I would be willing to set up a special mailing list for the purpose of
helping organize the kind of campaign which this article suggests. Please
write to me personally if you would be interested in taking part.
--Gary (gst@gnosys.svle.ma.us) ]
written by David Yarrow at 5 am on 6/20/92
The Fourth Knock on the Door:
A Message from the Hopi Elders
Spring 1992
Elders of the Hopi Nation have made their fourth and final
pilgrimage to knock on the door of the United Nations in New York
City. If the door does not open this year so that the elders may
address the assembled nations of the world who gather there,
then, the elders say, a time of massive upheaval is inevitable.
To understand why the Hopi elders would say this, one must
understand something of their history as a people. Living on
arid and isolated mesas in the part of Turtle Island (North
America) now known as Arizona, the traditional Hopi have a
religion that is both simple and sophisticated. To a large
degree, these Native Americans, whose name means "peaceful
people," are guided by prophecy -- prophecy that is now widely
known around the world. They have lived plainly and respectfully
for thousands of years in the desert, following what they believe
are the original instructions of the Creator.
Hopi legend holds that, after a great flood destroyed the world
before this one, the Creator appointed them guardians of certain
sacred land. At that time, they say, the Creator gave them
specific spiritual wisdom, along with some rocks bearing symbols
depicting the way the future was likely to unfold. Those rocks
are known as the Hopi Prophecy Rocks.
Hopi elders agree that for hundreds of years world events have
been unfolding as described by the Hopi Prophecy Rocks. In our
times -- as prophesied in the rock symbols -- the world seems to
be in a phase known as "koyaanisqatsi" (chaos), the next great
test of human beings. This is part of the Great Purification
marking a transition to a new era, a rainbow era known to the
Hopi as the Fifth World.
As with the myths of many other tribal cultures, Hopi teachings
hold that in ancient days the rainbow of humanity was whole. All
the people -- red, white, black, and yellow -- at one time
recognized each other as brothers and sisters. Eventually,
events forced them to part ways, but they all pledged that when
they were reunited, they would clasp hands again in a sacred
handshake. If there was mutual respect, then all the brothers
and sisters would cooperate to bring together the material and
spiritual aspects of the world. They would correct each others'
faults and live side by side in fulfillment.
Signs They Watched For
Unfortunately, when the Red and White cultures did encounter each
other 500 years ago, the European explorers had forgotten the
handclasp, and evidenced no respect for the people and the ways
of Turtle Island. Today, observing that the world is perilously
out of balance, traditional Hopi elders say that humanity is
being tested again -- just as we were tested in the world before
this one.
The Hopi Prophecy Rocks have given the elders signs to watch for:
the rocks predicted the First World War, the Second World War,
and the a "gourd of ashes poured from the sky," a metaphor most
observers have correlated with the dropping of atomic bombs.
Just as the world before this one need not have been destroyed by
water if the people had heeded the warnings, elders say the world
today need not be purified by the prophesied four elements:
earth, fire, wind, and water.
The stone tablets have instructed the Hopi to watch for signs
that the world is on a dangerous course. The final stage of this
dangerous course can be identified by famine, sickness,
earthquakes, natural disasters, and, finally, by the dangerous
build up of weapons that "are destructive to all mankind."
By way of their prophecy rocks, the Hopi were given specific
instructions. They were told that, when the modern world came to
this time of great imbalance, they were to make four attempts to
address the leaders of the world in a "House of Mica" that would
one day stand on the eastern shore of this land. That House of
Mica, the Hopi believe, is the United Nations, housed in a
distinctive glass (mica) building in New York City.
If the Hopi are recognized and permitted to speak, they say they
can reveal some of their spiritual knowledge and thereby help the
people of the world rediscover and realign themselves with the
original instructions of the Creator. This knowledge likely
includes the foundational Native American understanding that we
exist in a universe of living spirit, that all things are sacred
and related. Respect and harmony must prevail.
In this latter part of the twentieth century, many people have
written letters, lobbied, and demonstrated to help the Hopi gain
recognition before the United Nations. The United States
government, however, has vigorously opposed all attempts to have
the Hopi recognized.
The Final Stage of the Prophecies
During a journey to the Pacific Northwest in March of this year,
I met with Hopi spokesman Thomas Banyacya and other native
elders. Banyacya said the signs that we have entered the final
stage of the Hopi prophecies are now clear. He revealed that the
Hopi made their fourth and final journey to the United Nations on
October 22, 1991. At that time, they gave the United Nations
until September of 1992 to respond to their request to address
the General Assembly.
In a letter to the Secretary General, Banyacya wrote: "As Mother
Earth cries out in the pain of abuse, so I, of the Coyote Clan,
add my desperate cry on her behalf, in the hope that the United
Nations will soon extend an invitation to Hopi Elders and
traditional leaders of the four directions. If this invitation
is extended, the traditional Hopi societies and traditional
leaders of the four directions will meet together to choose
appropriate representatives to be sent to the United Nations,
where they will be given the opportunity to present their oral
message of peace to the world leaders assembled there..."
"If it (the door) is not opened as we humbly request so that the
red, white, yellow, and black peoples might work together for a
peaceful world, then we will return to await the inevitable time
of purification."
When I met with him and other elder out West, Banyacya repeated
the essential message of native groups all across the America: if
people will all come together and follow the original
instructions, the world can move through purification
consciously, with minimal tumult and destruction.
If the door to the United Nations is not opened, then, according
to Banyacya, the Hopi will then turn elsewhere for support,
perhaps joining with other indigenous people from around the
world to form a spiritually based United Nations. This idea of a
spiritually based United Nations has wide support among
indigenous populations around the world, and may be further
advanced this June when representatives of indigenous nations
hold their own Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, parallel to the
Earth Summit of the developed nations.
Traditional Hopi elders are firm in their conviction that all the
people of the Earth have both the opportunity and the
responsibility to avoid destruction. For this to happen, each
person and each nation must ask whether they are contributing to
the imminent destruction of the Earth, either through misguided
action or through indifference; then things must be set
straight.
"We hope they will heed our warning for their own sake," Banyacya
said, "and for the sake of the native peoples who want nothing
more than to rule themselves peacefully without being dictated to
by anyone else. Part of the commission we received from the
Creator through Maasaw is to sound this warning to the world...
If the task of purification is left to natural forces, we may be
all wiped out. So it is up to all people to purify themselves
voluntarily."
To support the Hopi elders in their efforts to address the United
Nations, write to the Honorable Boutros-Ghali, Secretary General
of the United Nations, United Nations Plaza, New York, NY
10017.
published by The Chiron Communique, P.O. Box 481, New Ipwich, NH
03071
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prepared by David Yarrow, Crystal Hill Farm, 9411 Sandrock Road,
Eden, NY 14057; 716-992-9307