“After Thirteen Heavens of Decreasing Choice and Nine Hells of Increasing Doom, the Tree of Life will blossom with a fruit never before known in The Creation — The New Spirit of Man.” (Zapotec prophecy)
Having spent most of my young-adult years living on a Rez. in the inter-mountain region of the American west, I availed myself of frequent excursions into its more remote areas. In doing so, I can say I was either blessed or cursed, as the case may be, in having a number of waking visions. Of these, one in particular stands out, as it had to do with things to come regarding future of the United States. And, as prophetic biblical narratives go, I found myself “taken up in the spirit.” Yet, I wasn’t alone, as two angels accompanied me, one on my right and one on my left. I soon realized were flying, as I saw the earth extending to the horizon far below.
Abruptly, the angel on my right spoke to me, saying: “Son of man, what do you see?” As soon as those words were spoken, I found myself focusing like a laser on some event happening down below. In this particular instance I saw a car stopping at a northern checkpoint between California and Nevada. Shockingly, I then found myself standing right there. I not only saw the people in the car and the station attendant approaching, but heard the conversation now taking place between them. “ID’s, permit and papers, please,” the guard said. Minutes passed before he returned. “All in order” he said, with a nod.” As the car pulled away, I was startled to find myself a silent passenger, now listening to the driver vent: “This is total BS; America the f…g Gestapo. Give me a f..g break; I now need some kiss-ass”s approval to go on a vacation with my family!” “Approval my ass!”
As soon as the implications of the event began to sink in, my sight returned to normal and I found myself was once again in the presence of my angelic hosts. The one on my left then spoke to me, saying: “Son of man, what did you see?” In response to my reply, he said: “Write it down and remember, so that when these things come to pass you”ll know that our word was true.” And it has been, every word, for many years now, with the events I witnessed, transpiring in real time, sequentially, exactly the order in which I saw them – one major event every ten years, with every fifth year serving as a precursor for the next major event to come. Although the particular episode I’ve described would not happen until much later in the sequence of events, it remains of particular importance, as I can now see it was a turning point in the final sequence of events to come in these five and ten-year cycles – “The emergence of the police-state,” preceded by a percieved need for greater enforcement – Ice!
That said, the first two events I witnessed, in real-time, remain particularly relevant, as they not served to confirm what was to follow, but would erase any doubts I might have had as to the veracity of the vision. The first being the Oil Embargo of 1971. A shot over the bow, as some might say, informing Americans that they were more vulnerable to adversarial intentions than once thought. Serving as a percursor for what was to follow, the Energy Crisis of 1979, which left a much greater impression on me. I stood in line with countless others, standing in a line that stretch for blocks, while ruminating over the fact that gas cans had already sold out, and that fist-fights and shoot-outs over gas were now a common occurrence.
In hindsight, when you stop to consider the actual reason for those interruptions, is it any wonder that ultimately something more ominous was in the offing? As we later discovered, with the Al Qaeda attack on the Twin Towers in New York City, September 11, 2001. A wake-up call that not only affected America universally (I was without cell-service for the better part of a month), but set in motion a series of events that would culminate in The Global War on Terror (GWOT); signalling the beginning of the end.
Although caught off guard by the general malaise of a post-Cold War mind-set, in the aftermath of 9/11 the government adopted an altogether different rationale for state security – surveillance of the general public. In response, renditions became commonplace, while rumors of “Black-sites” and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (GITMO), served as maximin-security prisons for “suspected terrorists,” as well as facilities for extrajudicial torture techniques – “waterboarding,” if you’ll recall. The public paranoia was palatable, even as it became realized with the emergence of “the surveillance state.”
The fact that both foreign nationals and American citizens were now seen as equally suspect only added to the growing mistrust of The Federal Government. And while the unease was understandable, it soon became visible, with the creation of The Department of Homeland Security. With the honorable Tom Ridge as its initial director, he was quick to make this point in his first public address, and I paraphrase: “While America’s attention has been focused on the ‘axis of evil’ abroad, we need not remind ourselves that the terror attack of 9/11 took place on American soil. And while ‘Islamic radicals’ remain parcel to the fact, there are other ‘bad actors’ here at home, including those within certain Native American and Christian circles that we need to keep our eye on.” Talk about smoke-signals! As if that weren’t enough, it was soon followed by a virtual tsunami of legal precedents, which formed a cage of compliance around all Americans, whose sole purpose was to restrain remonstrance from so-called resisters.
Yet, when we consider attempts at so-called reform, whether for good or for evil, an appropriate response is in order, both spiritually and practically, to balance the scales as they say. A good place to start would be at the very bottom of society, pan-Indian America, the only actor capable of responding to a desecration of the sacred. That in itself is perhaps indicative of something far more profound and altruistic than the simple self-preservation of a disenfranchised social minority. As in doing so, their efforts would not only served to acknowledge the genesis of liberty itself, but a reasonable response in order to preserve it. For that reason, the ongoing fight for freedom is not only historical in Native America, but contemporary, serving not only as a warning, but a reminder to freedom-loving people everywhere — Freedom is not free! A case which was made abundantly clear by former Aim leader, Dennis Banks, who once said: “Our past, as Indians, will give you direction for the future.”
CoupStick Chaplain 