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 the
earth. You will find such an island at the beginning and at the 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
come 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 grand-daugthers 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 almost 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 the 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 through-out the country anishinaed 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
the 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 roads,
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 the Earth's
people.
Traditional Mide people from other Nations have interpreted the two roads
that face the Light Skinned race as the road to technology and the other
to spiritualism. They feel that the road to technology represents a continuation
of Head-Long rush to technological development. This is the road that has
lead to modern society, to a damaged and seared Earth. Could it be that the
road to technology represents a rush to destruction? The road to Spirituality
represents the slower path that traditional Native People have traveled and
are now seeking again. The Earth is not scorched on this trail. The grass
is still growing there.
The prophet of the Fourth Fire spoke of a time when "two Nations will
join to make a Mighty Nation". He was speaking of the coming of the Light
Skinned race and the face of brotherhood that the Light Skinned Brother could
be wearing. It is obvious from the history of this country that this was
not the face worn by the Light Skinned race as a whole. That the Mighty Nation
spoken of in the Fourth Fire has never been formed.
If the Natural People of the Earth could just wear the face of brotherhood,
we might be able to deliver our society from the road to destruction. Could
we make the two roads that today represents two clashing world views come
together to form a mighty Nation? Could a Nation be formed that is guided
by respect for all living things? Are we the New People of the Seventh Fire?
