Category: Videos

Blue Star Symbolism in Indigenous Cultures

Posted on by Marcha's Two-Cents Worth in Astronomy, Hopi prophecy, Indigenous wisdom, Native American Prophecy, Native American Wisdom, Native Americans, Northern Cheyenne culture, spirituality, Videos
Astronomical photo of Orion
Orion, with Rigel at bottom right, at optical wavelengths plus the Hα (hydrogen-alpha) spectral line to emphasize gas clouds. [Attribution: Photo by Rogelio Bernal Andreo – http://deepskycolors.com/astro/JPEG/RBA_Orion_HeadToToes.jpg, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=207932%5D

Cheyenne Blue Star

The importance of the Blue Star is not unique to the Hopi. It is also a symbol the Cheyenne revere and paint on their faces for sacred rituals such as their Massaum ceremony as well as ceremonial fasts. Originally, it comprised four triangles joined at the apex, similar to a Maltese cross. [Learn more about the Massaum and its significance as the Earth Giving Ceremony in “The Revenge of Dead Horse Canyon: Sweet Medicine Spirits – Novavose.”]

The Blue Star is currently represented by a blue diamond shape that comprises four lines, two from the hairline above the bridge of the nose to the base of each ear, then lines drawn  to the base of the chin.

Rigel, a star in the constellation Orion, is what the Cheyenne consider the blue star, its rising when the Massaum ceremony public performance began.

Attribution: IAU and Sky & Telescope magazine (Roger Sinnott & Rick Fienberg) – [1], CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15407823

Navajo (Dine)

The Navajo (Dine) call Orion Atse Ets’Ozi, the First Slender One, a young, strong warrior responsible to provide protection to his family and people. Whether they attribute special meaning to Rigel is known only to their medicine men and elders because most of their star lore is considered sacred. They only talk about their constellations as part of their winter stories or to a limited extent during the summer solstice.

The Cheyenne also view the Pleiades as significant and paint it on their lodges. The Cherokee believe that is where they originally came from. This well-known grouping of seven stars is also revered by the Mayan, who return to it figuratively via sacred ritual.

Attribution: By NASA, ESA and AURA/Caltech – Hubble Refines Distance to Pleiades Star Cluster (STScI-2004-20), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17899258

Mayan Tradition

Star Ancestors book cover

Paul Werner Duarte, a German/Mayan descendant of the Olmec culture from Vera Cruz, Mexico, has a lengthy and informative section in Nancy Red Star’s book, “Star Ancestors.” In it he states, “The Red man has had a covenant with the beings from space since the beginning. The Red man is the Atlantean. Edgar Cayce once said, ‘Take an Aztec, take a Maya, take a Hopi, take a Cherokee, take a Cheyenne, and you’re looking at an Atlantean.’ Earth is not the original home for any human…. The Red man descended to Earth from the Pleiades; indienous people have a long history of space exploration and extraterrestrial contact.”

The Navajo (Dine) call the Pleiades Dilyehe, which translates “seed-like sparkles. Its rising and setting have been used for centuries and probably millennia to time when to begin as well as when to cease planting crops to assure they don’t freeze when planted too early or too late.

Dakota Blue Star

In the following video by Wanbdi Wakita, a Dakota elder, he explains how they came from the Blue Star . Their women had dreams about it and made it into their star quilts. He does not specify which star in the sky it might be. You cannot listen to this man without feeling his strong spirit.

Hopi Prophecy

The Hopi Blue Star prophecy is currently receiving a lot of attention with the appearance of 3I/Atlas. As far back as 1972 their holy man, Thomas Manyacya, attempted to warn the world. The video’s description on YouTube states:

The Blue Star – Thomas Banyacya: Thomas Banyacya: The Hopi Prophecy was first produced as a video letter to the United Nations Environmental Programme, at the request of the Hopi elders of Hotevilla. Thomas Banyacya, a Hopi leader and spokesman for the Hopi high religious leaders was in his 80s in 1989 when this important meeting took place and was recorded on film. In a traditional circle, Banyacya and the elders meet with visiting Lummi, Lacandone, and American and Mexican environmentalists.

They discuss the Hopi Prophecy that foretold, “Koyaanisqatsi”, meaning “life in turmoil, life out of balance,” as a result of increasing materialism and environmental destruction. Thomas carries the Hopi message which calls for universal peace and spiritual unity and how the only hope for humankind to survive is to return to connectedness with Mother Earth. Humanity must use its knowledge and technology to clean up the water, the air, and the contaminated land. At the same time, we must conserve the remaining natural resources. The individual greed of both people and nations must be replaced with global concern for the balance of life on this planet.

He repeated the message again in 1995 as you can listen to in the following videos.

Conclusion

Why is the Blue Star revered across numerous Indigenous cultures? Has the Blue Star arrived at last in the form of 3I/Atlas?

Whatever that object is, it has baffled scientists as its behavior defies the laws of physics. Is it being controlled by intelligent beings? It seems beyond coincidence that the WOW signal received back in 1977 that lasted 72 seconds came from the same place in the cosmos from which 3I/Atlas originated. Coincidence? Not likely, with odds around a billion to one.

Is it a message from the star people?

Time will tell.

Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss future updates.

Gripping New Book Trailer!

Posted on by Marcha's Two-Cents Worth in book trailer videos, conspiracies, Indigenous wisdom, Native American history, Native American Media, Native American Prophecy, Native Americans, Northern Cheyenne culture, Videos

I love making trailer videos to capture the essence of these stories that my coauthor, Pete Risingsun, and I created together. As an author I’m absolutely thrilled with how AI can bring them to life like never before!

Let me know what you think in the comments and be sure to share!

The entire trilogy is now available in ebook, paperback, and laminated hardback formats on Amazon. If you prefer a classic dust-jacket hardback, they’re available through Barnes and Noble and other book dealers.

Awareness is Key

Posted on by Marcha's Two-Cents Worth in Genocide, Government Policies, Indian Reservations, Native American Media, Native Americans, Northern Cheyenne culture, US History, Videos

Missing and murdered indigenous women and girls (MMIWG) is but another critical issue that never makes it to the news. This is even more likely if you don’t live in one of the states most highly affected such as Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Montana, and various others. Major highways known for drug and human trafficking often cross remote areas of Indian reservations, conditions that make the victims easy prey.

The following is a direct excerpt from the Native Hope website that sums up much of the issue:

What People Get Wrong

Stereotypes of Native Americans Perpetuate Injustice

Due to the lack of tribal jurisdiction beyond reservation borders, Urban Indians receive less than adequate assistance when a loved one goes missing. America has written a stereotypical narrative for its First People:

They are lazy, drug addicts, and alcoholics who rely on the government to survive.”

Moreover, this modern stereotype was created through acts of colonization and cultural assimilation. Pre-colonization, Native societies traditionally revered and honored the sacredness of women. Women held positions of authority and did a large portion of labor within their camps, but the European colonists with patriarchal views took the women as slaves to the men. Soon, Native women had been victims of rape, violence, and submission. This mistreatment can be traced throughout America’s history. Natives were viewed as “savages.”

In Andrea Smith’s paper “Not an Indian Tradition: The Sexual Colonization of Native Peoples,” she explores the connection between sexual violence and colonialism in the lives of Native people in the United States. Smith reveals that Natives were viewed as “dirty” for their lack of clothing which in the minds of the colonists made them “polluted with sexual sin.” They were seen as less-than-human—therefore, “rapable.”

Now, when a Native woman is reported missing, these negative stereotypes hinder the search process. Law enforcement tends to turn a blind eye, fail to take the report seriously, and do little to assist. The media rarely picks up on the story and if they do, there is normally a negative spin on the story making the victim seem at fault.

The following video further explains this tragic situation. It points out that too many agencies can be responsible due to blurry lines between jurisdictions, creating cracks for cases to fall through. Lack of resources coupled with the absence of accurate data is also a major problem. Sadly, most deaths are attributed to “exposure.”

Tomorrow, May 5, is MMIWG Awareness Day. You can support the effort by spreading the word and wearing red.

The Power of Words

Posted on by Marcha's Two-Cents Worth in Indigenous wisdom, Native American history, Native Americans, spirituality, US History, Videos

The purpose of words is to convey meaning. How they’re spelled, how they sound differs tremendously. Sometimes they convey the same meaning, such as for a cat or dog. Others are unique and can’t be translated into another language, especially if they’re based on cultural context.

When immigrants come to a country, they assimilate better if they learn the host language. This is not simply a matter of getting along better in society. It integrates them into the culture. America became a “melting pot” as immigrants came from a multitude of foreign nations, then were united in a common language, i.e. English, even if they maintained their ethnic traditions.

When Europeans came to the American continent they encountered indigenous peoples whose languages were entirely foreign. While there’s a similarity in etymology and syntax among Latin-based languages (English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, etc.), those spoken by Native Americans (which were several) had no similarities to European languages. Their culture and society were so different, many words common to Europeans didn’t even exist in theirs and vice versa.

Most of our thoughts comprise words. A person’s vocabulary determines their ability to think and comprehend the world around them. Without applicable words, unfamiliar concepts cannot exist. Emotions, however, exist beyond words. If you see someone laughing or crying, you know they’re feeling something.

Europeans took possession of this country in a less than friendly manner. Eventually, indigenous people became the “Indian Problem.” They refused to cooperate by giving up the land gifted to them by the Creator, a.k.a. Great Spirit. After numerous wars, massacres, and ugly confrontations, those that remained were herded off to reservations. As if that wasn’t bad enough, their children were taken and sent to government boarding schools where they were “reprogrammed.” This comprised cutting their hair, dressing them in “civilized” clothing, and forbidding them from speaking their native tongue. Being caught doing so resulted in their mouth being washing out with soap.

This was not a benevolent gesture to help Native Americans assimilate into European/American society. The intent was to annihilate their culture, identity, and beliefs, an insidious form of virtual genocide. A slight improvement, I suppose, over edicts from the Vatican that gave early explorers and colonists permission to kill them or make them their slaves.

Imagine forcing new immigrants to give up their language and customs. As “guests” in this country, it could almost be justified, a condition of habitation that promotes unity. Instead, just about any document they may need to read is available in their own language at taxpayer expense. Yet, quite the opposite was done to indigenous peoples who were here first.

If you have a difficult time relating to this, consider hoards of Chinese soldiers swarming our borders and forcing us to abandon our way of life, including our language, and adapt to theirs or die.

As intended, indigenous languages began to disappear. Fortunately, some survived. Ironically, helping the current younger generations to learn their native tongue is now a function of the very schools who originally forbade them from speaking it.

Why should they care? Because that is who they are. Culture, ceremonies, and their collective philosophy of life is embedded in their language. They have words with no English analog. Even in English, certain things have different meaning. For example, “All my relations” to a Native American includes all living things as well as the Earth herself. “Turtle Island” is not only this continent, but embodies their creation story.

Why should we care if their culture is lost? Because it’s in the world’s best interest for it to be revitalized. Assimilating it may be the only thing that can save us from ourselves in this war-torn, polluted, technology-dependent world.

This short video (less that 3 minutes) contains the 10 Commandments of Native Americans. As you listen, consider they initially welcomed Europeans to their land. They only became aggressive when the Founding Fathers and those who followed didn’t want to share this country with its original inhabitants.

They wanted them out of their way.

Harmony or Death?

Posted on by Marcha's Two-Cents Worth in Indigenous wisdom, mining, Native American history, Native Americans, Spirit Medicine, spirituality, US History, Videos

Chief Arvol Looking Horse provided this message to the world back in August 2016. To think when he made these statements he referred to the Earth’s condition as horrible! So much has happened since it’s hard to comprehend. It appears that the consequences have begun since nothing has improved in the past five and a half years.

This video is a little over 16 minutes long. The music is haunting as are many of the images. Pay close attention to the words. The script is written so you can pause the video as needed to read them. Ponder their meaning and implications.

Prophecies declared we were at the crossroads back then. Bear in mind that was before the COVID-19 pandemic of body and spirit. As a result, people worldwide have lost many freedoms they took for granted.

Now we’re on the brink of war.

We were admonished to unite spiritually or be faced with chaos.

We are there.

Lakota Healing Song

Posted on by Marcha's Two-Cents Worth in Indigenous wisdom, Native American songs, Native Americans, Spirit Medicine, spirituality, Story excerpts, Videos

This morning a beautiful Lakota healing song showed up in my YouTube feed. I didn’t understand a word, but it brought tears to my eyes. If there was ever a time when many of us–the entire planet, actually– needs it, it is now.

It also had special meaning because it fits perfectly with a scene in book 2, “Return to Dead Horse Canyon: Grandfather Spirits.”

 In Chapter 19, Leaping Elk, an Oglala Lakota medicine man, performs a healing ceremony for Charlie. You will meet Leaping Elk again in book 3. Here’s the excerpt:

BELTON MEDICAL CENTER

July 15, Sunday

1:50 p.m.

Charlie sensed a presence. Opening his eyes failed. The soul-crushing weight remained, confirming he was alive, like amasani told him. Surely it didn’t hurt this much to be dead. Every breath filled his lungs with pain soaked in suffocating fire.

The realization someone was speaking in a grandfather voice stirred within his soul. The reverent, beseeching tone indicated prayer, but he couldn’t understand the words. Not Diné or Tsetsehestaestse, and certainly not English or Spanish.

Who was it?

Why was he there?

Mysteries and ceremonies came to men like Sweet Medicine from within the earth. Was that where he was?

Why else were some sounds muffled, others not? Though distinct, the man’s speech came as if from a great distance.

Perhaps he was within the earth. Swallowed by an angry Earth Mother.

The prayer ended and the man began to sing, accompanied by the rhythmic swish of a rattle. Even without understanding the language he recognized it as an honor song. Its healing effects settled upon him with an unexpected sense of peace.

The singing faded.

Again all was deathly still.

Here’s the song. Close your eyes and feel the words, even if you can’t understand them.

Some of the comments on YouTube explain the song is asking the Creator to have pity on us, that we understand our suffering is a vehicle to teach us something, and to please heal us.

There is so much to be learned from this beautiful culture. Teachings that we need today, more than ever before.

Image by Aline Berry from Pixabay