And Tecumseh Spoke – ‘Hurling out his Words like a Succession of Thunderbolts’

Tecumseh travelled throughout the land sharing his message of solidarity and unity. His tour took him to many towns all throughout the Indian country. The delivery of his message impressed all who listened.

US Army Brigadier General Samuel Dale Monument

The ‘Daniel Boone of Alabama’, General Samuel Dale, who had fought the Indians, provides an eyewitness account. “At length Tecumseh spoke, at first slowly and in sonorous tones; but soon he grew impassioned, and the words fell in avalanches from his lips. His eyes burned with supernatural lustre, and his whole frame trembled with emotion: his voice resounded over the multitude—now sinking in low and musical whispers, now rising to its highest key, hurling out his words like a succession of thunderbolts. I have heard many great orators but I have never seen one with the vocal powers of Tecumseh!” US Army Brigadier General Samuel Dale

The US Governor of the Indiana territory William Henry Harrison was a dedicated American expansionist. The name Indiana means “Land of the Indians” yet Harrison was committed to the ethnic cleansing of the Indian people for whom the land was named. Harrison was eager to expand the territory, as his political fortunes were tied to Indiana’s rise to statehood. In 1803 President Thomas Jefferson granted Harrison authority to negotiate and conclude treaties with the Native American tribes in the territory. Harrison oversaw the creation of thirteen treaties, purchasing more than 60,000,000 acres of land from Native American leaders, including most present day southern Indiana.

Through his scheming efforts millions of acres of American Indian land was being stolen and sold to white American families. His first goal was to populate Indiana with ‘civilized’ people in order to reach the threshold of 60,000, the required number for a territory to be recognized as a US State. Whites began brutally massacring Indians in a random manner. Harrison for his part in one instance sent his own Doctor to treat several Indian victims, not out of compassion but, as he explained, because, “Such instances exasperate the Indians and will prevent them from delivering members of their tribe who have broken our laws.”

Such a jaundiced and prejudiced mentality was the order of the day.Cheeseekau, the mentor and elder brother of Tecumseh said it perfectly, “When a white army battles Indians and wins, it is called a great victory, but if they lose it is called a massacre. The white man seeks to conquer nature, to bend it to its will and to use it wastefully until it is all gone and then he simply moves on, leaving the waste behind him and looking for new places to take.” In such a setting Whites escaped punishment for their crimes against the Natives while Indians were frequently hunted down and executed for any crimes committed against the Whites. Gov. Harrison refused to apply the law equally to all but rather continually demanded the extradition of Natives at will. This led to a further breakdown in the relationship between Tecumseh and Harrison.

There was thus great tension on the frontier and it neared the breaking the point after the contentious and disputed 1809 Treaty of Fort Wayne. In this treaty Harrison purchased more than 250,000,000 acres of American Indian land in current central Indiana and eastern Illinois. In 1810 Tecumseh decided to try one last effort in convincing Harrison of the illegality and injustice of these treaties and he personally journeyed to Harrison’s stronghold of Vincennes.Tecumseh, with about 400 armed warriors, confronted Harrison and demanded that the Treaty of Fort Wayne be rescinded.

***When invited to sit in a chair by General Harrison, Tecumseh replied,’Weshemoneto (God) is my father, the Earth is my mother and I will rest upon her bossom.’***

As Tecumseh arrived he was invited to a seat of honor near ‘his father’ Harrison. Rather than being honored Tecumseh stood up tall, pointed to the sky and replied, “Gen. Harrison is not my father. The Great Spirit (God) is my father.” Pointing to the Earth he said,”And the Earth is my mother and I will repose upon her bosom.” So saying Tecumseh sat cross-legged upon the ground. Harrison and his staff were thus forced to join him upon the ground.

Tecumseh boldly confronted Harrison challenging him to be honorable and just and with great sincerity, conviction, eloquence and energy Tecumseh tried to reason with Harrison. “Brother, I wish you to give me close attention, because I think you do not clearly understand. I want to speak to you about promises that the Americans have made. You recall the time when the Jesus Indians of the Delawares (Christian converted natives) lived near the Americans, and had confidence in their promises of friendship, and thought they were secure, yet the Americans murdered all the men, women, and children, even as they prayed to Jesus? Brother, I mean to bring all the tribes together, in spite of you, and until I have finished, I will not go to visit your President (in Washington DC).

Tecumseh Rescue American Prisoners from Massacre

Maybe I will when I have finished, maybe…But you do not want unity among the tribes, and you destroy it. You try to make differences between them. We, their leaders, wish them to unite and consider their land the common property of all, but you try to keep them from this. You separate the tribes and deal with them that way, one by one, and advise them not to come into this union. Your states have set an example of forming a union among all the Fires (States), why should you censure the Indians for following that example?

The only way to stop this evil is for all the Red Men to unite in claiming an equal right in the land. That is how it was at first, and should be still, for the land never was divided, but was for the use of everyone. Any tribe could go to an empty land and make a home there. And if they left, another tribe could come there and make a home. No groups among us have a right to sell, even to one another, and surely not to outsiders who want all, and will not do with less.

Sell a country! Why not sell the air, the clouds, and the Great Sea, as well as the Earth? Did not the Great Good Spirit make them all for the use of his children?
The being within me hears the voice of the ages, which tells me that once, always, and until lately, there were no white men on all this island, that it then belonged to the Red Men, children of the same parents, placed on it by the Great Good Spirit who made them.

And that I might make the destiny of my Red People of our Nation, as great as I conceive it could be in my mind, when I think of Weshemoneto (God), who rules this universe! I would not then have to come to Governor Harrison and ask him to tear up this treaty and wipe away the marks upon the land. No! I would say to him, “Sir, you may return to your own country!”

When Jesus Christ came upon the earth, you killed him, the son of your own God, you nailed him up! You thought he was dead, but you were mistaken. And only after you thought you killed him did you worship him, and start killing those who would not worship him. What kind of a people is this for us to trust? Tecumseh

Now, Brother, everything I have said to you is the truth, as Weshemoneto (God) has inspired me to speak only truth to you. I have declared myself freely to you about my intentions. And I want to know your intentions. I want to know what you are going to do about the taking of our land. I want to hear you say that you understand now, and will wipe out that pretended treaty, so that the tribes can be at peace with each other, as you pretend you want them to be.Tell me, brother. I want to know now!” Later observers would recall the impression Tecumseh made.

After witnessing a three hour speech by Tecumseh W.S. Hatch wrote, “The effect of his bitter burning words of eloquence was so great upon his companions that whole the 300 of them could hardly refrain from springing from their seats. Their eyes flashed, and even the most aged, many of whom were smoking, evinced the greatest excitement. The orator appeared in all the power of a fiery and impassioned speaker and actor.”

**The First meeting between US general William Henry Harrison and Tecumseh**

General Harrison, himself who had long envisioned Tecumseh’s younger brother Tenskwatawa as his primary rival for the hearts and minds of the Indians, now realized that Tecumseh was the true genius behind the resistance. “This brother is really the efficient man – the Moses of the family. He is described by all as a bold, active sensible man daring in the extreme and capable of any undertaking.”

Though impressed by Tecumseh’s words Harrison refused to compromise. He ridiculed Tecumseh’s dream of a unified Indian peoples by saying that if God had wanted them to unite he would not have divided them by language and custom. Harrison then insulted Tecumseh by denying that he had any right to speak for anyone other than his own small band of Shawnee. This enraged Tecumseh and cutting off Harrison in mid-sentence he rose to his feet brandishing his tomahawk axe. Having no guns on hand his warriors all jumped up as well brandishing their native weapons. Tecumseh accused Harrison of lying and as the tension rose Harrison pulled out his sword as the Guard was called to defend the General.For his part General Harrison sternly announced an end to the meeting.

During the night tension reigned as both parties prepared for battle. However Tecumseh regretted his outburst and by the next day emotions had mellowed and the talks began again. Despite the effort at amity nothing was resolved. Rejecting all of Harrison’s points Tecumseh made it plain and simple. The Indians are not interested in annuities or treaties. All they needed and wanted was their land and the freedom to practice their religion and customs as they had for countless millennia.

***Future US President Harrison meets Tecumseh***

The two antagonists Tecumseh and Harrison actually met twice for extended meetings. The first meeting took place in August 1810 and the second meeting was held in July 1811. At the second meeting, honest to a fault, Tecumseh informed Harrison of his planned tour of the Southern Tribes living in the region of the modern south-east United States. Harrison was soon to take advantage of his absence. Assuming that he had gained some time by stalling General Harrison, Tecumseh then departed upon his legendary 6 month journey across America. It was his conviction that until the Indian people cease their hostility towards one another and unite in common cause, only then would he be rewarded with success in this sacred mission. Thus in July 1811 Tecumseh began his journey south.

1811 the Year of Decision
The year 1811 was one of those crucial moments in history when the destiny of humanity itself hangs in the balance. It was a fork in the road, a choice and a final chance was given to choose justice and righteousness over greed, cruelty and mayhem. Tecumseh, sent by the ‘Maker of Life’ (God) urged the Indian people to unite in a solid alliance and in so doing create a virtual “Great Wall of America”. Tecumseh himself referred to it as ‘a dam to resist the mighty waters flooding over Indian lands.’ Rather than bricks and mortar this dam was to be made of the spirit, willpower and manpower of the combined native population of the entire continent. He had the vision but it was up to the Indian people to make it a reality.

Many strange omens and portents began appearing. Natural disturbances occurred unsettling both the White settlers and the Indians. Torrential rains flooded the land forcing one and all to seek shelter in the hills. Squirrels, who do not roam in packs, suddenly joined together in packs of ‘tens of thousands’ rushing madly from the north, through the forests and dashing into the Ohio River only to helplessly drowned. An ‘unprecedented sickness’ swept the region emptying towns.

Tecumseh’s Comet
Then in March 1811 a massive comet appeared in the skies. In North America it was soon to be called ‘Tecumseh’s Comet. The comet, with an orbit of 3,065 years, was last seen during the time of Ramses II of Egypt. Its head was a million miles across and its tail was 132 million miles long. At first it was not visible in America. Then in September it suddenly became visible. Coinciding with Tecumseh’s arrival in the South the comet lit up the night, travelling like Tecumseh, from west to east.

Everywhere he went the comet seemed to follow Tecumseh announcing his arrival. The forests and fields were ‘lit up in a dull twilight’ as the awesome phenomenon inspired awe and consternation, not just in America, but across the world. Many assumed the end of the world was nigh. Panicked descriptions and warnings filled the conversations and press around the world.

The comet reached its brightest on October 15th, 1811. For many Natives the comet was a sign from the Creator and served to inspire confidence in the authenticity of Tecumseh’s message. Everywhere Tecumseh went that awesome comet, brilliant and searing across the night skies, reminded one and all that the Great Celestial Panther himself was indeed among them.

Tecumseh’s people, the Shawnee, identified meteors and comets as a ‘Celestial Panther Flying Across the Sky’. At his birth a meteor burst through the skies and thus Tecumseh was named after this phenomenon. Surely it was no mere coincidence that this great comet appeared along with he whose very name, Tecumseh, means meteor or comet and he whose birth was marked by this very same ‘Panther Across the Sky’. Indeed Tecumseh was a Divine Messenger sent by God. He represented the last chance for the Red People to unite and thus save themselves and their civilization as they hovered on the brink of extinction.

Tecumseh, handsome, dynamic and bold was already quite an impressive figure. Now silhouetted by the great comet for which he was named at birth, decorated with body paint and a red headband, 2 crane feathers in his hair- one white for peace the other red in preparation for war, silver armbands and 3 silver rings hanging from the center of his nose, Tecumseh appeared magnificent and inspiring.

Tecumseh’s Call for Indian Unity
Tecumseh had instructed his warriors to carry only Indian weapons and to wear only native dress to show that they relied solely upon the Indian ways. While Tecumseh was dressed in a simple fashion his group of 30 or so followers dressed in a ‘fantastic fashion’ with eagle and hawk feathers in their hair and buffalo tails jutting from the back of their belts as other tails and hawk feathers protruded from their arms.Their bodies were painted black, red semi-circles and slashes were beneath their eyes and across their cheekbones, They had red circles on their foreheads and red jagged lightning bolts streaked down their arms and legs. Their heads were shaven except for three braided scalp-locks that hung down their backs. The entire composition was accentuated by a large red circle upon their chests.

Just as in in Hindu and Polynesian ceremonies a sacred conchshell was blown announcing the beginning of the ceremony and then Tecumseh was formally introduced to the audience.

We get a sample of this introduction from his visit to the Creek Indians of Tukabatchee, Alabama. The Creek Chief Big Warrior announced Tecumseh. “From somewhere in the outer darkness, where the Spirits (gods) live beyond the moon, a comet torch is racing towards us – a thing of wonder, a sword of fire! To those of us whose hearts are downcast, whose breath is a stabbing pain, it puts into our hands a tool, a weapon, it gives us hope for our salvation. It gives us hope to avenge the wrongs against us. Tecumseh, springing like a panther, whose eyes are coal of deadly fire, gives hope to all who listen. Look now! Tecumseh Comes!

In a three-part dance series Tecumseh and his troupe performed new dances including the “Dance of the Lakes” which soon became a favorite for the Indians of the Alabama region. As they danced they placed themselves at the center of the square and then Tecumseh announced loudly, “ Just see the fiery arm of Weshemanitou (God) flying across the sky! And remember that I am Tecumseh – the Shooting Star. Behold the Shooting Star of Weshemanitou!” This was followed by the loud whooping of his followers. A ceremonial pipe was lit and passed around the gathering. Then as the audience was in a state of great excitement and their attention fully gathered Tecumseh began to speak with intensity and power. His was the voice of a brilliant mind and his words stirred the imagination of all who saw him. His countenance brightened and his erect body swelled with emotion as his personality enthralled his audience.

Words like a Succession of Thunderbolts
Brothers — My people wish for peace; the red men all wish for peace; but where the white people are, there is no peace for them, except it be on the bosom of our mother. Where today are the Pequot? Where are the Narragansett, the Mohican, the Pokanoket, and many other once powerful tribes of our people? They have vanished before the avarice and the oppression of the White Man, as snow before a summer sun. Will we let ourselves be destroyed in our turn without a struggle, give up our homes, our country bequeathed to us by the Great Spirit, the graves of our dead and everything that is dear to us? I know you will cry with me, Never! NEVER!.

*Tecumseh from engraving 1861 (Library of Congress)*

Brothers – The annihilation of our race is at hand! This is assured unless we unite in one common cause against our common foe. Think not, brave Choctaws and Chickasaws, that you can remain passive and indifferent to the common danger, and thus escape the common fate. Your people, too, will soon be as falling leaves and scattering clouds before their blighting breath. You, too, will be driven away from your native land and ancient domains as leaves are driven before the wintry storms.

Sleep no longer, O Choctaws and Chickasaws, in false security and delusive hopes. Our broad domains are fast escaping from our grasp. Every year our white intruders become more greedy, exacting, oppressive and overbearing. Every year contentions spring up between them and our people and when blood is shed we have to make atonement whether right or wrong, at the cost of the lives of our greatest chiefs, and the yielding up of large tracts of our lands.

Brothers, The white people send runners amongst us; they wish to make us enemies, that they may sweep over and desolate our hunting grounds, like devastating winds, or rushing waters. If there be one here tonight who believes that his rights will not sooner or later be taken from him by the avaricious American pale faces, his ignorance ought to excite pity, for he knows little of our common foe…

Now listen to the voice of duty, of honor, of nature and of your endangered country. Let us form one body, one heart, and defend to the last warrior our country, our homes, our liberty, and the graves of our fathers.
Brothers, we must be united; we must smoke the same pipe; we must fight each other’s battles; and, most importantly, we must love the Great Spirit (God): he is for us; he will destroy our enemies, and make all his red children happy.

Tecumseh travelled throughout the land sharing his message of solidarity and unity. His tour took him through many towns throughout the Indian country. The delivery of his message impressed all who listened.

The ‘Daniel Boone of Alabama’, General Samuel Dale, who had fought the Indians, provides an eyewitness account. “At length Tecumseh spoke, at first slowly and in sonorous tones; but soon he grew impassioned, and the words fell in avalanches from his lips. His eyes burned with supernatural lustre, and his whole frame trembled with emotion: his voice resounded over the multitude—now sinking in low and musical whispers, now rising to its highest key, hurling out his words like a succession of thunderbolts. I have heard many great orators but I have never seen one with the vocal powers of Tecumseh or the same command of the muscles in his face.” US Brigadier General Samuel Dale

The Enemy Within
Despite his eloquence the jealousy and fear of many Indian Chiefs and Elders rose up to oppose him. Everywhere Tecumseh went he was followed by a Choctaw Chief named Pushmataha. He had been bribed by the Americans to follow Tecumseh from town to town to discredit and deflate the impression he made. He would follow Tecumseh’s speech with a speech of his own ridiculing Tecumseh’s words and spreading American propaganda throughout the tribes. He rejected the offers of alliance and reconquest proffered by Tecumseh and instead Pushmataha and his tribe sided with the Americans during the War of 1812.

He even went so far as to warn Tecumseh directly that he would fight against anyone who fought against the United States. A Cherokee Chief named Nunnehidihi (The Ridge) reportedly threatened Tecumseh with death if he tried to spread his message to the Cherokees. However in fulfillment of Tecumseh’s prophetic warnings every Indian tribe, be they friend or foe were soon forced off their lands and driven across the Mississippi River.

Despite their vocal and strident support for the Americans both Pushmataha and Nunnehidihi, like some of Tecumseh’s own Shawnee that also supported the US, were later forcibly removed and betrayed by the US Government’s Indian Removal Act. Nunnehidihi along with his son were eventually assassinated by their fellow Cherokees for signing the Treaty of Removal leading to the loss of nearly all the Cherokee homelands.

Chief Yonaguska and the White Cherokee
In the end only one small group of Cherokee Indians were allowed to remain in their original homelands. This group of Cherokee of the Qualla Township, inspired by a follower of Tecumseh named Tsali (who was martyred) and guided by their chief Yonaguska represent a rare example of native survival. Chief Yonaguska was a remarkable man who like Tecumseh’s brother Tenskwatawa had a vision after nearly dying. Like Tenskwatawa he had spent years drinking alcohol and recognized its debilitating impact upon his people.

“When he was 60 years old and critically ill, Yonaguska fell into a trance. Certain that the end had come, his people gathered around him at the Soco Council House and mourned him for dead. In approximately 24 hours, however, Yonaguska awakened. When the chief addressed his people, he relayed a message from the spirit world: “The Cherokee must never again drink whiskey. Whiskey must be banished.” He then had Will Thomas write out a pledge: “The undersigned Cherokees, belonging to the town of Qualla,” it read, “agree to abandon the use of spirituous liquors.” Yonaguska then signed it, followed by the entire council and town. Preserved among Thomas’ papers, the pledge is now in the archives of the Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University. From the signing of the pledge until his death in 1839 at the age of 80, whiskey was almost unknown among the Cherokees.” Kephart, Horace (1936). The Cherokees of the Smoky Mountains

When Christian missionaries came among his people to preach the Bible he insisted that it first be read to him before allowing it to be circulated among his people. After hearing the words of the Bible Chief Yonaguska responded,” Well, it seems a good book – strange that the white people are no better, after having had it for so long.”
In a move that assured the future of his people Chief Yonaguska adopted an orphaned white 14 year old boy named William Holland Thomas. The boy learnt the Cherokee customs as well as how to write in Cherokee. He also learned their legends, history, and culture. Furthermore, at the age of 16, Will opened his first business (a general store) and perfected his organizational, leadership, and managerial skills. With a volume of law books, Thomas also became a self-taught and persuasive lawyer and acquired knowledge that would prove critical to the Cherokees’ survival.

William Holland Thomas was later elected as a State Senator and through his business and political acumen he was able to protect his adopted people. Thus the Cherokee of Qualla, North Carolina successfully resisted the US Govt’s Indian Removal Act. Through the use of his own funds William H. Thomas purchased the land demanded from the Indians and then left it in the care of the Cherokee people. As a white man, Thomas could legally hold a deed to the lands and allow the Cherokee to live on them. Thus to this day the Eastern Band of the Cherokee people remain in their original ancestral homelands.

“This stone placed at the Great Council Tree marks the site of Tukabahchi 1686-1836 Capital of the Upper Creek Indian Nation. Here were born Efau Haujo, great medal chief, and Opothleyaholo, Creek leaders. Big Warrior resided nearby. **Here came Tecumseh in 1811** to arouse the natives against the white settlers and was successfully opposed by Col. Benjamin Hawkins, principal agent for Indian Affairs south of the Ohio River. Here in 1823 Lee Compere established a Baptist mission school.” Placed May 13, 1929 by the Alabama Anthropological Society

2011 US Guv Honors Tecumseh’s Visit
Though his travels occurred over 200 years ago its impact is felt to this very day. On September 27, 2011 the Governor of the US State of Alabama issued a proclamation in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of Tecumseh’s visit to Tukabatchee, Alabama.

‘WHEREAS In the fall of 1811, Tecumseh of Creek and Shawnee ancestry came here to his mother’s town to persuade the Nation’s warriors to adopt his ideas of rejection of the presence of American intruders and return to traditional ways;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Robert Bentley, Governor of Alabama, do hereby do proclaim the October 1, 2011 “Tecumseh at Tukabatchee Bicentennial Day” in Alabama and extend honorable and warm greetings and hospitality to the Creek Nation of Oklahoma.”

On this bend of the Tallapoosa River, stretching out before you, lay one of the ancient towns of the Muscogee Creek People, called Tukabatchee. Tukabatchee is one of the original four mother towns of the old Creek Confederacy. Tukabatchee served as one of the Creek Confederacy capitals in the Upper Creek region on the Tallapoosa River. In the fall of 1811, Tecumseh of Creek and Shawnee ancestry came here to his mother’s town to persuade the Nation’s warriors to adopt his ideas of rejection of the presence of American intruders and return to traditional ways. Tecumseh’s visit to Tukabatchee represents the beginning of a series of events that resulted in the Creek War. Tecumseh addressed the nation gathered here and gave his war speech where he persuaded some Upper Creek warriors to take the war walk against the intruders. The Creek Confederacy was not totally unified in this nativistic movement which led to the Creeks fighting each other causing the Creek Civil War of 1813-1814.”
— Alabama Historical Association – 2011

***American Indian Swastika and Names of Dances***

Alabama 2011 Tecumseh' Visit Bicentennial Proclamation American Expansionism American Indian Unity Balarama Chief Tsali Chief Yonguska Choctaw Creek Nation E.Band Cherokee General Henry Harrison Great Comet of 1811 Great Orators of History Indigenous Struggle Muscogee Pushmataha Shawnee Shukra SKR Solar Tecumseh Tukabatchie Alabama United Indian States of America White Feathered Messenger White Plume William Holland Thomas Yahu Bal

And Tecumseh Spoke – ‘Hurling out his Words like a Succession of Thunderbolts’ Magazine Version

Source: Primal Revelation at the Heart of Civilization

Tecumseh Speaks to the Indians of Alabama

Assam Atul Jog BJP Call to Ban Brannon Parker's Books Digvijay Singh Dimapur Dr Yvette Rosser Indian Nationalists Indian Rajya Sabha Indigenous Cultures Nagaland NE India Politics of Historiography Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangha RSS Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram VKA Yezidis

Prof Rosser re: Demand in Indian Parliament to Ban Parker’s Books

The Politics of Historiography – by Yvette Claire Rosser PhD

Yvette Claire Rosser, PhD – Curriculum & Instruction, University of Texas, Austin “Curricula as Destiny: Forging National Identities in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh” comparison of Social Studies textbooks in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh Publications: Indoctrinating Minds, Politics of Education in Bangladesh, RUPA, New Delhi, 2004; Islamization of Pakistani Social Studies Textbooks, RUPA, New Delhi, 2003

***Brannon Parker, Prof Rosser with Assamese Tribals Dec 2002***

I am a scholar who investigates influences that impact the writing and rewriting of history in India. I am passionate about this topic, which I call the ‘Politicization of Historiography’, though there are other factors besides politics, such as social and cultural influences that can determine historical trajectories as well as socio-political theoretical constructs that can predetermine historiographical analyses. I am intrigued by this methodology of scholarly investigations.

I find it of great interest when politicians talk derisively about historians, or when government officials publically call a book into question. For me, personally and professionally, this is a never-ending source of academic entertainment – History in the Headlines.

***Nagaland Post Article on Brannon Parker and Yvette Rosser’s Lecture Tour of Nagaland***

Readable Version Dec 18, 2002 Nagaland Post
For the record Brannon Parker made a clear contrast between true Christianity, Lord Jesus Christ vs predatory weaponized religion. Re: Parker’s claim that Christianity is being used to stir up violent anti-national insurgency movements; the **National Socialist Council of Nagaland** **continue their decades long war against both India and Myanmar. Their motto ‘****Nagaland for Christ’** **proves Parker’s point that some Christian Evangelicals are using religion as a weapon against India’s national unity**

Because of my fascination with the politics of historiography in the Indian Subcontinent, I took note when in August 2014, on the floor of the Rajya Sabha, while participating in a “Parliamentary debate”, Member of Parliament, Digvijay Singh criticized several little-known history-type books. His comments were reported widely in the media. The Economic Times titled their article, “Digvijay Singh Attacks Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in Rajya Sabha“. India Today says: “RSS ideology damaging India’s peace, says Digvijaya Singh”.

Slanted Indian Media portrays Indigenous Activism as terrorism and fascism. Using that same measure, every Great American Indian leader from Tupac Amaru, Chief Pontiac, Tecumseh, Crazy horse, Geronimo, and Sitting Bull would all be labeled as terrorists and fascists.

The newspapers quoted Singh verbatim, taking his word for it, that the books he referred to “were spreading communal ideology”. Usually journalists, to feign objectivity, write that the books or authors in question were ‘accused of’, or ‘suspected of’ spreading communalism, or Fascism, or Marxism, or whatever ideology is being criticized. Here the journalists just unquestioningly mouthed the politician’s proclamations.

Though Parker’s books are available on Amazon.com, it is obvious that the authors of the newspaper articles did not take the time to read the books that Digvijay Singh critiqued in the Rajya Sabha. Oddly, on the floor of Parliament, for some reason, Singh admitted his lack of Internet savvy. It may have been politically expedient, that perhaps, prior to his rant, he needed to have asked his thirty-something aide (if he is lucky to have one) to use his or her cyber-savvy skills to do an Internet search for Brannon Parker and the India Foundation.

***Indian Version of Brannon Parker’s Book***

The newspaper articles noted that Digvijay Singh worried very vocally and at length about not being able to locate “The name of the publisher…” He claimed, as if it were a conspiracy, that the source of the controversial book was unknown, “We went to the address of the publisher, but the publisher was not found. On internet (sic) there is no information about India Foundation.”

He noted, conspiratorially, that the “foreword of these books is written by Cabinet Minister (As of 3/2021 h India’s Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitaraman.”) Singh “demanded ban on these books and an enquiry into the issue.” However, at the time of the publication of Parker’s books, Ms. Sitaraman was involved with a school in Hyderabad and not an official of the BJP. Nonetheless, conspiracies are so much fun! (2014 article)

***Dr Yvette Rosser far left with yellow shawl Brannon with arms raised with Assamese Tribals***

When I searched the Internet for the India Foundation, I got over half a dozen hits. Such as IndiaFoundation.org and TheIndiaFoundation, and other versions for IndiaFoundation dot com or net, promoting various causes, such as feeding the poor or supporting the arts, mostly sponsored by NRI philanthropists. Among the various URLs, was the organization in question, Indiafoundation.in, [no .com]. It wasn’t the top hit, but it came up, with announcements of projects and publications and a video of a scholarly conference. A rudimentary search also turned up a lot of information about the mysterious author, Michael Brannon Parker, condemned by Singh, denounced in Parliament for writing books, “There are books like ‘Harvest of Hate’ and ‘Kandhamal in Crossfire’ authored by Michael Parker and another book ‘Orissa in Crossfire’ by Brannon Parker.”

Digvijay Singh was miffed because “there is no information about the publisher neither on the book nor on the internet.” Seemingly he hadn’t figured out that Michael Parker was the same person as Brannon Parker, though that information is online for anyone to see. I Googled Michael Brannon Parker, and through the convenience of the Internet, I discovered another book he had written in 2012, ‘The Serpent, the Eagle, the Lion and the Disk’. That’s when I realized that Brannon is Vrindaban, and I actually know him! He is Vrin Parker, whom I met when he was a young man 17 years ago! Vrin Parker! I was so excited! I’ve never personally known anyone mentioned by name, much less condemned in the Indian State House of Parliament!

***Former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh State, Member of Parliament Digvijay Singh, General Secretary of the*** ***Indian National Congress*** ***called for a Ban on Parker’s Books***

I’ve not been in touch with Vrindavan for years, but after he was shouted down in New Delhi by a Member of Parliament, I found him on Facebook. I wasn’t surprised that he was taking up a voice for Hindus when he thinks that they are being discriminated against. Years ago I used to call him “Super Boy” because he was always rescuing the downtrodden. He was born and raised a Vaishnava and always felt it was his duty or dharma to defend faith. When I contacted him, last August, he was focused on the Yezidi crisis in Iraq.

Vrin (aka Brannon) was very busy working with Yezidi refugees whose relatives were trapped on a mountaintop in Iraq by Islamic radicals. Brannon Parker was working with Yezidi people to create the Yezidi Sanatana Dharma Society (YSDS). He was working with over a dozen Yezidis, founders of the American chapter of Yezidi Human Right Organization, who “are also members of the Ancient Order of Peacock Angel and … affiliated with the Yezidi National Union…..” The Yezidis explained, in an interview distributed by Vrin Parker, that their religion is a “mix of Vedic and Zoroastrian belief systems dating to 6000 years ago”.

The organization, promoted by Brannon Parker, the “Yezidi Sanatana Dharma Society”, of which he was founding member, was “seeking help from the Indian and Hindu community” to help rescue their old brethren, lost for centuries, now trapped on a mountaintop. This was the Super-Boy-Hindu-Activist I remembered from the nineties! [Note: Vrin’s efforts for the Yezidis is paying off.]

Throughout his life, Vrin would always hold high the little known lost tribes of Hindus, such as an article he wrote recently for Hinduism Today, which, according to their website, was a “rare look at the Balamon Cham, one of only two surviving non-Indic indigenous Hindu peoples in the world, with a culture dating back thousands of years… The Cham … endured in central Vietnam from the 7th century well into the 19th. Yet they are 60,000 strong, and they have kept their traditions alive for centuries, far from India’s shores.” See: Vietnam’s Champa Kingdom Marches On (written by Brannon Parker)

***Guwahati, Assam Sentinal newspaper features several Western Vedic Scholars. Parker and Rosser on right with American Indian activist Youngwolf, Scholar David Frawley and Author Stephen Knapp***

I asked him about his controversial Orissa books. Vrin explained that when violence erupted in Orissa’s Kandhamal district the mainstream media was more like anti-Hindu propaganda than journalism. Accounts about the Kandhamal crisis described it as “yet another case of Hindu extremist anti-Christian violence”. Vrin went to Orissa to research the crisis.

Interestingly, the next year, the US State Dept’s 2009 Report on International Religious Freedom, agreed with Vrin’s assessment, writing that, “…the underlying causes that led to the violence have complex ethnic, economic, religious, and political roots related to land ownership and government reserved employment and educational benefits.”

***Last Paragraph: US State Dept agrees with Brannon Parker’s conclusions, after receiving a copy feom Ram Madhav, former National General Secretary of the ruling BJP.***

Renaissance Man Swami Lakshmananda of Kandhamal single-handedly uplifted the socio-economic conditions in the region. However he was publicly machine gunned to death by foreign backed Maoist Terrorists at 82 years old on Janmashtami, Krishna’s birthday. The killing destabilized the region causing mass ethnic conflict between the local Christians and Hindus. Due to the Swami’s efforts, Kandhamal ceased to be a primary recruiting zone for Maoist Terror groups. He was thus targeted for assassination

Brannon describes the struggles and triumphs of the local peoples in laudatory terms. In his books, now made famous by Digvijay Singh, Parker said he sought to highlight the “history of the indigenous people of the region. Long labeled as ‘a cruel human sacrificing tribe of ruthless savages’ it is time the truth be revealed.” Vrin feels strongly that “It is time for the world to learn about Kandha, the ‘God of Light’ and their Culture of Life.” Vrindaban Parker, directed me to a copy of his book about the crisis in Orissa, from which I have extracted quotes.

The Original Americans Forgotten and Dspossessed of their Sacred Lands

Parker begins with quite a sensational, pan-civilizational, genocidal warning, “A social chaos, similar to that experienced by American tribes threatened the cultural stability of the entire region.” He dwells at length on the background of the peoples who inhabit the area, writing, “It is important to understand the history of Kandhamal to get a perspective. Kandhamal has two distinct inhabitants — the tribal Kandhas and the Schedule Caste Panas. Their relations have a history of turbulence.”

A product of U.S. Army-sanctioned mass slaughter of American bison in the 1800s. The slaughter was so “effective” that the population of bison in the U.S. is estimated to have dropped from around 60 million in 1800 to as few as 750 in 1890. Thus negating the US-Sioux treaty Bison hunting clause that allowed the Indians to keep their Land as long as the ‘Bison Roam’. Loss of Buffalo also destroyed Native self sufficient lifestyles

Parker’s investigations in Orissa revealed that, “The problem arises, when Christian Panas are unwilling to forgo the benefits of being members of Scheduled Castes. Not only have the Christian Panas obscured their religious identities as Christians, they have submitted fake certificates identifying themselves as members of the Kandha tribal community.”

He explained that such certificates were used to “usurp land, government and academic opportunities reserved for the Kandhas.” It is obvious that “alienation of tribal land is the foundation of the Kandha-Pana turmoil.”

Parker’s soon-to-be-banned book continues, “Kandhas were blatantly disinherited from their lands for generations. Another major complication related to the land issue is that posed by Christians’ use of encroached lands to build churches.” Parker explains, “The Kandhas are understandably in an uproar over the loss of opportunity. A system that was designed to alleviate their poverty and social stagnation has been hijacked and their woes compounded.” Understandably, as Parker recounted examples of the causes of the turmoil in Kandhamal, he worriedly opined, “The dire consequences of a trauma denied and unresolved are always sudden and explosive.”

***Odisha, India’s Kandha Tribal Dhap Dancers***

Click image for Audio and Images of Brannon's Investigative Interviews — Watch Here

Regardless, even though Digvijay Singh wants Vrindaban’s books banned, a judicial commission headed by Justice Sarat Chandra Mohapatra, reported in 2009 that the same “socio-economic problems”, reported by Brannon Parker, were the “prime provocation for Kandhamal violence.”

The Justice SC Mohapatra report explained that, “The violence in Kandhamal was the result of concentrated discontentment prevailing among the people since long. They relate to conversion, re-conversion; land-grabbing and non-maintenance of land records; and fake certificate issues.”

***Brannon Parker offering Respect to the Kandha Earth Goddess***

Parker lamented that many public officials in India are clueless about the causes of the turmoil in Orissa. That “Kandhamal’s real problems are being disregarded and there is a deliberate miscalculation in handling the issue.” But Digvijay Singh is a man of his word, and will undoubtedly continue to believe that along with his favorite Taliban-type Maha-nemesis, the evil terrorist-producing entity, notorious Hitler-loving service organization, the RSS, Brannon Parker will forever be branded an enemy combatant whose works of history must be banned.

**Hundi/Bursung, Earth Goddess of the Bonda tribe**

Digvijay Singh will remain committed to his convictions and will inevitably continue to believe, and proclaim, for the rest of his term, that the things he said about Brannon Parker at the Rajya Sabha in August, 2014, are true, and Vrin’s books are dangerous. No matter what details and facts Digvijay finds out in September or October and beyond…. he will remain true to his perspectives, spoken in August, whether they hold water or not… so committed is he to his proclamations.

India’s Leading Conspiracy Theorist, Digvijay Singh welcomes Italy’s Sonia Gandhi as Leader of India. Ironically as the West is coming to terms with its ‘white privilege,’ Diggy Singh leads the charge in empowering a white woman to rule over a nation of over a billion ‘people of color’.

After all, Singh continues to maintain that the Batla House encounter was a staged event and police conspiracy, and supposedly that the much-decorated police officer, Mohan Chand Sharma, was responsible for his own murder. No matter if the Delhi High Court and National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) found “no conspiracy or violation of human rights by the Delhi police or any violations of human rights in the altercation with suspected terrorists”. Digvijay Singh got this one wrong too, though he maintained his erroneous stance, long after it was proven to have been in error.

Wikipedia has a long narrative about the Batla House Encounter Wiki states that Mohan Chand Sharma “was a much decorated police officer and had won seven gallantry medals including the President of India‘s Medal in 2009. He was posthumously awarded India’s highest peace-time military decoration the Ashoka Chakra on 26 January 2009.”

**Brannon at the ruins of the Son of Bhima’s Palace, Dimapur, Nagaland, India (Photo: Rosser)**

Digvijay Singh continues to assert that Sharma died due to inter-departmental conspiracies and cover-ups. Though the Batla House encounter was proven to have been genuine, Singh continued to maintain that his opinion and demands were correct. The Times of India noted that, “The judgement has once again exposed the habit of Congress general secretary to give controversial and irresponsible statement. However, Singh refused to take back his words even after the court judgement.”

When he is not comparing the RSS to the Taliban, Digvijay Singh compares them to the Nazis even though years ago, the Israeli embassy requested that Digvijay Singh desist in calling his political opponents Nazis and comparing the situation in India to the holocaust. “Israel protests comparison of RSS with Nazis”, The Times of India, December 21, 2010.

FYI: I have added two things to this letter, first a description of Vrin Parker’s book that is not about Orissa, ‘The Serpent, the Eagle, the Lion and the Disk’, followed by a statement from the Yezidi Sanatana Dharma Society (YSDS).

‘The Serpent, the Eagle, the Lion and the Disk’ covers, “The preeminent symbols of the sacred in the ancient world. The Ancients associated these symbols with the Divine. Many theories have been developed regarding these symbols yet the mystery still remains. This is particularly true of the aniconic winged disk symbol. How and why does the same symbol have the same meaning to so many people of diverse cultures and civilizations? Was it the symbol of an all-conquering triumphalist Egyptian or Sumerian Empire or perhaps of a vanished race from beyond the stars? Or is it a representation of a universal transcendent experience? The pieces of this puzzle have long been scattered throughout history, hidden amongst the mystical traditions of the world. Unravel the truly astounding and majestic history of religion, civilization and God. This book represents a Startling Revelation and a Revolutionary New Look at the Origins of Humanity’s Common Mystical Experience, its Religion, Culture and the Rise of Civilization.”

Yezidi Statement: The Yezidi of Iraq are being genocided merely based upon our religion. The Yezidi religion is mix of Vedic and Zoroastrian belief systems dating to 6000 years ago. It is widely held by the Yezidi that we are ancient Aryans related to the Medes civilization.

Some of our short term goals are providing food and shelter for Yezidi who have been displaced. To achieve this we will start a fundraising effort specifically for the Yezidi-Hindu alliance. We will work with any and all aid groups providing food, clothing and medical supplies to the Yezidi. We want to work thru the Indian Embassy in Iraq to ensure that all Yezidi aid reaches Yezidis and not the Kurds.

LONG TERM GOALS

Work with the Iraqi government and the UN to protect Yezidi rights. We also seek to establish a quota system within the Iraqi parliament which will allow for our people proper representation within the Iraqi government
Support relocation efforts of Yezidi people who want to immigrate to non-muslim lands
Support efforts to maintain Yezidi control and social and autonomous governing functions of current Yezidi homelands
Urge the UN to establish Yezidi holy sites as National Heritage sites
Grants for Yezidi Students to study in India
Sister City arrangements between India and Yezidi towns
Organize Yezidi tours of India
Invite the Indian Govt to open a consulate branch in Shekan or Sinjar or any other town suggested by the Yezidi leadership
Invite Indians to visit Yezidi towns and events
Develop Student exchange programs when possible
Organize Indian school kids to send care packages to Yezidi children
Organize Yezidi-Indian get-togethers in towns where their populations overlap
Declare mutual declarations of support for Yezidi and Hindu communities under attack
Setup a website to coordinate and share relevant information
Participate in the many Indigenous and Pagan events taking place around the world
Formally join the ICCS as a member
Fund Yezidis scholars and victims and activists to tour the world exposing their experiences with Islamists
Work on a documentary on Yezidi and Indic relations
Identify key Yezidi activist and leaders and invite their participation at the diplomatic level with the Indian govt. Arrange meetings between them and India’s leadership both at the Governmental and Societal levels
Maintain a commitment to the Yezidi- Hindu alliance through interactive participation in each others causes and cultures
Expand and consolidate bonds of sincere friendship between the Yezidi and Hindu communities.
Develop cooperative efforts to achieve the basic interests of health, safety and freedom of religion and expression in order to achieve not just peace but prosperity for our communities
Work towards easing international tensions and the elimination of religious persecution, neo-colonialism, Islamist terrorism and protect our people’s from the onslaught of religious chauvinism and predatory conversionary efforts anywhere in the world
Demand that the basic human rights of both Hindus and Yezidis be protected and internationally recognized as non-optional
Uphold the principles of peaceful coexistence and co-operation between the diverse religious expressions found within both our traditions. Publicly defend this multiplicity of expression as the foundation of harmonious civilization
Attempt to resolve our crisis and all international problems through cooperation and supporting police actions, conflict and warfare only as a last resort in that order
Confirm our determination to abide by the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter and demand full UN recognition of the Yezidi as a distinct community and civilization separate from the Kurdish, Arab, Turcoman and Persian communities
Maintain the integrity of our bond by not entering into any obligation, secret or public, with one or more States, organizations or entities which are incompatible with the goals of the Yezidi-Hindu friendship and alliance
Abstain from providing any assistance to any third parties that engage in the defamation, trivialization or denigration of Yezidi or Hindu cultures. Abstain from supporting any group that engages in terrorism or armed conflict against the other Party. In the event of either group being attacked in media or through warfare, terrorism or any such threats to our people thereof, we agree to enter into mutual consultations in order to remove such threats. We also agree to take appropriate effective measures to ensure peace and the security for our communities
The YSDS shall promote further development of ties and contacts between our communities in the fields of science, art, literature, education, public health, press, radio, television, cinema, tourism and sports
Through the auspices of YSDS we will maintain regular contacts with each other in order to facilitate the preservation and enhancement of Yezidi traditions and cultures. We will work together on any related community and international problems that affect the interests of both our peoples. We will do this by organizing meetings, through visits by official delegations and special envoys from our two communities and by the sharing of and the wide dissemination and promotion of the perspectives, views and efforts of our leading activists, scholars, Govt ministers and statesmen

The group’s founding members are

Aziz Tamoyan

Khdr Hajoyan

Feleknas Uca

Mîkael Ezîdî

Nallein Sowillo

Nalin Mira

Obed Reyes

Eli Reyes

Pushpendra Rai

Brannon Parker

Sanjeev Iyer

Note: Digvijay Singh may indeed have something to fear, since calling out Vrindavan Parker, Super-Buoy-Indomitable-Defender-of-Hinduism! Though any perceived threats are all on the scholarly, intellectual, and metaphysical/esoteric level since Vrin Parker is living a humble yet ‘engaging life’ in Hawaii, much like a Sadhu. In between organizing cultural and academic events, he helps his parents in their various projects, works on his health regimen, pursues his hobbies all the while helping to educate the public and through it all, bravely defending the Dharma.

Left: Atul Jog, NE India Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram VKA Chief. After giving up his Engineering job, Atul Jog dedicated his life to the service of India’s Tribal Communities. Assam, India Dec 2002

Speaking with Local Leaders, Assam, India

Speaking at the All NE India Tribal Conference 2008

Tribal Archery Attempt, Arunachal Pradesh, Dec 2003

Sharing the home brew – Rice Wine Assam, India

Speaking at a Celebration of then Indian PM Vajpayee’s Birthday

With the Aputani Tribe Arunachal Pradesh, India

NE India, once a hotbed of anti-Indian insurgency and anti-national separatists movements, is now transformed into an Indian Nationalist Stronghold, orange regions. This has been directly linked to the leadership of Ram Madhav’s arranging the repeated Native Pride themed tours of people like Brannon Parker, Yvette Rosser, David Frawley and Stephen Knapp

Alexander as Pharaoh Alexander the Great Contract of Love Greek Jerusalem King Porus Puru Macedonia Oath at Opis Roxanne Siwa

Alexander’s Great Contract of Love

“See the whole world as your homeland, with laws common to all, where the best will govern regardless of their race.” Alexander the Great, Opis, (Iraq) 324 BC

Many assume Alexander’s “Greatness” to be based solely upon his courage in battle and his undefeated status in war. Yet his vision, philosophical outlook, fair and just judgments, commitment to prayer before and after each engagement and his devotion to God and his Gurus are the eternal values to which he can rightly be praised. The “Oath of Opis” reveals the authentic nature of his nobility and his worthiness of the title of “The Great”.

We all know of his many battles, which he never lost, yet few know he organized 100s of Religious Festivals all through Asia as he marched towards India.

He married and truly loved a Princess named Roxanne (Rukshana) from the modern region of North Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. She saved his life by bonding with King Puru as his sister through the Raksha Bandhan rite.

When Alexander fell off his horse Bucephalus, in the battle, King Puru lifted his arm for the kill. Yet upon seeing the Raksha Bandan locket upon his wrist, he didn’t have the heart to widow his Dharmic sister, thus allowing Alexander to remount and rejoin the battle.

Upon victory Alexander then asked King Puru,”How would you like to be treated?” King Puru replied, “Like a King.” Alexander agreed, befriended him and refused to claim any of King Puru’s lands.

The title The Great was actually given by the later Romans. In his own time he was called Invincible after the Oracle of Delphi declared, ‘You are invincible, my son.’

Upon entering Jerusalem, the entire city welcomed him as a liberator. “When Alexander sees Jaddus dressed in the robes of the High Priest and in a turban adorned with a gold plate engraved with the Hebrew name of God (the four Hebrew consonants “YHWH” commonly rendered in English as “Jehovah”) , “he approached by himself, and adored that name, and first saluted the high-priest.”

Alexander was again welcomed as a liberator in Egypt where he embarked on his famous pilgrimage to Siwa. Later Egyptian carvings depict Alexander being given the Staff of Kingship as the Pharaoh of Egypt by a Blue colored Amun Ra/Vishnu. (As seen in images added to this post.)

Alexander the Great at the Oracle of Amun, Siwa.Liebig collectors card, 1950 Alamy Stock photo

After he decreed all citizens as equal, be they Persian, Greek, Macedonian or Indian, many of his elite Macedonians felt slighted. After much wrangling his Macedonians apologized and were forgiven. He then arranged a banquet in which he made the famous “Oath of Opis”. In this oath one recognizes the true Greatness of Alexander.

“The occasion culminated with Alexander’s speech also known as Alexander’s “Oath”. Even today the leaders of states and international organizations consider it as their guiding light.”

The “Oath” of Alexander the Great
(OPIS, 324 BC)

“Now that the wars are coming to an end, I wish you all to prosper in peace.

From now on, may all mortals live as one people, in fellowship, for the good of all.

See the whole world as your homeland, with laws common to all, where the best will govern regardless of their race.

Unlike the narrow-minded, I make no distinction between Greeks and Barbarians.

I am not interested in the origin of the citizens, or the race into which they were born.

I have only one criterion by which to distinguish them: their virtue.

For me, any good foreigner is a Greek and any bad Greek is worse than a Barbarian.

If disputes ever arise among you, do not resort to weapons, but solve them peacefully.

If needed, I will arbitrate between you.

See God, not as an autocratic despot, but as the common father of all so that your conduct will be like the life of siblings of the same family.

I, on my part, see you all as equal, whether you are white or dark-skinned.

And I wish you all to be not only subjects of the Commonwealth, but members of it, partners of it.

To the best of my ability, I will strive to do what I have promised.

Let us hold onto the oath we have taken tonight with our libations as a Contract of Love”.

Evidences regarding the historicity of Alexander’s Oath
http://www.helleniccomserve.com/historical_sources_alexander.html

Evidences regarding the historicity of Alexander’s Jerusalem Visit https://biblereadingarcheology.com/2018/01/29/when-alexander-the-great-came-to-jerusalem/

Alexander Annointed Pharaoh by Amun Ra

Ancient Greece Apollonius of Tyana Colossus of Rhodes Damis

Wisdom of Apollonius

With a favorable wind, Apollonius and his disciple Damis arrived in Rhodes. As they approached, the Colossus of Rhodes stood gigantic and majestic in their view.

In awe, Damis asked his teacher, “Do you think anything could be greater than that?” Apollonius replied, “Yes, a man who loves wisdom in a sound and innocent spirit.” From The Life of Apollonius of Tyana written by Philostratus circa 208 AD

Brock Canada Native America Shawnee Tecumseh War of 1812 William Harrison

Prophecies & Earthquakes

“When Weshemoneto is ready the earth will tremble and shake so tremendously that great forests will fall, streams will run uphill and rivers will escape their channels. The sign from Weshemoneto (God) will be so violent that all could not help but feel it. And they will never be able to forget it.” Tecumseh. It is also widely believed that Tecumseh not only predicted these massive series of earthquakes but actually caused them.

Fairy Tree of Domremy-la-Pucelle Fairys Fairys and Catholicism France International Joan of Arc Society Jeanne d'arc Joan of Arc Krishna and Mark Twain Mark Twain Reincarnation

Mark Twain, Joan of Arc & the Fairy Tree

Brannon Parker

“…and the fairies were stealing a dance, not thinking anybody was by; and they were so busy, and so intoxicated with the wild happiness of it, and with the bumpers of dew sharpened up with honey which they had been drinking, that they noticed nothing; so Dame Aubrey stood there astonished and admiring, and saw the little fantastic atoms holding hands, as many as three hundred of them, tearing around in a great ring half as big as an ordinary bedroom, and leaning away back and spreading their mouths with laughter and song, which she could hear quite distinctly, and kicking their legs up as much as three inches from the ground in perfect abandon and hilarity—oh, the very maddest and witchingest dance the woman ever saw.” PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS OF JOAN OF ARC, The Fairy Tree of Domremy, by Mark Twain.

The American author Mark Twain is recognized as one of recent history’s greatest writers. Less known is that he spent 12 years researching and writing a book about the Christian Saint and heroine of France Joan of Arc. Published in 1896 it is called the PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS OF JOAN OF ARC. It is written as the memoirs of a Frenchman named Sieur Louis de Conte. Through the eyes of Louis, Mark Twain gives us a first hand account of the life and times of Joan of Arc. Beginning as a childhood friend, and later as Joan’s page and secretary, Louis, is with Joan nearly every step of the way.

Though his other works are better known, Mark Twain considered this tome to Saint Joan to be his most important book. He stated, “I like Joan of Arc best of all my books; and it is the best; I know it perfectly well. And besides, it furnished me seven times the pleasure afforded me by any of the others; twelve years of preparation, and two years of writing. The others need no preparation and got none.

“Writing in his 1985 memoir Our Neighbor, Mark Twain, Coley Taylor—a neighbor of Twain’s in Redding, Connecticut, where the author lived from 1908 until his death in 1910—told the story of the day when he, then a young boy, approached the writer in order to profess his adulation for Twain’s most famous characters: Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Upon hearing the boy’s praises, the author suddenly took on the mien of a vexed schoolteacher. In the moment, Twain must have reminded Taylor of Huckleberry Finn’s remonstrative Widow Douglas: “You shouldn’t read those books about bad boys,” he told the child, wagging his finger in Taylor’s face. “My best book is my Recollections of Joan of Arc.” ‘The Riddle Of Mark Twain’s Passion For Joan Of Arc’
by Daniel Crown

There is actually a fascinating and ‘mystical‘ reason he called it the ‘Personal Recollections” of Joan of Arc. Mark Twain believed in reincarnation. Convinced he had lived many times before, he stated “I have been born more times than anybody except Krishna.” Apparently, in one of these previous incarnations, he had been Louis de Conte, a lifelong friend and associate to Joan of Arc. Interestingly Joan did indeed have a servant named Louis. Was this very same Louis reborn as Mark Twain? Is this book his final homage to his lifelong friend, leader and sacred ‘compagnon d’arms’ Joan of Arc?

Among historical figures Joan of Arc is rare indeed. As a female and teenager she became a Kings advisor and eventually a military, political spiritual leader and saint, all in one short lifetime. Mark Twain identifies her as ‘unselfish‘ and thus as one of history’s greatest,“Whatever thing men call great, look for it in Joan of Arc, and there you will find it… She was perhaps the only entirely unselfish person whose name has a place in profane history.”

Louis Kossuth, the President of Hungary wrote of Joan, “Consider this unique an imposing distinction. Since the writing of human history, Joan of Arc is the only person, of either sex, who has ever held supreme command of the military forces of a nation at the age of seventeen.”

“Jeanne’s mission was on the surface warlike, but it really had the effect of ending a century of war, and her love and charity were so broad, that they could only be matched by Him who prayed for His murderers.” Sir Arthur Conan Doyle-Author of Sherlock Holmes.

Though Mark Twain’s book on Joan has been classified as fiction he himself did not consider it to be a fictitious account. In a letter he stated, “I have never done any work before that cost so much thinking and weighing and measuring and planning and cramming … on this last third I have constantly used five French sources and five English ones, and I think no telling historical nugget in any of them has escaped me.” The published book lists eleven official sources as “authorities examined in verification of the truthfulness of this narrative.”

Mark Twain in India chillin with the Crows

In confirmation of it’s ‘bona fides’ the Catholic Church gained the publishing rights of Mark Twain’s book. The Church has been distributing and selling it through its official establishments for over a century. Ignatius Press praises the work as, “…a remarkably accurate biography of the life and mission of Joan of Arc told by one of this country’s greatest storytellers.”

The book takes it reader on a vivid journey to a tumultuous time hard and brutal, where few men could survive. Yet somehow, in this setting, a 17 year old girl rose up to become France’s leading warrior and champion. Empowered by her faith, Joan saw a Divine arrangement at work in all things. We see this from an episode early in her life. In Joan’s defense of “The Fairy Tree of Domremy” she confronts the local Priest for banning the Fairies and identifies them as being a part of God’s creation.

“Popular legend among the local folk in Lorraine had it that the waters at this tree possessed healing powers. The assessors at Rouen suspected paganism connected with this tree and insinuated that Joan conjured evil spirits there, an accusation that she firmly denied. Joan’s companions defended her and testified concerning the yearly rite in spring for all village youth to picnic, sing and dance at the tree. According to the testimonies, Joan played there with the other youth but was never known to have conjured spirits there or even visited the tree alone.” Jane Marie Pinzino, International Joan of Arc Society

“The fairies were still there when we were children, but we never saw them; because, a hundred years before that, the priest of Domremy had held a religious function under the tree and denounced them as being blood-kin to the Fiend and barred them from redemption; and then he warned them never to show themselves again, nor hang any more immortelles, on pain of perpetual banishment from that parish.All the children pleaded for the fairies, and said they were their good friends and dear to them and never did them any harm, but the priest would not listen, and said it was sin and shame to have such friends.

The children mourned and could not be comforted; and they made an agreement among themselves that they would always continue to hang flower-wreaths on the tree as a perpetual sign to the fairies that they were still loved and remembered, though lost to sight. But late one night a great misfortune befell.

Edmond Aubrey’s mother passed by the Tree, and the fairies were stealing a dance, not thinking anybody was by; and they were so busy, and so intoxicated with the wild happiness of it, and with the bumpers of dew sharpened up with honey which they had been drinking, that they noticed nothing; so Dame Aubrey stood there astonished and admiring, and saw the little fantastic atoms holding hands, as many as three hundred of them, tearing around in a great ring half as big as an ordinary bedroom, and leaning away back and spreading their mouths with laughter and song, which she could hear quite distinctly, and kicking their legs up as much as three inches from the ground in perfect abandon and hilarity—oh, the very maddest and witchingest dance the woman ever saw.

The trees protecting the statue of Joan of Arc, at her birthplace Domremy-la-Pucelle, Lorraine, France. photo©jadoretotravel

But in about a minute or two minutes the poor little ruined creatures discovered her. They burst out in one heartbreaking squeak of grief and terror and fled every which way, with their wee hazel-nut fists in their eyes and crying; and so disappeared.

“Oh, father, how can you talk like that? Who owns France?” “God and the King.” Not Satan?” “Satan, my child? This is the footstool of the Most High—Satan owns no handful of its soil.”

“Then who gave those poor creatures their home? God. Who protected them in it all those centuries? God. Who allowed them to dance and play there all those centuries and found no fault with it? God. Who disapproved of God’s approval and put a threat upon them? A man. Who caught them again in harmless sports that God allowed and a man forbade, and carried out that threat, and drove the poor things away from the home the good God gave them in His mercy and His pity, and sent down His rain and dew and sunshine upon it five hundred years in token of His peace?

It was their home—theirs, by the grace of God and His good heart, and no man had a right to rob them of it. And they were the gentlest, truest friends that children ever had, and did them sweet and loving service all these five long centuries, and never any hurt or harm; and the children loved them, and now they mourn for them, and there is no healing for their grief. And what had the children done that they should suffer this cruel stroke? The poor fairies could have been dangerous company for the children?

Yes, but never had been; and could is no argument. Kinsmen of the Fiend? What of it? Kinsmen of the Fiend have rights, and these had; and children have rights, and these had; and if I had been there I would have spoken—I would have begged for the children and the fiends, and stayed your hand and saved them all. But now—oh, now, all is lost; everything is lost, and there is no help more!”

Then she finished with a blast at that idea that fairy kinsmen of the Fiend ought to be shunned and denied human sympathy and friendship because salvation was barred against them. She said that for that very reason people ought to pity them, and do every humane and loving thing they could to make them forget the hard fate that had been put upon them by accident of birth and no fault of their own. “Poor little creatures!” she said. “What can a person’s heart be made of that can pity a Christian’s child and yet can’t pity a devil’s child, that a thousand times more needs it!”

She had torn loose from Pere Fronte, and was crying, with her knuckles in her eyes, and stamping her small feet in a fury; and now she burst out of the place and was gone before we could gather our senses together out of this storm of words and this whirlwind of passion.

The Pere had got upon his feet, toward the last, and now he stood there passing his hand back and forth across his forehead like a person who is dazed and troubled; then he turned and wandered toward the door of his little workroom, and as he passed through it I heard him murmur sorrowfully:

“Ah, me, poor children, poor fiends, they have rights, and she said true—I never thought of that. God forgive me, I am to blame.”

(Available online in its entirety.)

**Mark Twain is stunned speechless with a ‘Visitation’ from Joan of Arc’**

On a December night in 1905, the New York City chapter of the Society of Illustrators managed to do something many thought impossible. With one calculated stroke they left Mark Twain, author and noted quipster, speechless.

The writer had just risen to address the group. As he began to speak, a girl emerged from the back of the room. Her hair was cropped just below her ears; her face was angular but radiant. Underneath a ceremonial white robe, she wore the armor of a 15th-century French soldier. With eyes fixed on the author, she glided up the aisle between the tables carrying a laurel wreath atop a satin pillow. A reporter from The New York Times in attendance that night later wrote that the “company smile” Twain had exhibited for most of the ceremony faded. By the time the girl reached his table, “Twain had every appearance of a man who had seen a ghost. His eyes fairly started out of his head, his hand gripped the edge of the table.” She presented the author with the wreath, and he accepted it wordlessly. He remained silent until the model exited the room. As the seconds ticked away, Twain’s audience anxiously awaited his response.

When the writer finally spoke, he did so slowly, carefully.

“Now there’s an illustration, gentlemen — a real illustration. I studied that girl, Joan of Arc, for twelve years, and it never seemed to me that the artists and the writers gave us a true picture of her. They drew a picture of a peasant. Her dress was that of a peasant. But they always missed the face — the divine soul, the pure character, the supreme woman, the wonderful girl. She was only 18 years old, but put into a breast like hers a heart like hers and I think, gentlemen, you would have a girl — like that.” The Riddle Of Mark Twain’s Passion For Joan Of Arc’
by Daniel Crown

History & Culture

Scattered throughout history, hidden amongst the mystical traditions of the world…

Charismatic Figures