Are We The New People Of The Seventh Fire?
Reprinted from Spirit of Change January/February 2002.
The elder who recently passed mentioned last year that the time for talking about the prophecies has ended because we are living those prophecies now.
Cultures from all around the world for many thousands of years have pointed to this current era we live in as a time of unprecedented change for Earth and all of humanity – the timespan between 1987 and 2025. Just in our own small corner of the world of prophecy, Christians refer to the Book of Revelation, the Mayans look to their astronomical calendar and cosmovision, the Anishinabe of the northeast are guided by the Seven Fires Prophecies, and contemporary New Age visionaries share messages from ETs and other celestial beings who are said to be assisting humanity through dramatic events unfolding around us now.
While each vision speaks to its own people in symbols they will understand, all refer to a time when humanity will be faced with making fateful choices which will determine our future: either we will become a planet of cooperative nations or a self-destructing war zone of people competing for dwindling resources.
The events of September 11, 2001, have made Americans all the more aware that something is terribly wrong on this planet, and a time of choice and change is upon us. Not only is our environment in danger of collapsing in on itself (and us), but humanity is in danger of annihilating itself: humans extinguishing humanity. The planet hangs in great imbalance on every level and, by its very nature, will find a way to regain that balance. Things will shift.
The Seven Fire Prophecies of the Anishinabe people traces the course of civilization as it developed on this part of the continent. The prophecies describe how historical events affected the people indigenous to this land – Native Americans – and how the future of the United States is tied to the fate of these people. Handed down through oral tradition for many hundreds of years, the information contained in the prophecies is also preserved on wampum belts currently held by Grandfather William Commanda in Maniwaki, Quebec, spiritual elder of the Algonquin people.
According to the Seven Fire Prophecies we are currently in a time of the Seventh Fire as translated below:
“In the time of the Seventh Fire New People will emerge. They will retrace their steps to find what was left by the trail. Their steps will take them to the Elders who they will ask to guide them on their journey. But many of the Elders will have fallen asleep. They will awaken to this new time with nothing to offer. Some of the Elders will be silent out of fear. Some of the Elders will be silent because no one will ask anything of them. The New People will have to be careful in how they approach the Elders. The task of the New People will not be easy.
If the New People will remain strong in their Quest, the Water Drum of the Midewiwin Lodge will again sound its voice. There will be a rebirth of the Anishinabe nation and a rekindling of old flames. The Sacred Fire will again be lit.
It is at this time that the light-skinned race will be given a choice between two roads. If they choose the right road, then the Seventh Fire will light the Eighth and final Fire, an eternal Fire of peace, love, brotherhood and sisterhood. If the light-skinned race makes the wrong choice of the roads, then the destruction which they brought with them in coming to this country will come back at them and cause much suffering and death to all Earth’s people.”
Many spiritual seekers of today would recognize themselves as the “New People” of which this prophecy speaks. In learning about, respecting and supporting other spiritual traditions and cultures, we help to build those bridges leading to the road of brotherhood mentioned in the Eighth Fire. We must also guard against any tendency to exploit those same cultures for personal or financial gain, as so often happens in our materialistic society. After all, it was this love for goods and money over the love for spirit and the land which caused us to fall so out of balance in the first place. Our most important task now is to keep finding and following the threads which will lead us in the direction of more light, awareness and harmony. A translation of the Seven Fires Prophecies is offered here.
Seven Fires Prophecies
Translation provided by Edward Benton Banai
Seven prophets came to Anishinabe. They came at a time when the people were living a full and peaceful life on the North Eastern coast of North America. These prophets left the people with seven predictions of what the future would bring. Each of the prophecies was called a fire and each fire referred to a particular era of time that would come in the future. Thus, the teachings of the seven prophets are now called the “Seven Fires.”
The first prophet said to the people, “In the time of the First Fire, the Anishinabe nation will rise up and follow the sacred shell of the Midewiwin Lodge. The Midewiwin Lodge will serve as a rallying point for the people and its traditional ways will be the source of much strength. The Sacred Megis will lead the way to the chosen ground of the Anishinabe. You are to look for a turtle-shaped island that is linked to the purification of Earth. You will find such an island at the beginning and end of your journey. There will be seven stopping places along the way. You will know the chosen ground has been reached when you come to a land where food grows on water. If you do not move you will be destroyed.”
The second prophet told the people, “You will know the Second Fire because at this time the nation will be camped by a large body of water. In this time the direction of the Sacred Shell will be lost. The Midewiwin will diminish in strength, a boy will be born to point the way back to the traditional ways. He will show the direction to the stepping stones to the future of the Anishinabe people.
The third prophet said to the people, “In the Third Fire the Anishinabe will find the path to their chosen ground; a land in the west to which they must move their families. This will be the land where food grows on water.”
The Fourth Fire was originally given to the people by two prophets. They came as one. They told of the coming of the light-skinned race.
One of the prophets 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 and articles that can be joined with the knowledge of this country; in this way, two nations will join to make a mighty nation. 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 the brotherhood if the light-skinned race comes carrying no weapons, if they come bearing only their knowledge and a hand shake.”
The other 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 carrying a weapon, beware. If they come in suffering, they could fool you. 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.”
The fifth prophet said, “In the time of the Fifth Fire there will come a time of great struggle that will grip the lives of all Native people. At the warning of this Fire there will come among the people one who holds a promise of great joy and salvation. If the people accept this promise of a new way and abandon the old teachings, then the struggle of the Fifth Fire will be with 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.”
The prophet of the Sixth Fire said, “In the time of the Sixth Fire it will be evident that the promise of the fifth fire came in a false way. Those deceived by this promise will take their children away from the teachings of the Elders; Grandsons and Granddaughters will turn against the Elders. In this way, the Elders will lose their reason for living, they will lose their purpose in life. At this time a new sickness will come among the people. The balance of many people will be disturbed. The cup of life will almost be spilled. The cup of life will become the cup of grief.”
At the time of these predictions, many people scoffed at the prophets. They then had medicines to keep away sickness. They were then healthy and happy as a people. These were the people who chose to stay behind in the great migration of the Anishinabe. These people were the first to have contact with the light-skinned race. They would suffer most.
When the Fifth Fire came to pass, a great struggle did indeed grip the lives of all Native people. The light-skinned race launched a military attack on the Indian people throughout the country aimed at taking away their land and their independence as a free and sovereign people. It is now felt that the false promise that came at the end of the Fifth Fire was the materials and riches embodied in the way of life of the light-skinned race. Those who abandoned the ancient ways and accepted this new promise were a big factor in causing the near destruction of the Native people of this land.
When the Sixth Fire came to be, the words of the prophet rang true as children were taken away from the teachings of the Elders. The boarding school era of “civilizing” Indian children had begun. The Indian language and religion were taken from the children. The people started dying at an early age; they had lost their will to live and their purpose in living.
In the confusing times of the Sixth Fire, it is said that a group of visionaries came among the Anishinabe. They gathered all the priests of the Midewiwin Lodge. They told the priests that the Midewiwin way was in danger of being destroyed. They gathered all the sacred bundles. They gathered all the scrolls that recorded the ceremonies. All these things were placed in a hollowed out log from the Ironwood tree. Men were lowered over a cliff by long ropes. They dug a hole in the cliff and buried the log where no one could find it. Thus the teachings of the Elders were hidden out of sight but not out of memory. It was said that when the time came that the Indian people could practice their religion without fear that a little boy would dream where the Ironwood log, full of the sacred bundles and scrolls were buried. He would lead his people to the place.
The seventh prophet that came to the people long ago was said to be different from the other prophets. He was young and had a strange light in his eyes. He said, “In the time of the Seventh Fire New People will emerge. They will retrace their steps to find what was left by the trail. Their steps will take them to the Elders who they will ask to guide them on their journey. But many of the Elders will have fallen asleep. They will awaken to this new time with nothing to offer. Some of the Elders will be silent out of fear. Some of the Elders will be silent because no one will ask anything of them. The New People will have to be careful in how they approach the Elders. The task of the New People will not be easy.
If the New People will remain strong in their Quest, the Water Drum of the Midewiwin Lodge will again sound its voice. There will be a rebirth of the Anishinabe nation and a rekindling of old flames. The Sacred Fire will again be lit.
It is at this time that the light-skinned race will be given a choice between two roads. If they choose the right road, then the Seventh Fire will light the Eighth and final Fire, an eternal Fire of peace, love, brotherhood and sisterhood. If the light-skinned race makes the wrong choice of the roads, then the destruction which they brought with them in coming to this country will come back at them and cause much suffering and death to all Earth’s people.
Carol Bedrosian is publisher and editor of Spirit of Change, New England’s holistic magazine, and has sponsored the annual Harvest Gathering weekend since 1997. Visit www.spiritofchange.org.
