, who gives us all life.

We are instructed in our ancient prophecy that this would occur.

We were told that someone would try to go up to the moon: that they would bring something back from the moon; and that after that, nature would show signs of losing its balance.

Now we see that coming about. All over the world there are now many signs that nature is no longer in balance. Floods, drought, earthquakes, and great storms are occurring and causing much suffering.

We do not want this to occur in our country and we pray to the Great Spirit to save us from such things. But there are now signs that this very same thing might happen very soon on our own land.

Now we must look upon each other as brothers and sisters. There is no more time for divisions between people.

Today I call upon all of us, from right here at home, Hotevilla, where we to are guilty of gossiping and causing divisions even among our own families; out to the entire world where thievery, war, and lying goes on every day. These divisions will not be our salvation. Wars only bring more wars, never peace.

Only by joining together in a Spiritual Peace with love in our hearts for one another, love in our hearts for the Great Spirit and Mother Earth, shall we be saved from the terrible Purification Day which is just ahead.

There are many of you in this world who are honest people.

We know you spiritually for we are the “Men’s Society Grandfathers” who have been charged to pray for you and all life on earth never forgetting anything or any one in our ceremonials.

Our prayer is to have a good happy life, plenty of soft gentle rain for abundant crops. We pray for balance on earth to live in peace and leave a beautiful world to the children yet to come.

We know you have good hearts but good hearts are not enough to help us out with these great problems. In the past some of you have tried to help us Hopis, and we will always be thankful for your efforts. But now we need your help in the worst way. We want the people of the world to know the truth of our situation.

This land which people call the Land of the Freedom celebrates many days reminding people of the world of these things.

Yet in well over 200 years the original Americans have not seen a free day. We are suffering the final insult.

Our people are now losing the one thing which give life and meaning of life – our ceremonial land, which is being taken away from us. Hotevilla is the last holy consecrated, undisturbed traditional Native American sacred shrine to the Creator.

As the prophecy says, this sacred shrine must keep its spiritual pathways open. This village is the spiritual vortex for the Hopi to guide the many awakening Native Americans and other true hearts home to their own unique culture. Hotevilla was established by the last remaining spiritual elders to maintain peace and balance on this continent from the tip of South America up to Alaska. Many of our friends say Hotevilla is a sacred shrine, a national and world treasure and must be preserved. We need your help. Where is the freedom which you all fight for and sacrifice your children for?

Is it only the Indian people who have lost or are all Americans losing the very thing which you originally came here to find?

We don’t share the freedom of the press because what gets into the papers is what the government wants people to believe, not what is really happening. We have no freedom of speech, because we are persecuted by our own people for speaking our beliefs. We are at the final stages now and there is a last force that is about to take away our remaining homeland.

We are still being denied many things including the rite to be Hopis and to make our living in accordance with our religious teachings. The Hopi leaders have warned leaders in the White House and the leaders in the Glass House (United Nations Building) but they do not listen.

So as our prophecy says then it must be up to the people with good pure hearts that will not be afraid to help us to fulfill our destiny in peace for this world.

We now stand at a cross road whether to lead ourselves in everlasting life or total destruction. We believe that human beings’ spiritual power through prayer is so strong it decides life on earth.

So many people have come to Hopi land to meet with us. Some of you we have met on your lands. Many times people have asked how they can help us. Now I hope and pray that your help will come.

If you have a way to spread the truth, through the newspapers, radio, books, through meeting with powerful people, tell the truth! Tell them what you know to be true. Tell them what you have seen here; what you have heard us say; what you have seen with your own eyes.

In this way, if we do fall, let it be said that we tried, right up to the end, to hold fast to the path of peace as we were originally instructed to do by the Great Spirit.

Should you really succeed, we will all realize our mistakes of the past and return to the true path-living in harmony as brothers and sisters, sharing our mother, the earth with all other living creatures.

In this way we could bring about a new world. A world which would be led by the great Spirit and our mother will provide plenty and happiness for all.

God bless you, each one of you and know our prayers for peace meet yours as the sun rises and sets. May the Great Spirit guide you safely into the path of love, peace, freedom and God on this Earth Mother. May the holy ancestors of love and light keep you safe in your land and homes.

Pray for God to give you something important to do in this great work which lies ahead of us all to bring peace on earth.

We the Hopi still hold the sacred stone tablets and now await the coming of our True White Brother and others seriously ready to work for the Creator’s peace on earth. Be well, my children, and think good thoughts of peace and togetherness. Peace for all life on earth and peace with one another in our homes, families and countries.

We are not so different in the Creator’s eyes. The same great Father Sun shines his love on each of us daily just as Mother Earth prepares the substance for our table, do they not? We are one after all.”   
— Chief Dan Evehema, Hopi Elder

Martin Gashweseoma – Prophecy Rock

Prophecy Rock Petroglyph, near Oraibi, Arizona, is an ancient depiction of the heart of Hopi prophecy.  Below you will notice the crosses on each side of the petroglyph.

Thomas Banyacya, Hopi Traditional Spokesman

The following presentation by Elder Thomas Banyacya, the final speaker before the General Assembly of the united Nations on December 10, 1992, was preceded by three shouts by Oren Lyons, Faithkeeper of the Six Nations and first speaker of the day. The shouts were a spiritual announcement to the Great Spirit of the people assembled and the intention to give a message of spiritual importance. Thomas then sprinkled corn meal next to the podium of the General Assembly and made a brief remark in Hopi that translates as follows:

“Hopi Spiritual leaders had an ancient prophecy that some day world leaders would gather in a Great House of Mica with rules and regulations to solve the world problems without war. I am amazed to see the prophecy has come true and you are here today! But only a handful of United Nations Delegates are present to hear the Motee Sinom (Hopi for First People) from around the world who spoke here today.”  — Hopi Spokesman and Elder Thomas Banyacya

Address to General assembly, United Nations, December 10, 1992
by Thomas Banyacya, Kykotsmovi, Arizona

“My name is Banyacya of the Wolf, Fox and Coyote Clan and I am a member of the Hopi sovereign nation. Hopi in our language means a peaceful, kind, gentle, truthful people. The traditional Hopi follows the spiritual path that was given to us by Massau’u the Great Spirit. We made a sacred covenant to follow his life plan at all times, which includes the responsibility of taking care of this land and life for his divine purpose. We have never made treaties with any foreign nation, including the United States, but for many centuries we have honored this sacred agreement. Our goals are not to gain political control, monetary wealth nor military power, but rather to pray and to promote the welfare of all living beings and to preserve the world in a natural way. We still have our ancient sacred stone tablets and spiritual religious societies which are the foundations of the Hopi way of life. Our history says our white brother should have retained those same sacred objects and spiritual foundations.

In 1948, all traditional Hopi spiritual leaders met and spoke of things I felt strongly were of great importance to all people. They selected four interpreters to carry their message of which I am the only one still living today. At the time, I was given a sacred prayer feather by the spiritual leaders. I made a commitment to carry the Hopi message of peace and deliver warnings from prophesies known since the time the previous world was destroyed by flood and our ancestors came to this land.

My mission was to open the doors of this Great House of Mica to native peoples. The Elders said to knock four times and this commitment was fulfilled when I delivered a letter and the sacred prayer feather I had been given to John Washburn in the Secretary General’s office in October, 1991. I am bringing part of the Hopi message to you here today. We have only ten minutes to speak and time is late so I am making my statement short.

At the meeting in 1948, Hopi leaders 80, 90 and even 100 years old explained that the creator made the first world in perfect balance where humans spoke one language, but humans turned away from moral and spiritual principles. They misused their spiritual powers for selfish purposes. They did not follow nature’s rules. Eventually the world was destroyed by sinking of land and separation of land by what you would call major earthquakes. Many died and only a small handful survived.

Then this handful of peaceful people came into the second world. They repeated their mistakes and the world was destroyed by freezing which you call the great Ice Age.

The few survivors entered the third world. That world lasted a long time and as in previous worlds, the people spoke one language. The people invented many machines and conveniences of high technology, some of which have not yet been seen in this age. They even had spiritual powers that they used for good. They gradually turned away from natural laws and pursued only material things and finally only gambled while they ridiculed spiritual principles. No one stopped them from this course and the world was destroyed by the great flood that many nations still recall in their ancient history or in their religions.

The Elders said again only small groups escaped and came to this fourth world where we now live. Our world is in terrible shape again even though the Great Spirit gave us different languages and sent us to four corners of the world and told us to take care the the Earth and all that is in it.

This Hopi ceremonial rattle represents Mother Earth. The line running around it is a time line and indicates that we are in the final days of the prophecy. What have you, as individuals, as nations and as the world body been doing to to take care of this Earth? In the Earth today, humans poison their own food, water and air with pollution. Many of us, including children, are left to starve. Many wars are still being fought. Greed and concern for material things is a common disease.

In this western hemisphere, our homeland, many original native people are landless, homeless, starving and have no medical help.

The Hopi knew humans would develop many powerful technologies that would be abused. In this century, we have seen the First World War and the Second World War in which the predicted gourd of ashes, which you call the atomic bomb, fell from the sky with great destruction. Many thousands of people were destroyed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

For many years there has been great fear and danger of World War Three. The Hopi believe the Persian Gulf War was the beginning of World War Three but it was stopped and the worst weapons of destruction were not used. This is now a time to weigh the choices for our future. We do have a choice. If you, the nations of this Earth, create another great war, the Hopi believe we humans will burn ourselves to death with ashes. That’s why the spiritual Elders stress strongly that the United Nations fully open the door for native spiritual leaders as soon as possible.

Nature itself does not speak with a voice that we can easily understand. Neither can the animals and birds we are threatening with extinction talk to us. Who in this world can speak for nature and the spiritual energy that creates and flows through all life? In every continent are human beings who are like you but who have not separated themselves from the land and from nature. It is through their voice that Nature can speak to us. You have heard those voices and many messages from the four corners of the world today. I have studied comparative religion and I think in your own nations and cultures you have knowledge of the consequences of living out of balance with nature and spirit. The native peoples of the world have seen and spoken to you about the destruction of their lives and homelands, the ruination of nature and the desecration of their sacred sites. It is time the United Nations used its rules to investigate these occurrences and stop them now.

The Four Corners area of the Hopi is bordered by four sacred mountains. The spiritual center within is a sacred site our prophecies say will have special purpose in the future for mankind to survive and now should be left in its natural state. All nations must protect this spiritual center.

The Hopi and all original native people hold the land in balance by prayer, fasting and performing ceremonies. Our spiritual Elders still hold the land in the Western Hemisphere in balance for all living beings, including humans. No one should be relocated from their sacred homelands in this Western Hemisphere or anywhere in the world. Acts of forced relocation, such as Public Law 93-531 in the United States, must be repealed.

The United Nations stands on our native homeland. The United Nations talks about human rights, equality and justice and yet the native people have never had a real opportunity to speak to this assembly since its establishment until today. It should be the mission of your nations and this assembly to use your power and rules to examine and work to cure the damage people have done to this Earth and to each other. Hopi Elders know that was your mission and they wait to see whether you will act on it now.

Nature, the First People and the spirit of our ancestors are giving you loud warnings. Today, December 10, 1992, you see increasing floods, more damaging hurricanes, hail storms, climate changes and earthquakes as our prophesies said would come. Even animals and birds are warning us with strange change in their behavior such as the beaching of whales. Why do animals act like they know about the earth’s problems and most humans act like they know nothing? If we humans do not wake up to the warnings, the great purification will come to destroy this world just as the previous worlds were destroyed.

This rock drawing shows part of the Hopi prophecy. There are two paths. The first with technology but separate from natural and spiritual law leads to these jagged lines representing chaos. The lower path is one that remains in harmony with natural law. Here we see a line that represents a choice like a bridge joining the paths. If we return to spiritual harmony and live from our hearts, we can experience a paradise in this world. If we continue only on this upper path, we will come to destruction.

Its up to all of us, as children of Mother Earth, to clean up this mess before it’s too late.

The Elders request that during this International Year for the Worlds Indigenous Peoples, the United Nations keep that door open for spiritual leaders from the four corners of the world to come to speak to you for more than a few minutes as soon as possible. The Elders also request that eight investigative teams visit the native areas of the world to observe and tell the truth about what is being done and stop these nations from moving in this self- destructive direction.

If any of you leaders want to learn more about the spiritual vision and power of the Elders, I invite you to come out to Hopiland and sit down with our real spiritual leaders in their sacred Kivas where they will reveal the ancient secrets of survival and balance.

I hope that all members of this assembly that know the spiritual way will not just talk about it, but in order to have real peace and harmony, will follow what it says across the United Nations wall: ‘They will beat their swords into plowshares and study war no more.’ Lets, together, do that now!” 
 — Hopi Spiritual Elder and Traditional Spokesman

An extraordinary encounter took place in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1979. During the Dalai Lama’s first visit to North America, he met with three Hopi Elders from Hotevilla, Arizona. The spiritual leaders agreed to speak in only in their Native tongues.
Through Hopi elder and interpreter Thomas Banyacya, delegation head Grandfather David’s first words to His Holiness the Dalai Lama were:

“Welcome home”  
— Hopi Grandfather David’s first words to the Dalai Lama in Santa Fe, N.M.

The perception of similarity between Native Americans of the Southwest and the Tibetans is undeniably striking. Beyond a common physicality and turquoise jewelry, parallels include the abundant use of silver and coral, the colors and patterns of textiles and long braided hair, sometimes decorated, worn by both men and women.

Since that initial meeting, the Dalai Lama has visited Santa Fe to meet with Pueblo leaders, Tibetan Lamas have engaged in numerous dialogues with Hopis and other Southwestern Indians, and now, through a special resettlement program to bring Tibetan refugees to the United States and Santa Fe, New Mexico has become a central home for relocated Tibetan refugee families. In the Spring of 1991 His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Hopi Grandfather Martin met in Santa Fe, New Mexico the oldest capitol of the old west.  There Grandfather Martin shared a rare set of clay tablets passed down to him by his elders of the Fire Clan.  The earlier indicator for Martin was the December before when the snake came out of it’s hole up at Hopiland.  This was mentioned in the ancient clay tablets as a sign to bring the tablets to the oldest settlement to the east.

As exchanges become increasingly common between Native Americans and Tibetans, a sense of kinship and solidarity has developed between the cultures. While displacement and invasion have forced Tibetans to reach out to the global community in search of allies, the Hopi and other Southwestern Native Americans have sought an audience for their message of world peace and harmony with the earth. In the context of these encounters are the activities of writers and activists who are trying to bridge the two cultures. A flurry of books and articles have been published, arguing that Tibetans and Native Americans may share a common ancestry.

The perception of similarity between Native Americans of the Southwest and the Tibetans is undeniably striking. Beyond a common physicality and turquoise jewelry, parallels include the abundant use of silver and coral, the colors and patterns of textiles and long braided hair, sometimes decorated, worn by both men and women.

When meeting for the first time, The Dalai Lama laughed, noting the striking resemblance of the turquoise around Grandfather David’s neck to that of his homeland. He asked:

“And where did you get your turquoise?”  
— His Holiness, Dalai Lama

Since that initial meeting, the Dalai Lama has visited Santa Fe to meet with Pueblo leaders, Tibetan Lamas have engaged in numerous dialogues with Hopis and other Southwestern Indians, and now, through a special resettlement program to bring Tibetan refugees to the United States, New Mexico has become a central home for relocated Tibetan families.

As exchanges become increasingly common between Native Americans and Tibetans, a sense of kinship and solidarity has developed between the cultures. While displacement and invasion have forced Tibetans to reach out to the global community in search of allies, the Hopi and other Southwestern Native Americans have sought an audience for their message of world peace and harmony with the earth. In the context of these encounters are the activities of writers and activists who are trying to bridge the two cultures. A flurry of books and articles have been published, arguing that Tibetans and Native Americans may share a common ancestry.

The perception of similarity between Native Americans of the Southwest and the Tibetans is undeniably striking. Beyond a common physicality and turquoise jewelry, parallels include the abundant use of silver and coral, the colors and patterns of textiles and long braided hair, sometimes decorated, worn by both men and women.

When William Pacheco, a Pueblo student, visited a Tibetan refugee camp in India, people often spoke Tibetan to him, assuming that he was one of them.

“Tibetans and Native American Pueblo people share a fondness for chili (though Tibetans claim pueblo chili is too mild!), a fondness for turquoise, used by both cultures as ways to ward off evil spirits. Also, the prophecy of Guru Rinpoche, when he said, ’when Tibetans are scattered throughout the world, and horses run on iron wheels and when iron birds fly, the dharma will come to the land of the red man.’”  — William Pacheco

Even before most Westerners knew where Tibet was, much less what their situation was, and almost twenty years before the advent of the Tibetan Diaspora, cultural affinities between these two peoples were noted by author Frank Waters in his landmark work, Book of the Hopi (1963). Waters’ analysis went below the surface, citing corresponding systems of chakras or energy spots within the body meridians that were used to cultivate cosmic awareness.

In The Masked Gods, a book about Pueblo and Navajo ceremonialism published in 1950, Waters observed that the Zuni Shalako dance symbolically mirrored the Tibetan journey of the dead.

As is the case with most Earth-based cultures with a shamanic tradition, some Native ceremonies contain spiritual motifs similar to cultures from around the world (hence the broad comparison made by Waters). This could account for some of the similarities seen between Tibetan and Native American spiritual practices, such as Navajo sand painting, and cosmic themes found throughout traditional Pueblo dances.