Native American Baha’is and indigenous peoples in general of all other Native American Tribes have been fast finding-out that the Covenant of Baha’u’llah has been violated by the “Hands” in the year 1960 when they separated themselves from the son and appointed successor of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, Charles Mason Remey Aghsan; and that Ruhiyyih Khanum and those that followed her, murdered Shoghi Effendi (the first guardian of the Baha’i faith) and all their followers have separated from the Covenant and true successorship of Baha’u’llah seated upon the throne-line of King David (of the Tribe of Judah) that is to last forever.
Like most people--who are burned by corrupt organized “religions” they leave the church organizations of man but still accept the reality of the Founders--Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, Moses, Krishna, etc. and continue to worship God in their own way--these too still accept Baha’u’llah, but due to the sting of the violation of the Baha’i Covenant they have been unable, for the most part, to re-gather under the provisions of the Covenant until recently.
This is what happened with all the American Baha’is in general during the days of ‘Abdu’l-Baha. When his half-brother Muhammad-Ali broke the Covenant the people become poisoned and perturbed and were unable to have fellowship with one another at Baha’i gatherings. After ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s journey to the U.S. in 1912 this situation was reversed as the American peoples (native, white, brown, black, yellow, red--everyone of all creeds and colors) were able to meet with ‘Abdu’l-Baha in person; and through the love of ‘Abdu’l-Baha these blossoms on the tree of life were re-grown and flourished once again. This is what has happened in the Native American world since the 9-11 in 2001 through the love, education and service of the great-grandson of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, Neal.
Lee Brown and the Salish Indian Baha’is
In the Baha’i library there is an excellent file on Hopi Prophecy called, “Traditional Native American Prophecies.” It is a beautiful testament to the Baha’i Faith. The Author of the document is Lee Brown. He is a scholar and teacher (Ph.D) of Aboriginal values and epistemolgoy as well as member of the Cherokee Nation and the Wolf Clan who spent a few years in Hopiland studying the prophecies and ways of the tribes of the Southwest. While at Four Corners in Arizona Lee had visions and realized that the Baha’i Faith was the long awaited “New Religion” for the Native peoples of the Americas as well as Baha'u'llah being the One spoken of in all world faiths and promised to come in all wisdom tradations. Since Lee Brown recognized Baha’u'llah, the administrative leadership of the "Baha’i World Faith" has used his testament for years now to introduce people to the Baha’i Faith without their knowldge and informed consent of the great Covenant-breaking takeover--"Baha'i Gate"--that occurred in 1960.
When Lee Brown came into the Faith, he was so convinced and motivated that it was the true religion of Wakan Tanka (The Great Mystery) that he was able to bring in hundreds of Coast Salish Native peoples from the tribes in British Columbia where he now works and lives. There were mass declarations. But something went wrong. You see, it is a fact that Lee Brown and his wife and the entire Coast Salish tribe of BC have torn up their membership cards and none of them attend any administartive “Baha’i” functions any more. Where is Lee Brown?
In October of ‘95, Lee Brown told his story: He said that he made a mistake signing up with the “Baha’i World Faith” and that he was sorry that he led his tribe astray. He said that the "Baha’i" Faith was “just another white man’s religion, just like the ones before it.” He said he believes in Baha’u’llah but not in the so-called "Baha’i" Faith and that he wanted “nothing to do with it.” He said that the “White Baha’is” of Vernon, BC (that is where he lives) were exclusive, cliquish, selfish, egotistical and prejudicial. That they treated the Natives as “sub-humans” and that the “white Baha’is” had built a “wall of separation that was 300 feet tall” between themselves and the natives. They hogged the jobs (wouldn’t hire Natives), looked down their noses at (like in cafes) and in general despised the Indians. Lee saw by their behavior that these people calling themselves “Baha’i” were in no way of the True Religion of God. So he and his tribe in BC left their phony “Baha’i” Faith. He is so angry at them for getting his signature in the first place and duping him. Through the Power of the Covenant these people have been set free from the Violation of the Covenant of the “Hands!”
Long-Standing Bear Chief
One day, while the “Guardian of the Land” was living in Missoula (Masauwu) Montana, the people facilitating the local Baha’i Center received a phone call from Long-Standing Bear Chief of the Blackfoot Pikuni Nation. He was very angry and wanted to redress grievance (which is his rights) against the Baha’is. The people became scared and reported this contact that day at the weekly Forum of Dr. Leland Jensen, who always sat at the right hand of Neal, the guardian of “the Land” seated upon the throne.
Dr. Jensen made a call for volunteers of people who would go up North to Browning and meet with Long-Standing Bear Chief as he requested. No one responded. Neal then said that he would go as he had always wanted to go up and visit Browning and now this was a perfect opportunity that had presented itself. Later on that same night some of the friends came up to Neal and told him, that he should change his mind, as Browning was a dangerous place and people were known to go up there and disappear. This didn’t change his mind but made him want to go up there all the more. It was finally agreed that he would go as long as he was accompanied by someone else. A native Montanan who happened to be Métis (like Louis Riel) volunteered to drive up there with him.
On the drive, Neal said that if all this goes well, should Long-Standing Bear Chief want to smoke the pipe with them, that they should not inhale the smoke but only hold it in the mouth, then say prayers in their innermost hearts and release the smoke. His companion objected that this was some sort of slur and racial stereotype. Neal dropped the conversation.
When they arrived in Browning, the town was a disaster. There were old burned out cars, unkept mud streets, poverty, worn down trailer homes, alcoholism and other terrible things. It was nothing like the Salish-Kootenai area of Montana where the Flatheads had made alliance with “the black robes” of the Jesuit priests since the days of the 1800s and was very wealthy and has a wonderful college and strong local economy.
They got out of the car and walked up to the front door and Harold Gray welcomed them in cordially but restrained. As they introduced themselves, it was quite obvious that Harold was upset and holding back something. He proceeded to tell them that some time back he had found out about Baha’u’llah and had become a Baha’i. He was also a very powerful and erudite human rights activist. He told of how he had accepted the 12 principles and had fallen in love all over again with God having found the truth of his own native tradition fulfilled in our day today. As he said this he became more and more agitated. It turned out, that he had no idea that he had joined that Covenant-breaking outfit that was only masquerading as “Baha’i.” Recently something terrible had happened and those Covenant-breakers had broken up his family and declared that his wife and children should completely shun and avoid him, and he had lost all contact with his wife and children including his son that was to succeed him in his life-traditional work. He was very upset about this.
It was at about this time as he was standing before them, and they sat upon the couch, and he was shaking and raising his voice, that Neal finally got his attention and interrupted him. He asked if he could speak and just say one thing. Harold calmed down and recomposed himself, and said yes, and then Neal told him that they were the Baha’is Under the Provisions of the Covenant, and that the whole Baha’i world had violated the Covenant and that many, many people had suffered through these similar types of breakup of his family and children and marriages. He said in fact he had seen this among the Native Americans as well, when he had met with a great-grandson of Sitting Bull previously in Mobridge, SD, and that Harold Gray was not alone in this calamity.
Harold was perplexed. He said that he did not know that Neal was not with that Covenant-breaking group when he called the Baha’i Center in Missoula. He said he was still so upset that he did not know what to do with himself. He said that he understand that the guardian also had been exiled and persecuted by these same nefarious peoples. But he said that he just had so much pain and turmoil inside of him over this that he just had to let it out and that he had already planned to do so this day. The Guardian said to him, “I understanding fully. Please go ahead and continue. We will sit here with you and listen to you no matter what you have to do until you have decided that you are done.” He then opened up, and the mightiest and heaviest torrent denouncing injustice and corruption that you couldn’t possibly imagine came pouring out of him covering 400 to 500 years of oppression since 1620 AD (Plymouth Rock) and 1492 (since Columbus) until the present time, mixed in with broken tragedy and weeping over his lost family, and strong valiant statements of the promises of God for justice and freedom for all and what was to occur at the time the “Napi” appeared. He paced back and forth in his oration making this stand and statement, and then “ahou” he was done.
He then reached inside his pocket and pulled out a medium sized stone polished object. He said that this was the sacred pipe that he held as keeper of his tribe. He then told the guardian that his native name was Long-Standing Bear Chief and that this was the ancient pipe of his ancestors that had been passed down through countless generations that he himself had recieved from his father before him and as his father had recieved it. He said that they would someday smoke this together but because of the terrible reasons for meeting on that day it would have to wait for another time that God would so permit. The Guardian turned to his companion and said, "I do not stereotype, and I am not racial. I know what I know and I see what I see.”
Today, the “river has turned to blood” (Rev. 16:4-7) that runs through “Four Corners” (Is. 11:12 KJV) and Hopiland. The signs of God are fulfilled and the time for all the people to awake has arrived.
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