Seven Fires Prophecy The 7 Fires Prophecy is an oral story/history that has been told over millennia. It describes a turbulent time when the Neshnabek [Potawatomi, Odawa and Ojibwe] were visited by 7 prophets. Each prophet spoke of a Fire, prophecy or era that the Neshnabek would have to face and ultimately endure, forever changing their way of life. The prophecies have been interpreted and shaped over the years to help Neshnabek people know who they were in the past, are in the present and will be in the future. In the time of the 1st Fire, the Neshnabek must leave their home on the East Coast and follow the sacred Megis shell of the Midewewin Lodge. The sacred Megis will lead them on a journey to the chosen ground and their new home. The Neshnabek are to look for a turtle shaped island and they will find such an island at the beginning and end of their journey. The journey will consist of seven stopping places along the way. They will know their journey has ended when they come to a land where food grows on water. If they do not make this journey they will be destroyed by a powerful force coming over the water. Interpretation: In hearing and understanding the prophecy, the Neshnabek began their mass migration inland, away from the Atlantic Coast. The 1st stop was known as Moniyak [Montreal, Quebec]. Led by the sacred megis shell of the Midewewin Lodge, the people found a turtle-shaped island. Settling at or around the island, the Neshnabek population grew. Outgrowing their current location, the Neshnabek continued their journey, again following the megis to the 2nd stop known as Kche Nisajewen [Niagara Falls]. It was here that the people segmented into three groups. Confederated through their spirituality, each group established duties to serve the Neshnabek as a whole. The first group [Ojibwe] migrated north and around Lake Superior. They were the Keepers of the Medicine, providing spiritual guidance and protection for the Neshnabek. The second group [Odawa] also migrated north, yet established villages north of Lakes Superior, Michigan and Huron. They were the Keepers of the Trade, providing goods and supplies for the Neshnabek. The third group [Potawatomi] migrated south to the Coasts of Lake Michigan. They were the Keepers of the Fire, providing protection for the sacred fire and its coals along the trek. In the time of the 2nd Fire, the Neshnabek will be camped by a large body of water. In this time the direction of the sacred Megis will be lost and the Midewewin will diminish in strength. To regain this strength a boy will be born to point the way back to the traditional ways. Interpretation: Oral tradition states that the Second Fire was realized at the 3rd turtle-shaped island [Detroit River]. As the group continued and camped near a large body of water [Lake Michigan], the direction of the megis was lost. Struggling to locate the correct path, the Neshnabek again settled and grew in population. As numbers grew, spiritualism and the teachings of the Midewewin became secondary to survival. As it was prophesized, a boy was born who led the Neshnabek to the spiritual and physical stepping stones to the future. Continuing north on their migration along the eastern coast of Michigan, the Neshnabek discovered a chain of islands. The largest of these was the fourth stop and turtle-shaped island [Manitoulin Island]. Here the Midewewin Lodge grew and resumed its strength. In the time of the 3rd Fire, the Neshnabek will find the path to their chosen ground. This is a land to the west, where they must move to find the food that grows on water. Interpretation: Energized from their cultural and spiritual revival, the Neshnabek where again led by the sacred megis to their 5th stop known as Senajewen [Sault St. Marie]. Here the people flourished. Kshamnedo (The Great Spirit) provided an abundance of food, motivating the Neshnabek to settle and continue the regeneration of their ceremonies and songs. From Senajewen, the Neshnabek continued moving west in search of the presaged land where food grows on the water. In their pursuit, the people again split at a large body of water [Lake Superior]. One group went north around the water and the other south. After many years, the two groups converged at the western end of the lake. Here the sacred shell rose from the waters revealing the 6th turtle-shaped island [Spirit Island]. They had found the food that grows on water, Menomen [wild rice]. Realizing that their migration was concluding, the Neshnabek sought out the prophesized 7th and final turtle-shaped island. Remembering such a place on their long journey, the people returned to an island [Madeline Island] off the coast of Wisconsin. Placing tobacco on its shores, the megis again rose from the water proclaiming the peoples’ coveted destination. In the time of the 4th Fire, the Neshnabek were addressed by two prophets who spoke of the coming of a light-skinned race. The first prophet said, “You will know the future of our people by the face the light-skinned race wears. If they come wearing the face of brotherhood then there will come a time of wonderful change for generations to come. They will bring new knowledge that can be combined with the knowledge and traditions of this country. By doing this, two nations will join to make one mighty people. This new nation will be joined by two more so that four will form the mightiest nation of all. You will know the face of brotherhood if the light-skinned race comes carrying no weapons, bearing only their knowledge and a hand shake.” The second prophet said, “Beware if the light-skinned race comes wearing the face of death. You must be careful because the face of brotherhood and the face of death look very much alike. If they come in suffering or carrying a weapon, beware. Their hearts may be filled with greed for the riches of this land. If they are indeed your brothers, let them prove it. Do not accept them in total trust. You shall know that the face they wear is one of death if the rivers run with poison and the fish become unfit to eat. You shall know them by these many things.” Interpretation: It is said that while the Neshnabek settled at Senajewen contact with the light-skinned race [French] was established. With the lucrative trade of fur and goods, and enhanced military force cemented through both a corporate and kindred bond the French were deemed allies of the Neshnabek, the implicit nation of brotherhood. However, as North American dominance fell to Britain and subsequently the Americans the 4th Fire came to light. The Neshnabek and other Native nations were being displaced by white settlements, creating tension and means for war. Terrestrial disputes ultimately ushered in the American treaty era, initiating the acculturation of North America and igniting the 5th Fire. In the time of the 5th Fire, the Neshnabek were told of a time of great struggle that would grip the lives of all Native people. Within the 5th Fire, they are told of one who holds a promise of great joy and salvation. If the people accept this promise and abandon the old teachings, then the struggle of the 5th Fire will scorch the people for many generations. The promise that comes will prove to be a false promise. All those who accept this promise will cause the near destruction of the people. Interpretation: The 5th Fire is interpreted as the introduction of Christianity to the Neshnabek and other native peoples of Turtle Island [North America]. Jesuit missionaries, among numerous encroaching denominations, convinced the people to abandon their spiritual convictions and ceremonies, and profess that biblical scriptures and teachings were the true path to a peaceful future for the warring native and European nations. In the time of the 6th Fire, the Neshnabek will know that the promise of the 5th Fire was false. Those deceived by this promise will take their children away from the traditional teachings of the elders, turning the children against their elders. The elders will lose their reason for living and their purpose in life. Within this Fire, a sickness will plague the people, disturbing their natural balance and nearly destroying their way of life. Interpretation: Introduced as a means to alleviate the pressures of assimilation, religious and government leaders enticed native people to warrant Anglo-centric manual labor and boarding schools. Whether enrolled by discretion or duress, children were stripped of their native identities critically affecting native languages, cultures and spirituality for future generations. The prophet who delivered the message of the 7th Fire was said to be different than all others. He was younger than the rest and described as having a strange light in his eyes. He revealed a time when a new people would emerge; who would retrace the path of their elders collecting what had been left behind. Staying strong and using what had been bestowed upon them, the new people would rekindle old embers and ignite the sacred fire of the Neshnabek. Today we are in the 7th Fire, a revival of traditional culture, language and teachings. To fulfill this prophecy, we must embrace the knowledge, experience and mutual past of our Neshnabek brothers. It is through us that our heritage lives on.

United Nations speech by Mr. Thomas Banyacya December 10, 1992

This speech was the inspiration for our book "The Point of Origin" I first heard it in 1994 and find that it gets more and more powerful as the years pass by and we continue down the wrong path.

United Nations speech by Mr. Thomas Banyacya
December 10, 1992

“Hopi Spiritual leaders had an ancient prophecy that someday world leaders would gather in a Great House of Mica with rules and regulations to solve world problems without war. I am amazed to see the prophecy has come true and here you are 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.
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 that 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 prophecies known since the time the previous world was destroyed by flood and our ancestors came to this land.
My mission was also 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 a common 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, their world was destroyed by sinking of land and separation of land which you would call major earthquakes. Many died and only a small handful survived.
Then this handful of peaceful people came into the second world. There 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 been seen yet 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 gambling 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 a small group 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 the four corners of the world and told us to take care of 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 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 to speak 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 a 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 93531 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 prophecies 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 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.
(Thomas and Oren Lyons held up a picture of a large rock drawing in Hopiland.)
This rock drawing shows part of the Hopi prophecy. There are two paths. The first with high 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.
It’s 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 World’s Indigenous Peoples, the United Nations keep that door open for spiritual leaders from the four comers 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, 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 really follow what it says across the United Nations wall: ‘They shall beat their swords into plowshares and study war no more.’ Let’s together do that now!”1

Origin of the Dreamcatcher

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(Part 1) Indigenous Native American Prophecy (Elders Speak part 1)

2012, is it the end? what will happen? This is a video with good information on the large number of cultures who point to Dec 21 2012.

Aa a member of the Citizen Potawatomi tribe, I feel it is important to help pass on it's history and traditions. May first novel concentrated on the Hopi tribe and its creation prophecy. One of the novels I'm working on at the moment will move to my own tribe. The following was taken from my tribes official site.

Potawatomi History

Overview

The Potawatomi are among the wave of Algonquian-speaking people who occupied the Great Lakes region from prehistoric times through the early 1800’s. Oral traditions explain that the ancient Potawatomi people were once part of an immense group that had traveled down the eastern shores of North America along the Atlantic Ocean. This large group, the Chippewa (Ojibwa), Ottawa (Odawa), and the Potawatomi all constituted a single tribe where they later split at Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada and went their separate ways. Through early historic records, it has been confirmed that the Potawatomi were living in Michigan and had established an autonomous tribal identify at least 500 years ago.

Scholars have debated the origin and translation of the word “Potawatomi” for many years. Nevertheless, the Potawatomi people firmly believe that the Chippewa applied the term to them, meaning “people of the place of the fire” since they retained the original council fire once shared by all three tribes. Today, the Citizen Potawatomi Nation refers to themselves as the Nishnabec or the “True People.”

During the mid 1650’s, French traders visited the tribe and found them growing corn, gathering wild rice, and harvesting an abundant supply of fish and waterfowl from the western waters of Lake Michigan in Wisconsin. The Potawatomi had recently relocated from southern Michigan just after the eruption of the Beaver Wars in the 1640’s. Actual first contact between Europeans and the Potawatomi was established in 1634 by a French trader named Jean Nicolet at a place that is now called Red Bank, on the Door Peninsula, along the western shore of Lake Michigan.

At the height of the Fur Trading Era that spanned an entire century, the Potawatomi controlled a tribal estate that encompassed Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and a small portion of Ohio or over 5 million acres. This was accomplished through long standing leadership and savvy business skills. The Potawatomi were simply not satisfied with trapping furs. Instead, they entered into a rivalry with the Ottawa for a share in the role as middleman for trade into the Green Bay area. Using their entrepreneurial skills, they began to hire other local tribesman to collect and trap the furs that they once procured. In turn, they would sell or trade the furs to the French, thus expanding their tribal control and estate over a vast area.

Lifestyle

By the 1700’s, the Potawatomi were well known to the French on the St. Lawrence River. It is clear that the Potawatomi adapted to their wilderness environment. They mainly traveled Lake Michigan and its tributaries rather than traveling over the land on horseback. Canoes were made from birch-bark and hollowed out logs and could range in length from family-size up to 50 feet to carry several warriors. The lakes and streams around the southern tip of Lake Michigan were full of fish. Much of the fishing was done from pine dugouts or birch-bark canoes. These vessels also were used to hunt the flocks of waterfowl that migrated through the bay region in the autumn. In surrounding forests and nearby prairies, the Potawatomi hunted deer, bears, buffalo, and smaller game. During the winters, many Potawatomi families left the larger villages to establish small hunting camps in unpopulated areas. The vegetables in their diet were relieved with fish and game.

The Potawatomi exercised horticulture, gathering, hunting, and fishing. From the gardens surrounding the villages, the Potawatomi women cultivated such crops as beans, squash, pumpkin, onions, and tobacco. They also raised an abundance of corn, which was traded to the French, the Chippewa, and other northern tribes. Wild rice was harvested along shores in addition to nuts, roots, and berries.

Many of the animals that the Potawatomi killed for food also furnished skins for clothing. Deerskin was fashioned into shirts, leggings, and moccasins for men and into loose dresses and moccasins for women. In the winter, both deerskin and buffalo clothing was worn and decorated with dyed porcupine quills or shells and glass beads. As the Potawatomi traded with the French, they replaced their traditional deerskin clothing with cotton shirts and leggings and with dresses of brightly colored materials. Potawatomi women wore distinctive large collars or shawls lined in silver brooches over their dresses. They also wore long skirts covered in ribbonwork. Men wore fur turbans made from animal fur rather than long headdresses of feathers. On special occasions men would wear feathers in a turban and bearclaw necklaces around their necks. Both men and women wore moccasins with large flaps over the shoe. The flap would always be beaded with flower designs.

One of the major social events in the spring was the tapping of the Maple trees for their sugar. Villages would come together after long winters to trade and conduct naming and marriage ceremonies. People, young and old, would dress in their finest regalia to dance and celebrate. Men would play drums made of stretched animal hides over bent poles or hollowed out logs partially filled with water and covered in hides. The Potawatomi had rattles made from wood and deer hooves. Men would also play flutes both made from wood and from animal bones. Children would make Maple sugar cones from different shapes of birch-bark containers. In fact, the Potawatomi used sugar to flavor food rather than salt.

Potawatomi lived in birch bark wigwams that were dome-shaped. In the summer they would cover them in woven reed mats. Cedar was used to cover the floor and to provide a fresh scent. The mats were easily detached so they could carry them when moving. Inside the wigwam was sleeping mats, extra clothing, storage containers, vessels, and cooking utensils. Potawatomi women made baskets and bags from the bark of such trees as the white cedar. Other storage containers were made of elm and hickory bark or of animal skins. Prior to French contact, Potawatomi women used mussel shells and wood spoons and ladles. By the end of the 1700’s, the Potawatomi used common trade items such as iron kettles and metal utensils for cooking.

Potawatomi men usually shaved their heads except for a scalp lock. When going to war, warriors adorned themselves with red and black paint. Men painted their faces and bodies for these occasions. Men also used wooden war clubs for hand to hand combat. When hunting, they relied on bows and arrows, fish nets, and fish spears.

Removal

By 1800, tribal villages were displaced by white settlements and pushed farther and farther to the outskirts of the Potawatomi tribal estate. It was during the Removal Period of the 1830’s that the Mission Band (today known as the Citizen Band) of Potawatomi were forced to leave their homelands in the Wabash River Valley of Indiana. From Indiana, the Mission Band was forced to march across four states (over 660 miles) to a new reserve in Kansas. Of the 850 Potawatomi people forced to move, more than 40 died along the way. The event is known in Potawatomi history as the “Potawatomi Trail of Death (September-November 1838.)”

Between 1838 and 1861, the Mission Potawatomi lived on a small reserve with the Prairie Potawatomi in Kansas. The Prairie Potawatomi had ventured west onto the Great Plains at a much earlier period than the Mission Band, interacted with the Sioux, and adapted different lifeways. Both cultural groups exhibited very different ceremonial and subsistence strategies, yet were forced to share the land. Seeking a better opportunity for its people, the Mission Potawatomi leaders chose to take small farms rather than live together with the Prairie Potawatomi. Shortly thereafter, and not fully understanding the tax system, most of the new individual allotments of land passed out of Mission Band ownership and into that of white settlers and traders. In 1867, Mission Potawatomi members signed a treaty selling their Kansas lands in order to purchase lands in Indian Territory with the proceeds. To reinforce the new land purchase and learning from their Kansas experience, tribal members took U.S. citizenship. From that time on, they became know as the “Citizen Potawatomi.”

Citizen Potawatomi

By the early 1870’s, most of the Citizen Potawatomi had resettled in Indian Territory, present-day Oklahoma, forming several communities near present-day Shawnee. In 1890, the Citizen Potawatomi participated, unwillingly, in the allotment process implemented through the Dawes Act of 1887. With this Act, the Citizen Potawatomi people were forced to accept individual allotments again. In the Land Run of 1891, the remainder of the Potawatomi reservation in Oklahoma was opened up to “white” settlement. It is estimated that 275,000 acres or half of the 900 square mile reservation was simply given away by the government to settlers.

Over time, many tribal members followed the pattern of other Oklahomans during the “dust bowl” era and migrated to California, as well as Washington, Colorado, Idaho, and Oregon, where they formed congenial, loose-knit communities. Today, these communities are well established and have expanded to Kansas and Texas. In 1985, the Citizen Potawatomi Nation formally established eight Citizen Potawatomi Nation Regional Tribal Council centers to provide outreach to tribal members and to hold at least one regional council meeting with the tribal leadership annually.

The last quarter of the twentieth century was a period of great success for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. In fact, the Citizen Potawatomi Nation is the largest of the eight federally recognized Potawatomi tribes and the ninth largest tribe in the United States. Under sound leadership and a tribal membership of over 26,000, the Citizen Potawatomi Nation has experienced growth in administration, tribal enterprises, and its community outreach programs. The Citizen Potawatomi Nation owns one of Oklahoma’s largest grocery stores, First National Bank and Trust of Shawnee with three additional branches, FireLake Golf Course and Restaurant, Firelake Entertainment Center, Firelake Grand Casino, and the Cultural Heritage Center which houses the Nation's Museum, Archives, Library, Tribal Heritage Project, Long Room Event Center, Veterans' Wall of Honor, Firelake Gifts, and Tribal Rolls. The Citizen Potawatomi Nation has a Health and Wellness Center, a Child Development facility with over 250 children at the complex everyday, and an Employment and Training Center.

for more go information go to
http://www.potawatomi.org/

The Seventh Sign of the Hopi Prophecy, the Gulf Oil Spill

The Hopi prophecy speaks of a purification period that may end in the destruction of the human race. This is a prophecy that allows an out, or a way for the human race to escape its destiny. For the last 60 years Hopi elders have been trying to warn the people but all too often the warnings fall on deaf ears. Thomas Banyakya, a Hopi elder spoke at the United Nations in 1992 and laid out the prophecy for the world. Eighteen years later, every second, we inch closer to the December 21, 2012 date that many believe will be the end of the world as we know it.
At first glance this seems absurd, but after studding the Hopi Prophecy and its signs it is increasingly difficult to brush them aside. The seventh sign in particular seems to point to the BP Gulf Oil spill that is currently turning our seas black. It states that “you will hear of the sea’s turning black and many living things dying because of it.”
The following is a transcript from White Feather, of the Bear Clan, Hopi Tribe and is a good overview of the Hopi Prophecy signs.
"These are the Signs that great destruction is here: The world shall rock to and fro. The white man will battle people in other lands -- those who possessed the first light of wisdom. There will be many columns of smoke and fire such as the white man has made in the deserts not far from here. Those who stay and live in the places of the Hopi shall be safe. Then there will be much to rebuild. And soon, very soon afterward, Pahana will return. He shall bring with him the dawn of the Fifth World. He shall plant the seeds of his wisdom in our hearts. Even now the seeds are being planted. These shall smooth the way to the Emergence into the Fifth World."
The Fourth World shall end soon, and the Fifth World will begin. This the elders everywhere know. The Signs over many years have been fulfilled, and so few are left.
First Sign: We were told of the coming of the white-skinned men, like Pahana, but not living like Pahana -- men who took the land that was not theirs and who struck their enemies with thunder.
Second Sign: Our lands will see the coming of spinning wheels filled with voices.
Third Sign: A strange beast like a buffalo but with great long horns will overrun the land in large numbers.
Fourth Sign: The land will be crossed by snakes of iron.
Fifth Sign: The land shall be crisscrossed by a giant spider's web.
Sixth Sign: The land shall be crisscrossed with rivers of stone that make pictures in the sun.
Seventh Sign: You will hear of the sea turning black, and many living things dying because of it.
Eighth Sign: You will see many youth, who wear their hair long like our people, come and join the tribal nations, to learn our ways and wisdom.
Ninth and Last Sign: You will hear of a dwelling-place in the heavens, above the earth, that shall fall with a great crash. It will appear as a blue star. Very soon after this, the ceremonies of the Hopi people will cease.
"These are the Signs that great destruction is coming. The world shall rock to and fro. The white man will battle against other people in other lands -- with those who possessed the first light of wisdom. There will be many columns of smoke and fire such as White Feather has seen the white man make in the deserts not far from here. Only those which come will cause disease and a great dying.
"Many of my people, understanding the prophecies, shall be safe. Those who stay and live in the places of my people also shall be safe. Then there will be much to rebuild. And soon -- very soon afterward -- Pahana will return. He shall bring with him the dawn of the Fifth World. He shall plant the seeds of his wisdom in their hearts. Even now the seeds are being planted. These shall smooth the way to the Emergence into the Fifth World.”
This is only the tip of the ice berg, and in many interpretations the Hopi say that we can still stop the coming storm or at least prepare to ride it out. What is their solution? One very simple word, balance. Balance is a condition where the human mind understands the delicate web that is life and how to exist within that web without destroying it. This view is not just relegated to the Hopi; it is echoed though out the world in many cultures and religions. Despite this understanding by so many, the world seems to be on a collision course of epic proportions. Come December 21 2012, the world may witness a shift that hasn’t been seen since the days of Noah.