1. |
The Legend
09:14
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2. |
The Prophecy
08:19
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THE WHITE BUFFALO PROPHECY
So
we carry
these messages
up to this day
& the belief—
[Lakota words]
that some day
there’s going to be some signs.
And so the elderly people
have been praying
for the return
of the white
buffalo calf.
And—but—so—
these signs
that we see,
they said there’s gonna be like
four
white buffalo calves
to be born
during this time,
& today
there’s three of them
that were born.
[& now,
in the spring of 1998,
the fourth white buffalo calf
was born in Michigan]
2
Back in 1890—
a way of life—
they say
the sacred hoop was broken
at Wounded Knee
&
for a hundred years
we could not practice this way.
And once again,
in 1990,
the seventh generation,
that’s when
our way of life,
the sacred hoop
would be mending—
the mending
of the sacred hoop—
we have to
complete ourself
spiritually.
The last one hundred years
we’re not sharing,
there’s so many things that
we do not tell,
so we have this—
because we are not sharing
everything
is so closed in
& in the seventh generation
once again
people would start
to feel this.
So we live in that time when
the seventh generation—
since 1890—
the mending of the sacred hoop—
is once again
start sharing
& start understanding
this way of life, because
when we do this
in our way, we say that
when somebody is not sharing
& when they carry that pain
then it turns to violence,
anger,
hatred,
& jealousy,
& all the things that—
because
we are not teaching it,
we are not sharing them.
But
when we start
doing
the ceremonies,
we let go of that pain,
& we feel good
inside,
spiritually.
So these spiritual
connections
that we have
today,
we have to really
think about
not only ourselves, but
all things—
the two-legged,
the four-legged,
the winged ones,
the ones that crawl.
We say
Mitakuye Oyasin —
To All
My Relations
So I’m really thankful
that there’s a lot of good things
that’s happening,
& I’m very thankful to be here.
3
This is an historical moment
for First Nations. For our people,
the birth
of the female white buffalo calf
signifies
that many changes
are coming
to the world.
In 1890,
when the 7th Cavalry
massacred my relatives
at Wounded Knee,
the sacred hoop
of our Nation
was broken. The prophecies
also tell us
that seven generations would pass
before we would be strong enough
to begin mending
the sacred hoop.
We are in the 7th generation
today. In this generation,
healing will begin
not only for ourselves,
our families,
our nations,
but also
for the whole world. We pray
to never see
another Wounded Knee happen
to any peoples
anywhere.
4
The birth
of the white buffalo calf
tells us the time
to begin this mending
of the sacred hoop
is now. Elders
have declared June 21st
to be World Peace
& Prayer Day. On this day,
people around the world
will gather
at their sacred sites
whether it be a church,
a temple,
a mosque,
or a mountain, they will pray
for world peace. If we do not do this,
much hardship is ahead
for all peoples
of all races. We have a short time
to return
to our spiritual roots
& begin respecting our Mother
who we depend on
for the sustenance
of life. Our Mother Earth
is needing to cleanse herself
& it is our duty
to also pray for her
so that we may see life
for our grandchildren
in the 7th generation.
Edited & arranged by John Sinclair
New Orleans
September 2, 1995 >
June 11, 1997
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3. |
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HISTORY 101
in the words of Charles Neville
This is our history
This is the way it was
This is
History 101
A great civilization existed
in this land we call
America—
long before the people who came to colonize
even knew that the world was round.
Pima
Dineh
Mohawk
Ojibway
Lakota
Creek
Seminole
Cree
Miscasoukee
Houmas
Choctaw
Misqualee
Suquamish
Duanish
Pawnee
Cheyenne
Apache
Arapahoe
Navaho
Mohican
Seneca
Tunica
Shoshone
The people
now called
Indian
2
There were varied cultures,
with traditions that involved
guarding & nurturing & keeping the Earth,
our Mother,
honoring all other living creatures
But colonists
from a far land beyond the ocean arrived here
seeking to own,
to conquer & subdue
the wilderness & its inhabitants,
to subdue the Earth,
to conquer Nature.
This would require a lot of work—
more work than the colonists
could do themselves,
more work than the colonists
were willing to do themselves,
more work than the colonists
were capable of doing themselves.
They needed
laborers, they needed
someone to do this dirty work
for them.
And so
another ancient civilization
was called upon to supply
the labor—
Yoruba
Mandinka
Zulu
Ibo
Princes from Dahomey,
Princess from the Kongo,
King from Bakulu—
Masai—
Africans!
These people
were brought in chains,
under duress,
forced to work under pain of death.
This is our history
This is the way it was
This is
History 101
3
There were cultural similarities
& similarities in the attitudes
of the colonists
toward both of these groups of people
& this gave these two groups common cause—
together
maybe they could successfully resist
But
the colonial officials
saw this danger
& they took a step to prevent
an alliance—
Hire Indians
as slave hunters,
Force the slaves
to fight the Indians—
Create fear
hatred,
distrust,
subjugate both peoples—
Divide And Conquer!
Now this strategy worked
to a certain extent
but in some areas
Seminoles & Africans joined
forces
& fought
to the bitter end—
Houmas
& Choctaws
& Africans
joined each other
in the Southern swamps
& fought
& in New Orleans,
in Congo Square,
Choctaws
Houmas
Africans
got together to express
the similarities in their culture
in music & dance
& to this day
in New Orleans
there are people who are known as
Mardi Gras Indians
who honor
& commemorate
the cooperation,
respect
& alliance
of the African
& the Indian,
the Indian & the African,
African & Indian,
Indian & African—
This is our history
This is the way it was
This is
History 101
4
African Americans
& Native Americans,
Native Americans & African Americans
are strangers to each other today—
we are brothers
& sisters
of the same blood,
brothers & sisters
of the same spirit,
brothers & sisters
from the same mud—
Our Mother,
the Earth
We must know each other
We must learn—
The thing that separates us today
is lack of knowledge & understanding
This is our history
This is the way it is—
This is
History 101
IV
WHITE BUFFALO DAY
A Gathering of the Tribes
for Unity, Peace & Healing
On August 27th, 1995
in the City of New Orleans
on the site of the old battleground
by Claiborne & Poydras
& on the sacred ground
of Congo Square
WHITE BUFFALO CALF WOMAN
was honored
by the prayer of Leonard Peltier
and the pipe
of the elders
of the Thunder Clan
On that day & in those times
the mouth of the Mississippi
opened up & called out
to the 5,000 Nations of Tribes:
to the Eagles of the North,
to the Condors of the South,
to the Phoenix of the East,
& the Falcons of the West,
She called & sang out—
UNITY for the Family,
PEACE for the Tribes,
& HEALING
for the wounds
of the Nations
Since 1995
the City of New Orleans
has recognized
WHITE BUFFALO DAY
as a day on which all races
& religions
come together
to pray for harmony.
On that day
the people paraded
from the Superdome at sunset
down Poydras & down Rampart
to Congo Square
in Louis Armstrong Park
where the birth of the
WHITE BUFFALO CALF
& the coming together
of the Mardi Gras Indian Nation
with the Nations of First Peoples
were honored
by the prayer of Dave Chief
& celebrated
in song & danceby those who hold close
to the teachings
of the
WHITE BUFFALO CALF WOMAN
Join us in New Orleans
every August 27th
for White Buffalo Day
Join us
NOW
and get ready
for
ALL OUT PEACE
To All Our Relations
—Parts I & II by Dr. Arvol Looking Horse,
WWOZ Radio, New Orleans,
August 27, 1996 >Statement prepared for the
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival,
May 4, 1997
Part III by Charles Neville from Songcatchers: Dreaming In Color
(Horizon Records, 1994)
Part IV by Goat Carson, Summer 1995,
Edited & arranged by John Sinclair
New Orleans
September 2, 1995 >
June 11, 1997
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John Sinclair Detroit, Michigan
"Sinclair is an iconic figure of ‘60s counterculture, famous for, among other things, having co-founded the anti-racist
White Panther Party"
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"John has taken the Blues, many Blues, many Blues singers, their words, their feeling, their lives, their conditions, the places and traces of where they was and is.
--Amiri Baraka.
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