Bahá'í Faith and Native Americans
Encyclopedia
The Bahá'í Faith and Native Americans has a history reaching back to the lifetime of `Abdu'l-Bahá
and has multiplied its relationships across the Americas. Individuals have joined the religion and institutions have been founded to serve native Americans and have native Americans serve on Bahá'í institutions.
By 1963 Bahá'í sources claim members of some 83 tribes of Native Americans had joined the religion. In North America diversification is an ever-present theme in Bahá'í history. Native American Indians have been attracted to the Bahá'í Faith
in increasing numbers since the 1940s; currently there are several thousand Indian and Eskimo
Bahá'ís, especially in rural Alaska and among the Navajo
and Sioux
peoples. Among the Central and South American indigenous there are also substantial populations of native Bahá'ís. There is an estimate of some 8,000 Guaymi
Bahá'is in the area of Panama, about 10% of the population of Guaymi in Panama. An informal summary of the Wayuu
( a tribe living in La Guajira Desert
) community in 1971 showed about 1000 Bahá'ís. The largest population of Bahá'ís in South America is in Bolivia
, a country whose population is estimated to be 55%-70% indigenous and 30%-42% Mestizo
, with a Bahá'í population estimated at 206,000 in 2005 according to the Association of Religion Data Archives
.
, head of the religion 1921-1957, stated: "The fundamental principle enunciated by Bahá'u'lláh
, the followers of his Faith firmly believe, is that religious truth is not absolute but relative, that Divine Revelation is a continuous and progressive process, that all the great religions of the world are divine in origin, that their basic principles are in complete harmony, that their aims and purposes are one and the same, that their teachings are but facets of one truth, that their functions are complementary, that they differ only in the nonessential aspects of their doctrines, and that their missions represent successive stages in the spiritual evolution of human society." In addition to the "great religions" members and institutions of the Bahá'í Faith have extended affirmation to various religious faith traditions as among the Indigenous peoples of the Americas
and other continents. The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canada took a position of advocacy on behalf of First Nations
Canadians in its formal submission to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples
in the fall of 1993. Bahá'í pioneers
to regions with aboriginal peoples have extended Bahá’í universalism
in religion to a recognition of the richness and authenticity of native cultural values. Such recognition has been supported by local Bahá’í policy validating the concept of First Nations Manifestations of God. Although theoretically acknowledged, explicit recognition of native messengers of God has yet to be formalised in Bahá’í doctrine. The quote from an authenticated source most directly reflecting on the issue is:
In this particular context, the expression “Call of God” (nidá-yi iláhí) is a transparent reference to Prophets of God and who give revelation
. This language has impressed scholars. However the language is not specific. The Universal House of Justice
notes that "The Bahá’í Teachings do not explicitly confirm, nor do they rule out, the possibility that Messengers of God have appeared in the Americas. In the absence of a clear Text the Universal House of Justice has no basis for issuing the kind of statement you propose which would confirm, “in principle, that God sent Manifestations to the indigenous peoples of the Americas.”" Nevertheless the figure of Deganawida, The Great Peacemaker
, is mentioned as a leading example in scholarly research; others mentioned by individuals include Quetzalcoatl
and Viracocha
. David Ruhe, a former member of the Universal House of Justice, has written mentioning his own view of Deganawida as a Prophet. Since no individual or institution can add to Bahá'í scripture it is impossible to add a specific name to a list of accepted Manifestations of God
that would be binding on all Bahá'ís and Bahá'í institutions. However individuals and institutions may accept for their own purposes that various cultural heroes may have been in fact a Manifestation of God
and Bahá'ís and institutions of the religion can accept the fact that sacred Indian tradition has mentioned specific names for individuals acting in the role of a Prophet
.
Fairgrounds, Fairbanks
, Alaska, which was recorded and transcribed - it includes his interpretation of Native American
, especially Hopi
, prophecies. Brown also appeared with Martha Many Grey Horses on a Bahá'í program discussing these prophecies.
Guaymi
Bahá'ís have stated there are prophecies from their own tribe's religion that they interpret to relate to the Bahá'í Faith. An elder
of the Arhuaco commented they had a similar prophecy. The prophecies of the Chilam Balam
have been examined as well.
There has been comment among prominent Bahá'ís about the White Buffalo Calf Woman
and the appearance of the white buffalo
.
at 1:47pm according to researcher Will C. Van den Hoonaard. A four year old Mohawk
boy, Jimmy Loft, was sitting on a fence as the train passed. `Abdu'l-Bahá took that moment to stand up and, facing the window, smile and wave. Loft was so surprised he toppled off the fence. In May 1948 he became one of the first native American Bahá'ís of Canada.
in 1916-1917; these letters were compiled together in the book Tablets of the Divine Plan
. The sixth of the tablets was the first to mention Latin America
n regions and was written on April 8, 1916, but was delayed in being presented in the United States until 1919—after the end of the First World War
and the Spanish flu
. The sixth tablet was translated and presented by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab
on April 4, 1919, and published in Star of the West
magazine on December 12, 1919. After mentioning the need for the message of the religion to visit the Latin American countries `Abdu'l-Bahá continued:
Following the Tablets and about the time of `Abdu'l-Bahá's passing in 1921, a few other Bahá'ís began moving to, or at least visiting, Latin or South America. First Martha Root
followed by Leonora Armstrong
were among the first to make this trips before 1928.
in two of his writings from the Baghdad period addressed Christian issues. Then towards the end of the nineteenth century, the famous Bahá'í scholar, Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl
, extended these foundations by writing extensively on Bahá'í approaches to the New and Old Testaments. This was followed by the conversion of numerous Jews, in Iran, and Christians, in Syria and Egypt, to the religion. It was Syrian Christian converts in particular who were largely responsible for taking the Bahá'í Faith to Christian North America, from where there was further spread to Europe and Australia. See also `Abdu'l-Bahá's journeys to the West
. The second major breakthrough started post-World War II when the religion began to spread rapidly in the villages of the Third World. Some idea of the extent of this comparatively sudden change can be gleaned from the fact that prior to 1954, approximately 94% of the world Bahá'í population consisted of Iranians. By 1989, that figure is about 7% while Bahá'ís from the non-Muslim Third World represent some 90% of the Bahá'ís.
In Latin and South America the religion spread in the 1940s following specific plans of promulgating the religion. A stated purpose for the coordinating committees appointed to oversee the process was to facilitate a shift in the balance of roles from North American leading guidance and Latin cooperation to Latin leading guidance and North American cooperation. The process was well underway by 1950 and was to be enforced about 1953. However a period of "re-activating" core communities was necessary in 1950, while other communities failed to re-elect their institutions initially though the regional committees continued operation. Nevertheless regional National Spiritual Assemblies for the region were elected in 1950 and 1951. By 1961 most Latin and South American countries had their own national assembly.
In Africa there was widespread conversions to the religion following the 1950s. It was emphasized that western pioneers be self-effacing and focus their efforts not on the colonial leadership but on the native Africans - and that the pioneers must show by actions the sincerity of their sense of service to the Africans in bringing the religion and then the Africans who understand their new religion are to be given freedom to rise up and spread the religion according to their own sensibilities and the pioneers to disperse or step into the background. Enoch Olinga
is specifically mentioned as an example of this process unfolding as he arose out of Uganda and repeated the quick growth of the religion. Because of the successive waves of people becoming Knights of Bahá'u'lláh
, Enoch Olinga was entitled "Abd'l-Futuh", a Persian name meaning "the father of victories" by Shoghi Effendi though he too implemented changes in character by giving up alcoholism and eventually polygamy.
In India where the Bahá'í message had for decades been primarily addressed to Indian Muslims and Parsees (Zoroastrians), a re-interpretation of the Bahá'í message in accordance with Hindu ideas was necessary to reach the masses of Hindus. India became the largest Bahá'í community in the world in 2000 after less than a century of mass teaching though it also entailed systematically reaching a large community of Untouchables or Harijans. See Bahá'í Faith in India.
Unlike the spread of Christianity within Indian country in the United States, the Bahá‘í Faith has never been associated with a fortification of colonial occupation, Euro-American assimilation, or forced conversions of Native Americans. Indeed in 1960 Hand of the Cause Rúhíyyih Khánum
asked for forgiveness for the injustices her race had done and praised their great past. And in 1963 anthropologist Alice Beck Kehoe
, a well known researcher of Native Americans, observed that the Bahá‘í Faith is considered by its members to be a universal faith, not tied to any one particular culture, religious background, language, or even country of origin. However one researcher, based on experience as a scholar and elder of in an Indian tribe, observed in 2007: "Most white Canadians and Americans have no clue with respect to how constantly they reinforce their own cultural assumptions, right or wrong, and pile them upon Indians, never willing or even interested in hearing our own Native view. I agree that the Bahá‘ís in Canada and the U.S. have made some good headway in the honoring and validating native spiritual prophecies and principles. However, much more transformation along the lines of intercultural interactions within the Bahá‘í international community needs to take place. In particular, I am referring specifically to most (but not all) of our non-Native Bahá‘ís who find it impossible to break through the inner barriers of their own Euro-American culture."
In a context of difficulties in relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples there is a pattern on the one hand of indigenous efforts of entrenched violent confrontation for self-determination and on the other of wholesale romanticization of Native culture, religion, and lifestyle. The Bahá'í encounter with Aboriginals in British Colombia was observed by another anthropologist that, while not fully transformed, the Bahá'í Faith's encounter with Indians was a forceful illustration that something between the extremes was possible between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples. While the goals of equality and unity in diversity had yet to be fully realized within the Bahá’í community, the religion has nevertheless served as a potent source of empowerment for Aboriginal adherents. Adoption of the Bahá’í Faith has not entailed a stark renunciation of preexisting forms of Aboriginal belief, practice, or identity. Rather, it has served as a firm source of confirmation and connection, reinforcing the validity of Aboriginal culture and fostering pride in Aboriginal heritage. However relatively few of the over nine hundred Aboriginal people who enrolled in the Bahá‘í Faith in British Columbia between 1948 and 1992 ultimately became active adherent and despite such empowering impact, patterns of non-Aboriginal cultural dominance encountered within the Bahá‘í community simultaneously suggest the pervasiveness of the colonial legacy and the potency of contemporary social context; good intentions proved insufficient to fully transform intercultural interactions. But there is progress in appreciation of Indian cultural and spiritual experience coming through Bahá'í publishing channels just as there has been of Islam over a century ago.
, who was named `Abdu'l-Bahá's successor, wrote a cable
on May 1, 1936 to the Bahá'í Annual Convention of the United States and Canada, and asked for the systematic implementation of `Abdu'l-Bahá's vision to begin. In his cable he wrote:
Following the May 1st cable, another cable from Shoghi Effendi came on May 19 calling for permanent pioneers
to be established in all the countries of Latin America. The Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada was appointed the Inter-America Committee to take charge of the preparations. During the 1937 Bahá'í North American Convention, Shoghi Effendi cabled advising the convention to prolong their deliberations to permit the delegates and the National Assembly to consult on a plan that would enable Bahá'ís to go to Latin America as well as to include the completion of the outer structure of the Bahá'í House of Worship
in Wilmette, Illinois. In 1937 the First Seven Year Plan (1937–44), which was an international plan designed by Shoghi Effendi, gave the American Bahá'ís the goal of establishing the Bahá'í Faith in every country in Latin America. With the spread of American Bahá'ís communities and assemblies began to form in 1938 across Latin America.
Across the Americas by 1947 the Bahá'í Faith had contacted peoples among the Eskimos of Alaska and Greenland, the Cree Indians of Prairie Provinces, Canada, the Cherokee Indians in North Carolina, the Oneida Indians in Wisconsin, the Omaha Indians in Nebraska, the Seminole Indians in Florida, the Mexican Indians in Mexico, the Indians of the San Blas Islands, the Indians of Chichicastenango in Guatemala, the Mayans in Yucatán, the Patagonian Indians in Argentina, the Indians of La Paz in Bolivia and the Inca Indians in Peru. In 1944 Gerardo Vega, of Costa Rica, was the first Latin-American native to pioneer when he began work in Panama. Regional committees overseeing various countries of Latin and South America were appointed. Retrospectively a stated purpose for the committee was to facilitate a shift in the balance of roles from North American guidance and Latin cooperation to Latin guidance and North American cooperation. Back in North America, the first all-Indian assembly in the Americas was first established in 1948 on the Omaha Indian Reservation at Macy, Nebraska
. The process was well underway by 1950 and was to be enforced about 1953. Shoghi Effendi then called for two international conventions to be held at April 1951; one was held in Panama City for the purpose of electing a regional National Spiritual Assembly
The nineteenth objective of that portion of the Ten Year Crusade
entrusted in 1953 to the American Bahá'í Community by its architect was the "conversion to the Faith of members of the leading Indian tribes." In August 1957 Shoghi Effendi reminded the regional assembly of the comment of Abdu'l-Baha and would therefore devote considerable energy on the matter. A Bahá'í made a trip to Dominica specifically to try to reach the Carib Indians on May 7, 1959.
By 1961 a number of developments had been achieved. There was the election of the Bolivian national assembly - representative of a community the vast majority of whom were of the Aymara people. Some thirteen hundred of these Indians, in over one hundred localities had joined the religion and over twenty local assemblies in Bolivia had been elected. There were elections of Indian assemblies in Ecuador, Guatemala and Mexico - regions of the former Incas, Mayas, and Aztecs and the formation four assemblies representative of Canadian Indians in the Yukon, Alberta and Saskatchewan. At that time there were over forty Indian and Eskimo tribes represented in the Bahá'í Community throughout the Western Hemisphere - more than double the number in 1957. In 1961 each country of a regional assembly of southern South America elected its own National Spiritual Assembly. Paraguay's national convention was witnessed by Hand of the Cause, Dr. Ramatu'llah Muhajir. At the convention Dr. Muhajir and the delegates drew up plans for reaching the Indian populations as well as ways to reinforce the communities that already existed. Still in 1961 the National Spiritual Assembly of Panama sent two official representatives, Edna Moses and Donald R. Witzel, to a congress of natives on the San Blas Islands
. The Bahá'ís presented an outline of the religion. A chief countered that other religionists had presented their religions as a means to divide the people from their tribal religion. Before 1963 the first two all-Indian Local Spiritual Assemblies in South America were Huanuni and then Vilcollo, Bolivia - by 1963 there were twenty five such assemblies in Bolivia and about 1000 Baha'is among the Bolivian Indian peoples. A team formed to promulgate the religion - a chief of the Peigan Reserve
, also chair of its first Bahá'í assembly, and an elected member of the Band Council for the Peigan Band of the Blackfoot
and John Hellson, a Bahá'í formerly of Cornwall, England, now of Alberta, who is an adopted member of the Mohawk nation
. Together they carried letters of introduction to the chiefs of all the Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation in Ontario and Quebec and were welcomed with a special ceremony on some of the Reserves. Their itinerary included Reserves of Nanaimo
and Capilano of British Columbia, Ohsweken, Kettle Point
, Tyendinaga
, and Curve Lake
of Ontario, and Kahnawake, Quebec.
By 1963 there was a small group in Pedro Juan Caballero in Costa Rica and some of whom were from the Caygüa (Kadiweu people
?). In the national convention of 1964 of Costa Rica members of the Talamanca and Terraba were among the delegates. The first native American Bahá'í of Paraguay, Rosendo Segundo, joined the religion in 1964. Segundo was a member of the Guarani of the Chaco tribe
. In 1965 actual contact with the Chaco tribe began. Grandchildren of Sitting Bull
and Bull Head were noted as friends in meetings in 1966. A multi-national group including an Indian toured North Bay, Ontario
, Canada, in 1967. In 1969 members of the Chulupi speaking and Lengua
tribes had converted to the religion and first all-Indian institute in northern Gran Chaco
area, in Paraguay with members of the Guarani, Guasurango, (a Tapieté
speaking) and Chulupi attending. In 1970 the first Yanaigua (another Tapieté
speaking) tribe member joined the religion and that year was first time an indigenous Bahá'í was elected to the national assembly, (in 1982 there were three indigenous members of the national assembly.) In February 1970 pioneer family of Samuel and Teresa Garcia and their four children, native Costa Ricans, in February 1970 to the area of Guanacaste seeking to identify members of lapsed communities. Come April 1970 eight Local Assemblies were re-established following which a number of programs were initiated to solidify the understanding of some of these new Bahá'ís. And in 1977 a radio campaign began in Paraguay. The first Guaymí
Bahá'í dates back into the 1960s, and since the 1980s there have been several projects started and evolving in those communities.
In 1975–6 Rúhíyyih Khanum
travelled by boat through the tributaries of the Amazon River
of Brazil
and also visiting the high mountain ranges of Peru
and Bolivia
. Thirty six tribal groups were visited over a period of six months; the trip was called The Green Light Expedition, which followed Khanum's The Great African Safari. There have also been projects developed from the original expedition - In the Footsteps of the Green Light Expedition and Tear of the Clouds.
In 1990 the first assembly entirely composed of indigenous people in Brazil was elected from the Mura people in Beruri
, Brazil. In 1994 Elizabeth Dahe, a long-time Bahá'í and Hopi
elder, invited the other Hopi elders to gather and meet Kevin Locke who presented the claims of the Bahá'í Faith directly to 100 Hopi elders. Bahá'ís claim nearly half of the Chilean Bahá'í community is of the indigenous Mapuche people.
Bahá'ís in Cape Dorset acted with support and coordination through the spiritual assembly of the Omaha Reservation
and of Springfield Illinois. And an assembly was elected in Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin.
, Ecuador and chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of Ecuador investigated using radio as a tool for spreading the religion and serving the newly forming communities. In early 1973, Raul Pavon leased Radio Turismo station and initiated fourteen hours of daily broadcasts. None involved had backgrounding in running a radio station. Initial success was based on playing local and national music genre. In July 1973 the national assembly added the goal of a radio station to its budget and a committee to create programing. Programming was developed and aired in eight cities between 15-minute segments up to hour-long bilingual (Spanish-Quichua) programs of Bahá'í prayers
, and drawing from Bahá'í literature
as well as information of its world-wide community. In 1975, training workshops were organized for scriptwriters. Other trainings continued in 1976. By 1976 the committee had produced 1286 hours of programming at a cost of approximately $2000 as well as documentation to support sister projects. A low-power AM
radio station which was finally granted in 1977. There were challenges of coordination and staffing to overcome. Outside trainers or professional staff were able to come in 1977, 1978, and 1980. A commission was developed, typically including a body composed of an indigenous person, a "white" person, technical experts, senior Bahá'ís and a veteran of the station, with a balance of majority of local people while also one member to be literate and capable of dealing with the administration of the commission.
With regular feedback from experienced institutions operating out of the Bahá'í World Centre
, progress was maintained and Dr. David Ruhe, then a member of the Universal House of Justice
, visited in 1980 and acted as liaison between the radio station and the Audio-Visual Department at the Bahá'í administrative offices. In 1980 almost the entire staff traveled to Peru to make extensive presentations to the international Bahá'í media conference in Puno
where the second Bahá'í Radio station would be set up. It was not until 1981 that a suitable director was able to take up service by combining the qualities of being a Bahá'í, an experienced radio professional, and an Ecuadoran and able to volunteer. In addition to Quinteros, six other indigenous had systematically begun to serve at the station as full-time staff as well as larger numbers of part-time staff amounting to some 200 persons including indigenous youth in the first four years of the operation of the station. Indigenous staff were able to conduct workshops for other indigenous staff, in Spanish and Quichua, for the first time in 1981. Staff for projects in Bolivia, Chile and Peru participated in successive training and Ecuadoran staff traveled to Peru and Bolivia to assist in those projects. The Commission wrote to the Chilean Bahá'ís about the development of their radio station that:
By 1983 training of staff at Radio Bahá'í Ecuador was almost entirely in the hands of indigenous staff. There has also been training at the Amoz Gibson Training Center for Bahá'í Media in Puerto Rico operated by CIRBAL (Centro para Intercambio Radiofonico Bahá'í de America Latina.)
, Arizona property was secured and the institute became manifest. Named the Native American Bahá'í Institute (NABI) by the National Spiritual Assembly, NABI was designated an agency of the National Spiritual Assembly thereby becoming one of the five permanent school and institutes. Over the years it has been focused upon various goals. Since 1998, it has been designated a Regional Training Institute by the National Spiritual Assembly, and has been immersed in advancing the goals of the Training Institute process among Native Americans. In 2001 it began publishing the Navaho-Hopi Bahá'í Newsletter. In 2005 a socio-economic development
project carried out at NABI was Media Training Pilot which trained youth to conduct film interviews of two Navajo artists which was released as a local video. Arya Laghaie was a volunteer who is buried there since 2007.
There have been successive trips by groups from the 1990s into 2002 when the Native American Bahá'í Institute hosted a gathering for Trail travelers.
in Haifa in April 1978 a meeting was held with representatives of the other circumpolar national Bahá'í communities: Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Denmark (on behalf of Greenland), and Canada. It was decided then to form a Continental Indigenous Council committee under the supervision of the National Spiritual Assembly of Alaska, and a four-member Eskimo-Indian team was formed to travel for 45 days in 10 European countries during the summer. The Indian members of the team were Scott Tyler of the United States and Melba Loft of Canada; the Eskimos were Ida Bergamaschi and Maynard Eakan of Alaska. The idea for the Trail of Light occurred during preparations for the first Baha'i Native Council, held in 1978 on the Yakima Indian Reservation in Washington State when the national assemblies of Canada, Alaska and the United States were discussing the event. Another inspiration for the Trail of Light was the concept of promulgating the religion among the indigenous peoples in the Pacific Rim
that was described by the Hand of the Cause Rahmátu'llah Muhájir
in 1978. The Trail of Light, also known as Camino del Sol, was defined as a process whereby native Bahá'ís engaged with diverse native peoples about a number of issues including promulgating their religion as well as organizing councils for the people and encouraged discovery of mutual cultural links across the native peoples. The first Trail of Light traveling trip by 22 members of the religion occurred spontaneously immediately after the council.
along with Hand of the Cause Dhikru'llah Khadem
and Amoz Gibson, with long contact with Indian populations and then a member of the Universal House of Justice. The event was sponsored by the Bahá'í Continental Indigenous Council which was composed of three indigenous believers from each of the national assemblies of North America. After the council meeting, a three-day training and deepening program developed plans and teams of Bahá'ís to travel to different regions to promulgate the religion among the native Americans. These teams of Native American Bahá'ís from Alaska, Canada and the 48 contiguous United States represented 10 tribes under the name Trail of Light.
One team visited six native villages in Alaska from July 18 to August 1. Team members were Tina Salomon, an Osage
-Cherokee
from Sparks, Nevada
; Mary Jane Tevuk, an Inupiat Eskimo from Nome, Alaska
; Regina Steffes, a Navajo
-Oneida
from Fontana, California
; and team captain Chester Kahn, a Navajo from Houck, Arizona
(later a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States); Bill Ekomiak, an Inuit
Eskimo from Daysland, Alberta, Canada; Johan Lyberth, an Inuit Eskimo from Nuuk
, Greenland.
A second team visited Indian Reserves and cities in Northern Saskatchewan
, Canada, included Henry Bainbridge, a Navajo from Teec Nos Pos, Arizona
; Ernestine Moore, a Paiute
-Washoe
from Reno, Nevada
; Maynard Eakan, an Inupiaq Eskimo from Anchorage, Alaska
, and member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Alaska; Shirley Lindstrom, a Tlingit from Mayo, Yukon
, Canada; team captain Noni Nelson, a Metis
from Enderby, British Columbia
, Canada; Peter Singyke, an Inupiaq from Anchorage, Alaska; Rita Blumenstein, an Aleut-Athabascan-Yupik Eskimo from Palmer, Alaska
; Dennis Bainbridge, age 9, a Navajo from Teec-Nos-Pos, Arizona.
One of the teams split in two and traveled from the north to the south starting mid June and traveled among the people in Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala,Honduras, and Panama. While in Panama they gathered with more than 1,000 Guaymi
Bahá'ís joined by Costa Rican Guaymi, Talamanca, and Teribe
representatives and they agreed on founding a Native Council for the Panamanian and Costa Rican tribes. The Trail of Light team then continued through Bolivia
, Chile
, Peru
and finally Ecuador
. In Ecuador the team was presented to the audience at a conference in May 1982 dedicated to the anniversary of the death of Bahiyyih Khánum
. Representatives of 24 of the 29 national assemblies in Latin America and the Caribbean, and members of 21 Indian tribes from Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, the United States and Venezuela were present.
and four hundred forty-six Bahá'ís and their guests from 10 countries and representing 60 Indian tribes on the Blood Indian Reserve in southwestern Alberta, Canada. Following this conference, Rúhíyyih Khanum traveled across Canada and into Greenland and Iceland visiting civic leaders and Bahá'í communities. She met people from Fountain Reserve
and Thunderbird Reserve. At the close of the tour in September the team presented an Indian ceremonial blanket to Rúhíyyih Khanum who responded by joining them in a dance. Followup meetings after the Trail travelers came through occurred in November in Alaska and December in Honduras.
In 1984 a reprise of the Trail of Light was undertaken when an international team of five Bahá'ís spent 17 days in Guatemala
; they were a Mapuche
Indian from Chile, a Quechua from Peru, a Bribri
from Costa Rica, and two Guaymis from Panama.
A 1984-5 continuation of the Trail of Light process brought Costa Rican indigenous Bahá'ís into Veracruz
Mexico.
After the religion grew among the Guaymi, they in turn offered service in 1985-6 with the Trail of Light project included indigenous Guaymí Bahá'ís of Panama traveling with the Venezuela
n indigenous Carib speaking
and Guajira
Bahá'ís through the Venezuelan states of Bolívar
, Amazonas
and Zulia
sharing their religion. The Bahá'í Guaymí Cultural Centre was built in the Chiriqui district (which was split in 1997 to create the Ngöbe-Buglé district) and used as a seat for the Panamanian Ministry of Education's literacy efforts in the 1980s. In 1985 Trail of Light began its work in Colombia. Among the participants were two youth from the Guaymi tribe in Panama; six members from the Guajiros, the Colombo-Venezuelan tribe, and two youth from the Paez, a tribe in southern Colombia. The traveled to the Guajira region and re-affirmed the religion among the Bahá'ís there and the group performed dances which inspired the Guajiros to offer their own dance, the Chichamaya. The group was invited to the local high school where the Guaymis shared the story of the impact of the religion among their people (see Bahá'í Faith in Panama
.) The group was then invited to the elementary school. From Guajira the group headed to Valledupar
and then on to the homeland of the Arhuaco tribe in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta
. There the group met with the leadership, the Mamos, or elders of the community for permission to present the message they had come to give. Various of the group presented to the Mamos including the Guaymi and their interpretation of their own prophecies. An elder shared that the Arhuaco had a similar prophecy. The Trail of Light group was allowed to make their presentations and exchanges of dances and talks followed. From there the group traveled to see the Yukpa
(Yuko) tribe. With the Yuko the group was able to hold a unity feast and shared dances and stayed for three days before heading home.
of the Bahá'ís of the United States and the group met with members of the assembly. The members of the U.S. National Assembly hosted a reception for the Tribal Council chairman and Councils of North and South Dakota and also met with the Cheyenne River Tribal Council and the Looking Horse family which keeps the original sacred pipe of the Lakota. Hooper Dunbar, a member of the Universal House of Justice, attended. The council opened recalling a vision -Jack Wilson's vision - that Sitting Bull
attempted to call for but was killed before it could come about. See also Ghost Dance
and Wounded Knee Massacre
.
and his wife, Marguerite, along with a core group of dedicated friends. When Mr. Sears died in 1992, Marguerite continued Desert Rose Bahá'í School, but, with the knowledge and encouragement of the Universal House of Justice, decided to expand the four-day school into a permanent institute.
and Colombia's first one began to organize and operate in 1965 as part of initiatives focused on the Indian population in the La Guajira region. By winter 1965 there were many Baha'is among both the Colombian and Venezuelan Guajiros, about 1,000 on the Colombian side and 1,500 on the Venezuelan side. Another stated goal was in the realm of international cooperation - the newly developing Indian Institute of Riohacha was shared with the Venezuelans during the first Guajiro Teacher Training Institute held at Riohacha. Among the participants in this first training were: Rosalba Pimienta, Tiana Arpushana, Tomas Pimienta, Juan Artiz Pimienta, Martha Duarte Arpushana, Maria Teresa Duarte Arpushana, Carmen Pimienta Arpushana, and Martha Epiaya all of Colombia and Rogelio Hernández, José Martin Sempron, Cecilia del Carmen Iguaran, and Maria Cecilía González all of Venezuela. The next institute was held in January 1966 at which the dedication of the building was set and the building, called the Villa Rahmat, as an Institute was completed by August. After constructing the Guajiro Teaching Institute the community united in sending financial aid to Kenya, thus fulfilling that goal. By 1967 eight local assemblies were formed among the Motilones
. In late 1967 into 1968 Vicente Montezuma, a Panamanian Guaymí
who had previously served in the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Panama, pioneered to the rural areas of Colombia and promulgated the religion especially among the Choco speaking
Indians. Cross border activity in La Guajira continued in 1969 with Venezuelan Guajiri Bahá'ís traveling in Colombia and Colombian Guajiri Bahá'ís attending activities in Venezuela. At the 1969 national convention a number of Yukon/Yukpa delegates attended. In May 1970 an all-Guajira Bahá'í conference brought together some 200 Bahá'ís from the region for talks and lessons offered in Spanish and Guajira languages including a history of the religion in the region including noting 110 local assemblies being elected that year: 57 in Colombia: 53 in Venezuela, as well as the dedication of a local Bahá'í House of Worship. In 1973 Luis Montenegro, former long term member of the National Assembly of Colombia died while climbing the mountains of the Yukpa(Yuko), or Motilon, Indians. The first of the Paez people
joined the religion in 1974 due to the service of a Panamanian Bahá'í traveling in Colombia. The fifth All-Guajira Conference was held in July in Venezuela in 1977.
was founded by group of professors at the University of Valle
. According to Gustav Correa, director of FUNDAEC, it was originally inspired by a quotation from Bahá'u'lláh
- "Baha'u'llah talks about man as 'a mine rich in gems of inestimable value.' He says that 'education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom'.
One of the authors was Farzam Arbab and president of FUNDAEC from 1974 to 1988, would also serve in several capacities for the religion including being a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Colombia, a Continental Counsellor, appointed to the International Teaching Centre and eventually elected to the Universal House of Justice
in 1993.
FUNDAEC has instituted a number of development projects: the Centro Universitario de Bienestar Rural, the "Tutorial Learning System" or "SAT" (the Spanish acronym for "Sistema de Aprendizaje Tutorial") and a micro-finance Project. The SAT was particularly successful with cutting the process of urbanization
, increases in democratic behavior and aspects of gender equality, extra curricular activities in communities, stopping migratory movement of populations, and established public-private cooperation in Colombia. By 2002 the SAT system was in use in Honduras, Guatemala, Ecuador, Venezuela, Panama, Costa Rica, Brazil, Colombia and the first phases of the implementation of the program have started in Zambia. Parallel to SAT, FUNDAEC began a micro-finance initiative as well.
, a Bahá'í study circle
, began as an initiative of the community with a commitment starting in 1970. About 1980 one of the Auxiliary Board members in Colombia entered into a process of consultation with several rural communities around the town of Puerto Tejada in order to help them identify steps they could take to improve their own social conditions. An early aim was to establish nurseries and kindergartens. In 1983 it published its first course Principles and Beliefs, Course 1: Life and Death. The courses developed as a "Core Activities Initiative". In 1987 the institute wrote its first course book on the education of children. In 1988 the national assembly decided to seek legal recognition for the Ruhi Institute by incorporating it as an organization with its own Board of Directors appointed by the assembly. It dedicates its efforts to the development of human resources for the spiritual, social, and cultural development of the Colombian people
. Although its center is in the town of Puerto Tejada in the department of Cauca
, its area of influence extends throughout the entire country. Especially in recent years, its educational programs have been adopted by an increasing number of agencies worldwide.
If individuals developed interests in contributing to society beyond those of the formal Ruhi courses they were introduced to the opportunities provided by FUNDAEC.
. In 1966 construction began on a new teaching institute on the Bahá'í endowment property in Alajuela and also in 1966 the community raised the number of assemblies from fourteen to twenty. A beautification project in 1984 was held in Guanacaste province inspired by the Bahá'í gardens
on Mt. Carmel as well as reading prayers - thirty people joined the religion during the project. There was also a chance to record some Bribri chanted prayers which would be broadcast on the radio.
from Boca del Monte with programs and news in Guaymí native language, Ngabere
, leading to maintaining the usefulness of the language and in the telling of stories and coverage of issues to the support of Guaymí traditions and culture.
In Panama's remote indigenous villages Bahá'í volunteers run ten primary schools where the government does not provide access to a school. Later a FUNDESCU stipend of $50 per month was made available for 13 teachers and the Ministry of Education added funds for a 14th. As subsistence farmers, the villagers have no money or food to offer. Instead they take turns providing firewood for an outdoor kitchen or build small wood-framed shelters with corrugated zinc panels and a narrow wooden platform for a bed. The teachers and administrators do not seek to convert the students. Some of the villagers are Bahá'ís, some are Catholics, some Evangelicals, and some follow the native Mama Tata
religion. In all, about half the students are Bahá'ís (about 150). Nevertheless there is a strong moral component to the program including a weekly class on "Virtues and Values." Over the years, some training for the teachers has been provided but many have not finished the twelfth grade including some women who have faced difficulties getting even that much education.
Among the formal schools established there are:
, Jacqueline Left Hand Bull Delahunt, Phil Lucas
and Buffy Sainte-Marie
.
`Abdu'l-Bahá
‘Abdu’l-Bahá , born ‘Abbás Effendí, was the eldest son of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. In 1892, `Abdu'l-Bahá was appointed in his father's will to be his successor and head of the Bahá'í Faith. `Abdu'l-Bahá was born in Tehran to an aristocratic family of the realm...
and has multiplied its relationships across the Americas. Individuals have joined the religion and institutions have been founded to serve native Americans and have native Americans serve on Bahá'í institutions.
By 1963 Bahá'í sources claim members of some 83 tribes of Native Americans had joined the religion. In North America diversification is an ever-present theme in Bahá'í history. Native American Indians have been attracted to the Bahá'í Faith
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
in increasing numbers since the 1940s; currently there are several thousand Indian and Eskimo
Eskimo
Eskimos or Inuit–Yupik peoples are indigenous peoples who have traditionally inhabited the circumpolar region from eastern Siberia , across Alaska , Canada, and Greenland....
Bahá'ís, especially in rural Alaska and among the Navajo
Navajo Nation
The Navajo Nation is a semi-autonomous Native American-governed territory covering , occupying all of northeastern Arizona, the southeastern portion of Utah, and northwestern New Mexico...
and Sioux
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
peoples. Among the Central and South American indigenous there are also substantial populations of native Bahá'ís. There is an estimate of some 8,000 Guaymi
Guaymí
The Guaymí or Ngäbe are an indigenous group living mainly within the Ngäbe-Buglé comarca in the Western Panamanian provinces of Veraguas, Chiriquí and Bocas del Toro, as well as in the indigenous town of Conte, Costa Rica near the extreme southern tip of the country...
Bahá'is in the area of Panama, about 10% of the population of Guaymi in Panama. An informal summary of the Wayuu
Wayuu
Wayuu is an Amerindian ethnic group of the La Guajira Peninsula in northern Colombia and northwest Venezuela. They are part of the Maipurean language family.- Geography :...
( a tribe living in La Guajira Desert
La Guajira Desert
La Guajira Desert is located in the northernmost part of Colombia, north of Bogota, in the La Guajira Department, covering most of La Guajira Peninsula including Venezuelan territory. The area holds immense coal reserves, exploited in a zone known as El Cerrejon...
) community in 1971 showed about 1000 Bahá'ís. The largest population of Bahá'ís in South America is in Bolivia
Demographics of Bolivia
This article is about the demographic features of the population of Bolivia, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population....
, a country whose population is estimated to be 55%-70% indigenous and 30%-42% Mestizo
Mestizo
Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...
, with a Bahá'í population estimated at 206,000 in 2005 according to the Association of Religion Data Archives
Association of religion data archives
The Association of Religion Data Archives is a free source of online information related to American and international religion. Founded as the American Religion Data Archive in 1997, and online since 1998, the archive was initially targeted at researchers interested in American religion...
.
Acceptance of cultural heroes
Shoghi EffendiShoghi Effendi
Shoghí Effendí Rabbání , better known as Shoghi Effendi, was the Guardian and appointed head of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957...
, head of the religion 1921-1957, stated: "The fundamental principle enunciated by Bahá'u'lláh
Bahá'u'lláh
Bahá'u'lláh , born ' , was the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. He claimed to be the prophetic fulfilment of Bábism, a 19th-century outgrowth of Shí‘ism, but in a broader sense claimed to be a messenger from God referring to the fulfilment of the eschatological expectations of Islam, Christianity, and...
, the followers of his Faith firmly believe, is that religious truth is not absolute but relative, that Divine Revelation is a continuous and progressive process, that all the great religions of the world are divine in origin, that their basic principles are in complete harmony, that their aims and purposes are one and the same, that their teachings are but facets of one truth, that their functions are complementary, that they differ only in the nonessential aspects of their doctrines, and that their missions represent successive stages in the spiritual evolution of human society." In addition to the "great religions" members and institutions of the Bahá'í Faith have extended affirmation to various religious faith traditions as among the Indigenous peoples of the Americas
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
and other continents. The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canada took a position of advocacy on behalf of First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
Canadians in its formal submission to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples
Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples
The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples was a Canadian Royal Commission established in 1991 to address many issues of aboriginal status that had come to light with recent events such as the Oka Crisis and the Meech Lake Accord. The commission culminated in a final report of 4000 pages,...
in the fall of 1993. Bahá'í pioneers
Pioneering (Bahá'í)
A pioneer is a volunteer Bahá'í who leaves his or her home to journey to another place for the purpose of teaching the Bahá'í Faith. The act of so moving is termed pioneering. Bahá'ís refrain from using the term "missionary"...
to regions with aboriginal peoples have extended Bahá’í universalism
Bahá'í Faith and the unity of religion
The Unity of Religion is a core teaching in the Bahá'í Faith that states that there is a fundamental unity of many of the world's religions. The principle states that the teachings of the major religions are part of a single plan directed from the same God...
in religion to a recognition of the richness and authenticity of native cultural values. Such recognition has been supported by local Bahá’í policy validating the concept of First Nations Manifestations of God. Although theoretically acknowledged, explicit recognition of native messengers of God has yet to be formalised in Bahá’í doctrine. The quote from an authenticated source most directly reflecting on the issue is:
In ancient times the people of America were, through their northern regions, close to Asia, that is, separated from Asia by a strait. For this reason, it hath been said that crossing had occurred. There are other signs which indicate communication.
As to places whose people were not informed of the appearance of Prophets, such people are excused. In the Qur’án it hath been revealed: “We will not chastise them if they had not been sent a Messenger” (Q. 17:15).
Undoubtedly in those regions the Call of God must have been raised in ancient times, but it hath been forgotten now.
In this particular context, the expression “Call of God” (nidá-yi iláhí) is a transparent reference to Prophets of God and who give revelation
Revelation
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing, through active or passive communication with a supernatural or a divine entity...
. This language has impressed scholars. However the language is not specific. The Universal House of Justice
Universal House of Justice
The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. It is a legislative institution with the authority to supplement and apply the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and exercises a judicial function as the highest appellate institution in the...
notes that "The Bahá’í Teachings do not explicitly confirm, nor do they rule out, the possibility that Messengers of God have appeared in the Americas. In the absence of a clear Text the Universal House of Justice has no basis for issuing the kind of statement you propose which would confirm, “in principle, that God sent Manifestations to the indigenous peoples of the Americas.”" Nevertheless the figure of Deganawida, The Great Peacemaker
The Great Peacemaker
The Great Peacemaker, sometimes referred to as Deganawida or Dekanawida was, along with Hiawatha, by tradition the founder of the Haudenosaunee, commonly called the Iroquois Confederacy, a political and cultural union of several Native American tribes residing...
, is mentioned as a leading example in scholarly research; others mentioned by individuals include Quetzalcoatl
Quetzalcoatl
Quetzalcoatl is a Mesoamerican deity whose name comes from the Nahuatl language and has the meaning of "feathered serpent". The worship of a feathered serpent deity is first documented in Teotihuacan in the first century BCE or first century CE...
and Viracocha
Viracocha
Viracocha is the great creator god in the pre-Inca and Inca mythology in the Andes region of South America. Full name and some spelling alternatives are Apu Qun Tiqsi Wiraqutra and Con-Tici Viracocha...
. David Ruhe, a former member of the Universal House of Justice, has written mentioning his own view of Deganawida as a Prophet. Since no individual or institution can add to Bahá'í scripture it is impossible to add a specific name to a list of accepted Manifestations of God
Manifestation of God
The Manifestation of God is a concept in the Bahá'í Faith that refers to what are commonly called prophets. The Manifestations of God are a series of personages who reflect the attributes of the divine into the human world for the progress and advancement of human morals and civilization...
that would be binding on all Bahá'ís and Bahá'í institutions. However individuals and institutions may accept for their own purposes that various cultural heroes may have been in fact a Manifestation of God
Manifestation of God
The Manifestation of God is a concept in the Bahá'í Faith that refers to what are commonly called prophets. The Manifestations of God are a series of personages who reflect the attributes of the divine into the human world for the progress and advancement of human morals and civilization...
and Bahá'ís and institutions of the religion can accept the fact that sacred Indian tradition has mentioned specific names for individuals acting in the role of a Prophet
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
.
Interpretation of prophecy
In 1986 North American Bahá'í Lee Brown gave a talk at the 1986 Bahá'í Continental Indigenous Council held at Tanana ValleyTanana Valley
The Tanana Valley is a lowland region in central Alaska in the United States, on the north side of the Alaska Range where the Tanana River emerges from the mountains.-Climate:...
Fairgrounds, Fairbanks
Fairbanks
Fairbanks may refer to:Places in the United States*Fairbanks, Alaska, city*Fairbanks, California, unincorporated community in El Dorado County*Fairbanks, Mendocino County, California, former settlement*Fairbanks, Indiana, unincorporated community...
, Alaska, which was recorded and transcribed - it includes his interpretation of Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
, especially Hopi
Hopi
The Hopi are a federally recognized tribe of indigenous Native American people, who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. The Hopi area according to the 2000 census has a population of 6,946 people. Their Hopi language is one of the 30 of the Uto-Aztecan language...
, prophecies. Brown also appeared with Martha Many Grey Horses on a Bahá'í program discussing these prophecies.
Guaymi
Guaymí
The Guaymí or Ngäbe are an indigenous group living mainly within the Ngäbe-Buglé comarca in the Western Panamanian provinces of Veraguas, Chiriquí and Bocas del Toro, as well as in the indigenous town of Conte, Costa Rica near the extreme southern tip of the country...
Bahá'ís have stated there are prophecies from their own tribe's religion that they interpret to relate to the Bahá'í Faith. An elder
American Indian elder
In American Indian education, within each tribe elders, "are repositories of cultural and philosophical knowledge and are the transmitters of such information," including, "basic beliefs and teachings, encouraging...faith in the Great Spirit, the Creator"...
of the Arhuaco commented they had a similar prophecy. The prophecies of the Chilam Balam
Chilam Balam
The so-called Books of Chilam Balam are handwritten, chiefly 18th-century Mayan miscellanies, named after the small Yucatec towns where they were originally kept, and preserving important traditional knowledge in which indigenous Mayan and early Spanish traditions have coalesced...
have been examined as well.
There has been comment among prominent Bahá'ís about the White Buffalo Calf Woman
White Buffalo Calf Woman
White Buffalo Calf Woman , a sacred woman of supernatural origin, is treated as a prophet or a messiah and is central to the Lakota religion. Oral traditions relate that she brought the extended Lakota nation of the Teton Sioux their "Seven Sacred Rituals".- Story :The traditional story is that,...
and the appearance of the white buffalo
White buffalo
White buffalo are American bison that are considered to be sacred signs in several Native American religions, and thus have great spiritual importance in those cultures and are visited for prayer and other religious ceremonies...
.
Contacting the Indigenous
In 1912 `Abdu'l-Bahá took a journey to the West from Chicago that included a trip to Canada and through the mid-West with stops in a few cities. As he was leaving Canada, on the way back to the States, he traveled through several villages . Perhaps most interesting is that the train passed through the town of BellevilleBelleville, Ontario
Belleville is a city located at the mouth of the Moira River on the Bay of Quinte in Southern Ontario, Canada, in the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. It is the seat of Hastings County, but is politically independent of it. and the centre of the Bay of Quinte Region...
at 1:47pm according to researcher Will C. Van den Hoonaard. A four year old Mohawk
Mohawk nation
Mohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
boy, Jimmy Loft, was sitting on a fence as the train passed. `Abdu'l-Bahá took that moment to stand up and, facing the window, smile and wave. Loft was so surprised he toppled off the fence. In May 1948 he became one of the first native American Bahá'ís of Canada.
`Abdu'l-Bahá's Tablets of the Divine Plan
`Abdu'l-Bahá, the son of the founder of the religion, wrote a series of letters, or tablets, to the followers of the religion in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1916-1917; these letters were compiled together in the book Tablets of the Divine Plan
Tablets of the Divine Plan
The Tablets of the Divine Plan collectively refers to 14 letters written between September 1916 and March 1917 by `Abdu'l-Bahá to Bahá'ís in the United States and Canada. Included in multiple books, the first five tablets were printed in America in Star of the West - Vol. VII, No. 10, September 8,...
. The sixth of the tablets was the first to mention Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
n regions and was written on April 8, 1916, but was delayed in being presented in the United States until 1919—after the end of the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and the Spanish flu
Spanish flu
The 1918 flu pandemic was an influenza pandemic, and the first of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus . It was an unusually severe and deadly pandemic that spread across the world. Historical and epidemiological data are inadequate to identify the geographic origin...
. The sixth tablet was translated and presented by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab
Mirza Ahmad Sohrab
Mírzá Aḥmad Sohráb was a Persian-American author and Bahá'í who co-founded the New History Society and the Caravan of East and West in New York, and was excommunicated from the Bahá'í Faith in 1939 by Shoghi Effendi.-Early life:...
on April 4, 1919, and published in Star of the West
Star of the West (Bahá'í magazine)
The Star of the West was a Bahá'í periodical which began publication on March 21, 1910 and ended publication under this title in March of 1935....
magazine on December 12, 1919. After mentioning the need for the message of the religion to visit the Latin American countries `Abdu'l-Bahá continued:
Attach great importance to the indigenous population of America. For these souls may be likened unto the ancient inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula, who, prior to the Mission of Muḥammad, were like unto savages. When the light of Muḥammad shone forth in their midst, however, they became so radiant as to illumine the world. Likewise, these Indians, should they be educated and guided, there can be no doubt that they will become so illumined as to enlighten the whole world....
Following the Tablets and about the time of `Abdu'l-Bahá's passing in 1921, a few other Bahá'ís began moving to, or at least visiting, Latin or South America. First Martha Root
Martha Root
Martha Louise Root was a prominent traveling teacher of the Bahá'í Faith in the late 19th and early 20th century. Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith called her "the foremost travel teacher in the first Bahá'í Century", and named her a Hand of the Cause posthumously...
followed by Leonora Armstrong
Leonora Armstrong
Leonora Holsapple Armstrong was the first Bahá'í to live in Brazil and she is regarded as a 'Spiritual Mother of the Bahá'ís of Latin America'...
were among the first to make this trips before 1928.
Cultural relationships and challenges
The cultural norms in the Bahá'í Faith have gone through major transitions. The first occurred at about the turn of the 20th century when the religion became known beyond its mainly Muslim Middle-Eastern population and spread to Christian North America and Europe. The foundations of this achievement had been laid from the earliest days of the new religion when Bahá'u'lláhBahá'u'lláh
Bahá'u'lláh , born ' , was the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. He claimed to be the prophetic fulfilment of Bábism, a 19th-century outgrowth of Shí‘ism, but in a broader sense claimed to be a messenger from God referring to the fulfilment of the eschatological expectations of Islam, Christianity, and...
in two of his writings from the Baghdad period addressed Christian issues. Then towards the end of the nineteenth century, the famous Bahá'í scholar, Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl
Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl
' , or ' was the foremost Bahá'í scholar who helped spread the Bahá'í Faith in Egypt, Turkmenistan, and the United States. He is one of the few Apostles of Bahá'u'lláh who never actually met Bahá'u'lláh...
, extended these foundations by writing extensively on Bahá'í approaches to the New and Old Testaments. This was followed by the conversion of numerous Jews, in Iran, and Christians, in Syria and Egypt, to the religion. It was Syrian Christian converts in particular who were largely responsible for taking the Bahá'í Faith to Christian North America, from where there was further spread to Europe and Australia. See also `Abdu'l-Bahá's journeys to the West
`Abdu'l-Bahá's journeys to the West
`Abdu'l-Bahá's journeys to the West were a series of trips `Abdu'l-Bahá undertook starting at the age of 67 from Palestine to the West from 1910 to 1913. `Abdu'l-Bahá was imprisoned at the age of 8 and suffered various degrees of privation most of his life...
. The second major breakthrough started post-World War II when the religion began to spread rapidly in the villages of the Third World. Some idea of the extent of this comparatively sudden change can be gleaned from the fact that prior to 1954, approximately 94% of the world Bahá'í population consisted of Iranians. By 1989, that figure is about 7% while Bahá'ís from the non-Muslim Third World represent some 90% of the Bahá'ís.
In Latin and South America the religion spread in the 1940s following specific plans of promulgating the religion. A stated purpose for the coordinating committees appointed to oversee the process was to facilitate a shift in the balance of roles from North American leading guidance and Latin cooperation to Latin leading guidance and North American cooperation. The process was well underway by 1950 and was to be enforced about 1953. However a period of "re-activating" core communities was necessary in 1950, while other communities failed to re-elect their institutions initially though the regional committees continued operation. Nevertheless regional National Spiritual Assemblies for the region were elected in 1950 and 1951. By 1961 most Latin and South American countries had their own national assembly.
In Africa there was widespread conversions to the religion following the 1950s. It was emphasized that western pioneers be self-effacing and focus their efforts not on the colonial leadership but on the native Africans - and that the pioneers must show by actions the sincerity of their sense of service to the Africans in bringing the religion and then the Africans who understand their new religion are to be given freedom to rise up and spread the religion according to their own sensibilities and the pioneers to disperse or step into the background. Enoch Olinga
Enoch Olinga
Enoch Olinga was born to an Anglican family of the Iteso ethnic group in Uganda. He became a Bahá'í, earned the title Knight of Bahá'u'lláh and was appointed as the youngest Hand of the Cause, the highest appointed position in the religion. He served the interests of the religion widely and...
is specifically mentioned as an example of this process unfolding as he arose out of Uganda and repeated the quick growth of the religion. Because of the successive waves of people becoming Knights of Bahá'u'lláh
Knights of Bahá'u'lláh
The title Knight of Bahá'u'lláh was given by Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, to Bahá'ís who arose to open new territories to the Faith during the Ten Year Crusade....
, Enoch Olinga was entitled "Abd'l-Futuh", a Persian name meaning "the father of victories" by Shoghi Effendi though he too implemented changes in character by giving up alcoholism and eventually polygamy.
In India where the Bahá'í message had for decades been primarily addressed to Indian Muslims and Parsees (Zoroastrians), a re-interpretation of the Bahá'í message in accordance with Hindu ideas was necessary to reach the masses of Hindus. India became the largest Bahá'í community in the world in 2000 after less than a century of mass teaching though it also entailed systematically reaching a large community of Untouchables or Harijans. See Bahá'í Faith in India.
Unlike the spread of Christianity within Indian country in the United States, the Bahá‘í Faith has never been associated with a fortification of colonial occupation, Euro-American assimilation, or forced conversions of Native Americans. Indeed in 1960 Hand of the Cause Rúhíyyih Khánum
Rúhíyyih Khanum
Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum , born Mary Sutherland Maxwell was the wife of Shoghi Effendi, the head of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921–1957. She was appointed by him as a Hand of the Cause, and served an important role in the transfer of authority from 1957–1963...
asked for forgiveness for the injustices her race had done and praised their great past. And in 1963 anthropologist Alice Beck Kehoe
Alice Beck Kehoe
Alice Beck Kehoe is an anthropologist. She attended Barnard College and Harvard University, from which she received her PhD in Anthropology. While a student at Barnard, she was influenced by James Ford, Gordon Ekholm, and Junius Bird; she worked summers at the American Museum of Natural History...
, a well known researcher of Native Americans, observed that the Bahá‘í Faith is considered by its members to be a universal faith, not tied to any one particular culture, religious background, language, or even country of origin. However one researcher, based on experience as a scholar and elder of in an Indian tribe, observed in 2007: "Most white Canadians and Americans have no clue with respect to how constantly they reinforce their own cultural assumptions, right or wrong, and pile them upon Indians, never willing or even interested in hearing our own Native view. I agree that the Bahá‘ís in Canada and the U.S. have made some good headway in the honoring and validating native spiritual prophecies and principles. However, much more transformation along the lines of intercultural interactions within the Bahá‘í international community needs to take place. In particular, I am referring specifically to most (but not all) of our non-Native Bahá‘ís who find it impossible to break through the inner barriers of their own Euro-American culture."
In a context of difficulties in relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples there is a pattern on the one hand of indigenous efforts of entrenched violent confrontation for self-determination and on the other of wholesale romanticization of Native culture, religion, and lifestyle. The Bahá'í encounter with Aboriginals in British Colombia was observed by another anthropologist that, while not fully transformed, the Bahá'í Faith's encounter with Indians was a forceful illustration that something between the extremes was possible between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples. While the goals of equality and unity in diversity had yet to be fully realized within the Bahá’í community, the religion has nevertheless served as a potent source of empowerment for Aboriginal adherents. Adoption of the Bahá’í Faith has not entailed a stark renunciation of preexisting forms of Aboriginal belief, practice, or identity. Rather, it has served as a firm source of confirmation and connection, reinforcing the validity of Aboriginal culture and fostering pride in Aboriginal heritage. However relatively few of the over nine hundred Aboriginal people who enrolled in the Bahá‘í Faith in British Columbia between 1948 and 1992 ultimately became active adherent and despite such empowering impact, patterns of non-Aboriginal cultural dominance encountered within the Bahá‘í community simultaneously suggest the pervasiveness of the colonial legacy and the potency of contemporary social context; good intentions proved insufficient to fully transform intercultural interactions. But there is progress in appreciation of Indian cultural and spiritual experience coming through Bahá'í publishing channels just as there has been of Islam over a century ago.
Systematic Efforts
Shoghi EffendiShoghi Effendi
Shoghí Effendí Rabbání , better known as Shoghi Effendi, was the Guardian and appointed head of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957...
, who was named `Abdu'l-Bahá's successor, wrote a cable
Telegraphy
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages via some form of signalling technology. Telegraphy requires messages to be converted to a code which is known to both sender and receiver...
on May 1, 1936 to the Bahá'í Annual Convention of the United States and Canada, and asked for the systematic implementation of `Abdu'l-Bahá's vision to begin. In his cable he wrote:
"Appeal to assembled delegates ponder historic appeal voiced by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Tablets of the Divine Plan. Urge earnest deliberation with incoming National Assembly to insure its complete fulfillment. First century of Bahá'í Era drawing to a close. Humanity entering outer fringes most perilous stage its existence. Opportunities of present hour unimaginably precious. Would to God every State within American Republic and every Republic in American continent might ere termination of this glorious century embrace the light of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh and establish structural basis of His World Order."
Following the May 1st cable, another cable from Shoghi Effendi came on May 19 calling for permanent pioneers
Pioneering (Bahá'í)
A pioneer is a volunteer Bahá'í who leaves his or her home to journey to another place for the purpose of teaching the Bahá'í Faith. The act of so moving is termed pioneering. Bahá'ís refrain from using the term "missionary"...
to be established in all the countries of Latin America. The Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada was appointed the Inter-America Committee to take charge of the preparations. During the 1937 Bahá'í North American Convention, Shoghi Effendi cabled advising the convention to prolong their deliberations to permit the delegates and the National Assembly to consult on a plan that would enable Bahá'ís to go to Latin America as well as to include the completion of the outer structure of the Bahá'í House of Worship
Bahá'í House of Worship
A Bahá'í House of Worship, sometimes referred to by its Arabic name of Mashriqu'l-Adhkár ,is the designation of a place of worship, or temple, of the Bahá'í Faith...
in Wilmette, Illinois. In 1937 the First Seven Year Plan (1937–44), which was an international plan designed by Shoghi Effendi, gave the American Bahá'ís the goal of establishing the Bahá'í Faith in every country in Latin America. With the spread of American Bahá'ís communities and assemblies began to form in 1938 across Latin America.
Across the Americas by 1947 the Bahá'í Faith had contacted peoples among the Eskimos of Alaska and Greenland, the Cree Indians of Prairie Provinces, Canada, the Cherokee Indians in North Carolina, the Oneida Indians in Wisconsin, the Omaha Indians in Nebraska, the Seminole Indians in Florida, the Mexican Indians in Mexico, the Indians of the San Blas Islands, the Indians of Chichicastenango in Guatemala, the Mayans in Yucatán, the Patagonian Indians in Argentina, the Indians of La Paz in Bolivia and the Inca Indians in Peru. In 1944 Gerardo Vega, of Costa Rica, was the first Latin-American native to pioneer when he began work in Panama. Regional committees overseeing various countries of Latin and South America were appointed. Retrospectively a stated purpose for the committee was to facilitate a shift in the balance of roles from North American guidance and Latin cooperation to Latin guidance and North American cooperation. Back in North America, the first all-Indian assembly in the Americas was first established in 1948 on the Omaha Indian Reservation at Macy, Nebraska
Macy, Nebraska
Macy is a census-designated place in Thurston County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 956 at the 2000 census.It is within the Omaha Indian Reservation.-Geography:Macy is located at ....
. The process was well underway by 1950 and was to be enforced about 1953. Shoghi Effendi then called for two international conventions to be held at April 1951; one was held in Panama City for the purpose of electing a regional National Spiritual Assembly
The nineteenth objective of that portion of the Ten Year Crusade
Ten Year Crusade
The Ten Year World Crusade was launched by Shoghi Effendi in an effort to facilitate an organized expansion of the Bahá'í Faith....
entrusted in 1953 to the American Bahá'í Community by its architect was the "conversion to the Faith of members of the leading Indian tribes." In August 1957 Shoghi Effendi reminded the regional assembly of the comment of Abdu'l-Baha and would therefore devote considerable energy on the matter. A Bahá'í made a trip to Dominica specifically to try to reach the Carib Indians on May 7, 1959.
By 1961 a number of developments had been achieved. There was the election of the Bolivian national assembly - representative of a community the vast majority of whom were of the Aymara people. Some thirteen hundred of these Indians, in over one hundred localities had joined the religion and over twenty local assemblies in Bolivia had been elected. There were elections of Indian assemblies in Ecuador, Guatemala and Mexico - regions of the former Incas, Mayas, and Aztecs and the formation four assemblies representative of Canadian Indians in the Yukon, Alberta and Saskatchewan. At that time there were over forty Indian and Eskimo tribes represented in the Bahá'í Community throughout the Western Hemisphere - more than double the number in 1957. In 1961 each country of a regional assembly of southern South America elected its own National Spiritual Assembly. Paraguay's national convention was witnessed by Hand of the Cause, Dr. Ramatu'llah Muhajir. At the convention Dr. Muhajir and the delegates drew up plans for reaching the Indian populations as well as ways to reinforce the communities that already existed. Still in 1961 the National Spiritual Assembly of Panama sent two official representatives, Edna Moses and Donald R. Witzel, to a congress of natives on the San Blas Islands
San Blas Islands
The San Blas Islands of Panama is an archipelago comprising approximately 378 islands and cays, of which only 49 are inhabited. They lay off the north coast of the Isthmus, east of the Panama Canal...
. The Bahá'ís presented an outline of the religion. A chief countered that other religionists had presented their religions as a means to divide the people from their tribal religion. Before 1963 the first two all-Indian Local Spiritual Assemblies in South America were Huanuni and then Vilcollo, Bolivia - by 1963 there were twenty five such assemblies in Bolivia and about 1000 Baha'is among the Bolivian Indian peoples. A team formed to promulgate the religion - a chief of the Peigan Reserve
Peigan 147
Peigan 147 is an Indian reserve in Alberta. It is located southwest of Lethbridge. It is at an elevation of .-References:...
, also chair of its first Bahá'í assembly, and an elected member of the Band Council for the Peigan Band of the Blackfoot
Blackfoot
The Blackfoot Confederacy or Niitsítapi is the collective name of three First Nations in Alberta and one Native American tribe in Montana....
and John Hellson, a Bahá'í formerly of Cornwall, England, now of Alberta, who is an adopted member of the Mohawk nation
Mohawk nation
Mohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
. Together they carried letters of introduction to the chiefs of all the Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation in Ontario and Quebec and were welcomed with a special ceremony on some of the Reserves. Their itinerary included Reserves of Nanaimo
Snuneymuxw First Nation
The Snuneymuxw First Nation is the band government of the Snuneymuxw of west-central Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The Snuneymuxw First Nation have lived along the eastern coast of south-central Vancouver Island, British Columbia for an estimated 5,000 years...
and Capilano of British Columbia, Ohsweken, Kettle Point
Kettle Point 44, Ontario
Kettle Point 44 is an Indian reserve northeast of Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, on the southern shore of Lake Huron. The reserve serves as the land base for the Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation...
, Tyendinaga
Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, Ontario
Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory is an 73 km² Mohawk First Nations reserve on the Bay of Quinte in southeastern Ontario, Canada, east of Belleville and immediately to the west of Deseronto...
, and Curve Lake
Curve Lake First Nation 35, Ontario
Curve Lake is the name of two Ojibwe Indian reserves 14 km north of Peterborough, Ontario. They serve as the landbase for the Curve Lake First Nation...
of Ontario, and Kahnawake, Quebec.
By 1963 there was a small group in Pedro Juan Caballero in Costa Rica and some of whom were from the Caygüa (Kadiweu people
Kadiweu people
The Kadiweu are an ethnic group indigenous to the Gran Chaco region of South America, presently living in Southwest Brazil. As of 1998, they numbered about 1500 people, divided into four villages....
?). In the national convention of 1964 of Costa Rica members of the Talamanca and Terraba were among the delegates. The first native American Bahá'í of Paraguay, Rosendo Segundo, joined the religion in 1964. Segundo was a member of the Guarani of the Chaco tribe
Chaco (tribe)
The Chaco tribe is a native American tribe in Paraguay who built complex stone edifices that aligned with solar and lunar trajectories. The Chaco had no written language and so all knowledge required for building their structures had to be passed by word of mouth over many generations...
. In 1965 actual contact with the Chaco tribe began. Grandchildren of Sitting Bull
Sitting Bull
Sitting Bull Sitting Bull Sitting Bull (Lakota: Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake (in Standard Lakota Orthography), also nicknamed Slon-he or "Slow"; (c. 1831 – December 15, 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux holy man who led his people as a tribal chief during years of resistance to United States government policies...
and Bull Head were noted as friends in meetings in 1966. A multi-national group including an Indian toured North Bay, Ontario
North Bay, Ontario
North Bay is a city in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is the seat of Nipissing District, and takes its name from its position on the shore of Lake Nipissing.-History:...
, Canada, in 1967. In 1969 members of the Chulupi speaking and Lengua
Sanapana
The Sanapana were one of many nomadic tribes inhabiting the lower Gran Chaco of western Paraguay. With the introduction of Mennonite settlements in the central Chaco in the 1930s, many nomadic tribes semi-settled near the Mennonites. The Mennonites established Missions to many of these tribes,...
tribes had converted to the religion and first all-Indian institute in northern Gran Chaco
Gran Chaco
The Gran Chaco is a sparsely populated, hot and semi-arid lowland region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided among eastern Bolivia, Paraguay, northern Argentina and a portion of the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, where it is connected with the Pantanal region...
area, in Paraguay with members of the Guarani, Guasurango, (a Tapieté
Tapieté
Tapieté is a subdialect of Eastern Bolivian Guaraní spoken by 33 Paraguayans , 100 Argentines, and 70 Bolivians. It is also known as Guasurango, Guasurangue, Tirumbae, Yanaigua, Ñanagua, and Nandeva....
speaking) and Chulupi attending. In 1970 the first Yanaigua (another Tapieté
Tapieté
Tapieté is a subdialect of Eastern Bolivian Guaraní spoken by 33 Paraguayans , 100 Argentines, and 70 Bolivians. It is also known as Guasurango, Guasurangue, Tirumbae, Yanaigua, Ñanagua, and Nandeva....
speaking) tribe member joined the religion and that year was first time an indigenous Bahá'í was elected to the national assembly, (in 1982 there were three indigenous members of the national assembly.) In February 1970 pioneer family of Samuel and Teresa Garcia and their four children, native Costa Ricans, in February 1970 to the area of Guanacaste seeking to identify members of lapsed communities. Come April 1970 eight Local Assemblies were re-established following which a number of programs were initiated to solidify the understanding of some of these new Bahá'ís. And in 1977 a radio campaign began in Paraguay. The first Guaymí
Guaymí
The Guaymí or Ngäbe are an indigenous group living mainly within the Ngäbe-Buglé comarca in the Western Panamanian provinces of Veraguas, Chiriquí and Bocas del Toro, as well as in the indigenous town of Conte, Costa Rica near the extreme southern tip of the country...
Bahá'í dates back into the 1960s, and since the 1980s there have been several projects started and evolving in those communities.
In 1975–6 Rúhíyyih Khanum
Rúhíyyih Khanum
Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum , born Mary Sutherland Maxwell was the wife of Shoghi Effendi, the head of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921–1957. She was appointed by him as a Hand of the Cause, and served an important role in the transfer of authority from 1957–1963...
travelled by boat through the tributaries of the Amazon River
Amazon River
The Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined...
of Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
and also visiting the high mountain ranges of Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
and Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
. Thirty six tribal groups were visited over a period of six months; the trip was called The Green Light Expedition, which followed Khanum's The Great African Safari. There have also been projects developed from the original expedition - In the Footsteps of the Green Light Expedition and Tear of the Clouds.
In 1990 the first assembly entirely composed of indigenous people in Brazil was elected from the Mura people in Beruri
Beruri
Beruri is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. Its population was 13,220 and its area is 17,251 km²....
, Brazil. In 1994 Elizabeth Dahe, a long-time Bahá'í and Hopi
Hopi
The Hopi are a federally recognized tribe of indigenous Native American people, who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. The Hopi area according to the 2000 census has a population of 6,946 people. Their Hopi language is one of the 30 of the Uto-Aztecan language...
elder, invited the other Hopi elders to gather and meet Kevin Locke who presented the claims of the Bahá'í Faith directly to 100 Hopi elders. Bahá'ís claim nearly half of the Chilean Bahá'í community is of the indigenous Mapuche people.
Bahá'ís in Cape Dorset acted with support and coordination through the spiritual assembly of the Omaha Reservation
Omaha Reservation
The Omaha Reservation of the Omaha tribe is located mostly in Thurston County, Nebraska, with sections in neighboring Cuming County and Burt County, in addition to Monona County in Iowa. The tribal seat of government is in Macy, with the towns of Rosalie, Thurston, Pender and Walthill located in...
and of Springfield Illinois. And an assembly was elected in Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin.
Bahá'í radio
Bahá'í radio in Ecuador evolved as a way to serve the thousands of converts in the late 1960s and 1970s. A native of OtavaloOtavalo
Otavalo, capital of Otavalo Canton, is a largely indigenous town in the Imbabura Province of Ecuador. The town has about 50,000 inhabitants and is surrounded by the peaks of Imbabura 4,630m, Cotacachi 4,995m, and Mojanda volcanoes.- The market :...
, Ecuador and chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of Ecuador investigated using radio as a tool for spreading the religion and serving the newly forming communities. In early 1973, Raul Pavon leased Radio Turismo station and initiated fourteen hours of daily broadcasts. None involved had backgrounding in running a radio station. Initial success was based on playing local and national music genre. In July 1973 the national assembly added the goal of a radio station to its budget and a committee to create programing. Programming was developed and aired in eight cities between 15-minute segments up to hour-long bilingual (Spanish-Quichua) programs of Bahá'í prayers
Prayer in the Bahá'í Faith
Prayer in the Bahá'í Faith refers to two distinct concepts: obligatory prayer and devotional prayer . Both types of prayer are composed of reverent words which are addressed to God, and the act of prayer is one of the most important Bahá'í laws for individual discipline...
, and drawing from Bahá'í literature
Bahá'í literature
Bahá'í literature, like much religious text, covers a variety of topics and forms, including scripture and inspiration, interpretation, history and biography, introduction and study materials, and apologia...
as well as information of its world-wide community. In 1975, training workshops were organized for scriptwriters. Other trainings continued in 1976. By 1976 the committee had produced 1286 hours of programming at a cost of approximately $2000 as well as documentation to support sister projects. A low-power AM
Amplitude modulation
Amplitude modulation is a technique used in electronic communication, most commonly for transmitting information via a radio carrier wave. AM works by varying the strength of the transmitted signal in relation to the information being sent...
radio station which was finally granted in 1977. There were challenges of coordination and staffing to overcome. Outside trainers or professional staff were able to come in 1977, 1978, and 1980. A commission was developed, typically including a body composed of an indigenous person, a "white" person, technical experts, senior Bahá'ís and a veteran of the station, with a balance of majority of local people while also one member to be literate and capable of dealing with the administration of the commission.
With regular feedback from experienced institutions operating out of the Bahá'í World Centre
Bahá'í World Centre
The Bahá'í World Centre is the name given to the spiritual and administrative centre of the Bahá'í Faith. The World Centre consists of the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh near Acre, Israel, the Shrine of the Báb and its gardens on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel, and various other buildings in the area...
, progress was maintained and Dr. David Ruhe, then a member of the Universal House of Justice
Universal House of Justice
The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. It is a legislative institution with the authority to supplement and apply the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and exercises a judicial function as the highest appellate institution in the...
, visited in 1980 and acted as liaison between the radio station and the Audio-Visual Department at the Bahá'í administrative offices. In 1980 almost the entire staff traveled to Peru to make extensive presentations to the international Bahá'í media conference in Puno
Puno
Puno is a city in southeastern Peru, located on the shore of Lake Titicaca. It is the capital city of the Puno Region and the Puno Province with a population of approximately 100,000. The city was established in 1668 by viceroy Pedro Antonio Fernández de Castro as capital of the province of...
where the second Bahá'í Radio station would be set up. It was not until 1981 that a suitable director was able to take up service by combining the qualities of being a Bahá'í, an experienced radio professional, and an Ecuadoran and able to volunteer. In addition to Quinteros, six other indigenous had systematically begun to serve at the station as full-time staff as well as larger numbers of part-time staff amounting to some 200 persons including indigenous youth in the first four years of the operation of the station. Indigenous staff were able to conduct workshops for other indigenous staff, in Spanish and Quichua, for the first time in 1981. Staff for projects in Bolivia, Chile and Peru participated in successive training and Ecuadoran staff traveled to Peru and Bolivia to assist in those projects. The Commission wrote to the Chilean Bahá'ís about the development of their radio station that:
"The most important and indispensable thing is to maintain a happy, loving, spirited team-family. Try to have as high a percentage as possible of your staff native. At least 75%. It is far better to let a native do something wrong than not to give him the opportunity by having a foreigner do it."
By 1983 training of staff at Radio Bahá'í Ecuador was almost entirely in the hands of indigenous staff. There has also been training at the Amoz Gibson Training Center for Bahá'í Media in Puerto Rico operated by CIRBAL (Centro para Intercambio Radiofonico Bahá'í de America Latina.)
Native American Bahá'í Institute
In 1978 some 60 Native Bahá'ís and their pioneer friends (40 of whom were from Navajo-Hopi land) attended the U.S. Bahá'í National Convention at the invitation of the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly to honor the achievement of winning the first goal of the 5-Year-Plan — the establishment of 25 Local Spiritual Assemblies on Indian Reservations. They wanted to build a “Bahá'í place” on the Navajo Reservation, and they wanted the Convention to show their support. With the assent of the Convention, the National Spiritual Assembly members hurriedly met and announced their approval of this new institution. Two years later, the HouckHouck, Arizona
Houck is a census-designated place in Apache County, Arizona, United States. The population was 1,087 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Houck is located at ....
, Arizona property was secured and the institute became manifest. Named the Native American Bahá'í Institute (NABI) by the National Spiritual Assembly, NABI was designated an agency of the National Spiritual Assembly thereby becoming one of the five permanent school and institutes. Over the years it has been focused upon various goals. Since 1998, it has been designated a Regional Training Institute by the National Spiritual Assembly, and has been immersed in advancing the goals of the Training Institute process among Native Americans. In 2001 it began publishing the Navaho-Hopi Bahá'í Newsletter. In 2005 a socio-economic development
Socio-economic development (Bahá'í)
Since its inception the Bahá'í Faith has had involvement in socio-economic development beginning by giving greater freedom to women, promulgating the promotion of female education as a priority concern, and that involvement was given practical expression by creating schools, agricultural coops, and...
project carried out at NABI was Media Training Pilot which trained youth to conduct film interviews of two Navajo artists which was released as a local video. Arya Laghaie was a volunteer who is buried there since 2007.
Spirit Runners
From May to August 2000 Spirit Runners extended the engagement of native Bahá'ís, and one of the members of the Trail of Light expeditions, traveling across North America from Seattle, Washington to Shinnecock, New York.There have been successive trips by groups from the 1990s into 2002 when the Native American Bahá'í Institute hosted a gathering for Trail travelers.
First Native Bahá´í Council of North America
During the international convention for the election of the Universal House of JusticeUniversal House of Justice
The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. It is a legislative institution with the authority to supplement and apply the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and exercises a judicial function as the highest appellate institution in the...
in Haifa in April 1978 a meeting was held with representatives of the other circumpolar national Bahá'í communities: Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Denmark (on behalf of Greenland), and Canada. It was decided then to form a Continental Indigenous Council committee under the supervision of the National Spiritual Assembly of Alaska, and a four-member Eskimo-Indian team was formed to travel for 45 days in 10 European countries during the summer. The Indian members of the team were Scott Tyler of the United States and Melba Loft of Canada; the Eskimos were Ida Bergamaschi and Maynard Eakan of Alaska. The idea for the Trail of Light occurred during preparations for the first Baha'i Native Council, held in 1978 on the Yakima Indian Reservation in Washington State when the national assemblies of Canada, Alaska and the United States were discussing the event. Another inspiration for the Trail of Light was the concept of promulgating the religion among the indigenous peoples in the Pacific Rim
Pacific Rim
The Pacific Rim refers to places around the edge of the Pacific Ocean. The term "Pacific Basin" includes the Pacific Rim and islands in the Pacific Ocean...
that was described by the Hand of the Cause Rahmátu'llah Muhájir
Rahmátu'llah Muhájir
Raḥmatu'lláh Muhájir was a prominent fourth generation Bahá'í, born on 4 April 1923 in the town of 'Abdu'l-'Azím, Iran. In 1954, Dr Muhájir married Írán Furútan, the daughter of `Alí-Akbar Furútan, and together they pioneered to the Mentawai Islands of Indonesia...
in 1978. The Trail of Light, also known as Camino del Sol, was defined as a process whereby native Bahá'ís engaged with diverse native peoples about a number of issues including promulgating their religion as well as organizing councils for the people and encouraged discovery of mutual cultural links across the native peoples. The first Trail of Light traveling trip by 22 members of the religion occurred spontaneously immediately after the council.
Second Native Bahá'í Council of North America
In 1980 an estimated 1,000 native American members of the religion and their guests gathered for the second American Bahá'í Native Council at a pow-wowPow-wow
A pow-wow is a gathering of North America's Native people. The word derives from the Narragansett word powwaw, meaning "spiritual leader". A modern pow-wow is a specific type of event where both Native American and non-Native American people meet to dance, sing, socialize, and honor American...
along with Hand of the Cause Dhikru'llah Khadem
Dhikru'llah Khadem
Dhikru'llah Khadem was a prominent follower of the Bahá'í Faith, and was appointed by Shoghi Effendi to be a Hand of the Cause in 1952....
and Amoz Gibson, with long contact with Indian populations and then a member of the Universal House of Justice. The event was sponsored by the Bahá'í Continental Indigenous Council which was composed of three indigenous believers from each of the national assemblies of North America. After the council meeting, a three-day training and deepening program developed plans and teams of Bahá'ís to travel to different regions to promulgate the religion among the native Americans. These teams of Native American Bahá'ís from Alaska, Canada and the 48 contiguous United States represented 10 tribes under the name Trail of Light.
One team visited six native villages in Alaska from July 18 to August 1. Team members were Tina Salomon, an Osage
Osage Nation
The Osage Nation is a Native American Siouan-language tribe in the United States that originated in the Ohio River valley in present-day Kentucky. After years of war with invading Iroquois, the Osage migrated west of the Mississippi River to their historic lands in present-day Arkansas, Missouri,...
-Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
from Sparks, Nevada
Sparks, Nevada
Sparks is a city in Washoe County, Nevada, United States, located east of Reno, Nevada. The 2010 U.S. Census Bureau population count was 90,264. Sparks is often referred to as half of a twin city .-Geography and Climate:...
; Mary Jane Tevuk, an Inupiat Eskimo from Nome, Alaska
Nome, Alaska
Nome is a city in the Nome Census Area in the Unorganized Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska, located on the southern Seward Peninsula coast on Norton Sound of the Bering Sea. According to the 2010 Census, the city population was 3,598. Nome was incorporated on April 9, 1901, and was once the...
; Regina Steffes, a Navajo
Navajo people
The Navajo of the Southwestern United States are the largest single federally recognized tribe of the United States of America. The Navajo Nation has 300,048 enrolled tribal members. The Navajo Nation constitutes an independent governmental body which manages the Navajo Indian reservation in the...
-Oneida
Oneida tribe
The Oneida are a Native American/First Nations people and are one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy in the area of upstate New York...
from Fontana, California
Fontana, California
Fontana is a city of 196,069 residents in San Bernardino County, California. Founded in 1913, it remained essentially rural until World War II, when entrepreneur Henry J. Kaiser built a large steel mill in the area...
; and team captain Chester Kahn, a Navajo from Houck, Arizona
Houck, Arizona
Houck is a census-designated place in Apache County, Arizona, United States. The population was 1,087 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Houck is located at ....
(later a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States); Bill Ekomiak, an Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
Eskimo from Daysland, Alberta, Canada; Johan Lyberth, an Inuit Eskimo from Nuuk
Nuuk
Nuuk, is the capital of Greenland, the northernmost capital in North America and the largest city in Greenland. Located in the Nuup Kangerlua fjord, the city lies on the eastern shore of the Labrador Sea and on the west coast of Sermersooq. Nuuk is the largest cultural and economic center in...
, Greenland.
A second team visited Indian Reserves and cities in Northern Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
, Canada, included Henry Bainbridge, a Navajo from Teec Nos Pos, Arizona
Teec Nos Pos, Arizona
Teec Nos Pos is a census-designated place in Apache County, Arizona, United States. The population was 799 at the 2000 census. The Navajo name of this community translates as "cottonwoods in a Circle". It is the western terminus of U.S...
; Ernestine Moore, a Paiute
Paiute
Paiute refers to three closely related groups of Native Americans — the Northern Paiute of California, Idaho, Nevada and Oregon; the Owens Valley Paiute of California and Nevada; and the Southern Paiute of Arizona, southeastern California and Nevada, and Utah.-Origin of name:The origin of...
-Washoe
Washoe people
The Washoe are a Great Basin tribe of Native Americans, living in California and Nevada. The name "Washoe" is derived from the autonym waashiw meaning "people from here" in the Washo language .-Territory:Washoe people have lived in the Great Basin for at least the last 6000 years...
from Reno, Nevada
Reno, Nevada
Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
; Maynard Eakan, an Inupiaq Eskimo from Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
, and member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Alaska; Shirley Lindstrom, a Tlingit from Mayo, Yukon
Mayo, Yukon
Mayo is a village in the Yukon, Canada, along the Silver Trail and the Stewart River. The population was 248 in 2006. It is also the home of the First Nation of Nacho Nyak Dun, whose primary language is Northern Tutchone. Nacho Nyak Dun translates into "big river people". It is serviced by Mayo...
, Canada; team captain Noni Nelson, a Metis
Métis people (Canada)
The Métis are one of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who trace their descent to mixed First Nations parentage. The term was historically a catch-all describing the offspring of any such union, but within generations the culture syncretised into what is today a distinct aboriginal group, with...
from Enderby, British Columbia
Enderby, British Columbia
The City of Enderby is in the North Okanagan of the Canadian province of British Columbia, between Armstrong and Salmon Arm. It is approximately 80 km north of Kelowna and 130 km east of Kamloops...
, Canada; Peter Singyke, an Inupiaq from Anchorage, Alaska; Rita Blumenstein, an Aleut-Athabascan-Yupik Eskimo from Palmer, Alaska
Palmer, Alaska
Palmer is the borough seat of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough in the state of Alaska, USA. It is part of the Anchorage Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city is 5,937....
; Dennis Bainbridge, age 9, a Navajo from Teec-Nos-Pos, Arizona.
One of the teams split in two and traveled from the north to the south starting mid June and traveled among the people in Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala,Honduras, and Panama. While in Panama they gathered with more than 1,000 Guaymi
Guaymí
The Guaymí or Ngäbe are an indigenous group living mainly within the Ngäbe-Buglé comarca in the Western Panamanian provinces of Veraguas, Chiriquí and Bocas del Toro, as well as in the indigenous town of Conte, Costa Rica near the extreme southern tip of the country...
Bahá'ís joined by Costa Rican Guaymi, Talamanca, and Teribe
Teribe
Teribe is a town and corregimiento in the Changuinola District of Bocas del Toro Province of Panama....
representatives and they agreed on founding a Native Council for the Panamanian and Costa Rican tribes. The Trail of Light team then continued through Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
and finally Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
. In Ecuador the team was presented to the audience at a conference in May 1982 dedicated to the anniversary of the death of Bahiyyih Khánum
Bahiyyih Khánum
Bahíyyih Khánum the only daughter of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and Ásíyih Khánum. She was born in 1846 with the given name Fatimih Sultan, and was entitled "Varaqiy-i-'Ulyá" or "Greatest Holy Leaf"...
. Representatives of 24 of the 29 national assemblies in Latin America and the Caribbean, and members of 21 Indian tribes from Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, the United States and Venezuela were present.
Third Council of North America
In August 1982 the third North American Native Council was held gathering Hand of the Cause Rúhíyyih KhanumRúhíyyih Khanum
Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum , born Mary Sutherland Maxwell was the wife of Shoghi Effendi, the head of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921–1957. She was appointed by him as a Hand of the Cause, and served an important role in the transfer of authority from 1957–1963...
and four hundred forty-six Bahá'ís and their guests from 10 countries and representing 60 Indian tribes on the Blood Indian Reserve in southwestern Alberta, Canada. Following this conference, Rúhíyyih Khanum traveled across Canada and into Greenland and Iceland visiting civic leaders and Bahá'í communities. She met people from Fountain Reserve
Fountain, British Columbia
Fountain is an unincorporated rural area and Indian Reserve community in the Fraser Canyon region of British Columbia, Canada, located at the ten-mile mark from the town of Lillooet on BC Highway 99, which in that area is also on the route of the Old Cariboo Road and is located at the junction of...
and Thunderbird Reserve. At the close of the tour in September the team presented an Indian ceremonial blanket to Rúhíyyih Khanum who responded by joining them in a dance. Followup meetings after the Trail travelers came through occurred in November in Alaska and December in Honduras.
In 1984 a reprise of the Trail of Light was undertaken when an international team of five Bahá'ís spent 17 days in Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
; they were a Mapuche
Mapuche
The Mapuche are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina. They constitute a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who shared a common social, religious and economic structure, as well as a common linguistic heritage. Their influence extended...
Indian from Chile, a Quechua from Peru, a Bribri
Bribri
The Bribri are an indigenous tribe from Costa Rica. They live in the Talamanca Canton in Limón Province of Costa Rica. They speak the Bribri language and Spanish. There are varying estimates of the population of the tribe. According to a census by the Ministerio de Salud, there are 11,500 Bribri...
from Costa Rica, and two Guaymis from Panama.
A 1984-5 continuation of the Trail of Light process brought Costa Rican indigenous Bahá'ís into Veracruz
Veracruz
Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave , is one of the 31 states that, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided in 212 municipalities and its capital city is...
Mexico.
After the religion grew among the Guaymi, they in turn offered service in 1985-6 with the Trail of Light project included indigenous Guaymí Bahá'ís of Panama traveling with the Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
n indigenous Carib speaking
Carib language
Carib, also known as Caribe, Cariña, Galibi, Galibí, Kali'na, Kalihna, Kalinya, Galibi Carib, Maraworno and Marworno, is an Amerindian language in the Cariban language family....
and Guajira
Wayuu
Wayuu is an Amerindian ethnic group of the La Guajira Peninsula in northern Colombia and northwest Venezuela. They are part of the Maipurean language family.- Geography :...
Bahá'ís through the Venezuelan states of Bolívar
Bolívar (state)
Bolívar State , is one of the 23 states into which Venezuela is divided. The state capital city is Ciudad Bolívar. Bolívar State covers a total surface area of 238,000 km² and in June 30, 2010 had an estimated population of 1,620,359....
, Amazonas
Amazonas (Venezuelan state)
Amazonas State is one of the 23 states into which Venezuela is divided.The state capital is Puerto Ayacucho. The capital until the early 1900s was San Fernando de Atabapo. Although named after the Amazon River, most of the state is drained by the Orinoco. Amazonas State covers a total surface...
and Zulia
Zulia
Zulia State is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is Maracaibo. In June 30, 2010, it had an estimated population of 3,821,068, giving it the largest population among Venezuela's states. It is located in the northwestern part of the country...
sharing their religion. The Bahá'í Guaymí Cultural Centre was built in the Chiriqui district (which was split in 1997 to create the Ngöbe-Buglé district) and used as a seat for the Panamanian Ministry of Education's literacy efforts in the 1980s. In 1985 Trail of Light began its work in Colombia. Among the participants were two youth from the Guaymi tribe in Panama; six members from the Guajiros, the Colombo-Venezuelan tribe, and two youth from the Paez, a tribe in southern Colombia. The traveled to the Guajira region and re-affirmed the religion among the Bahá'ís there and the group performed dances which inspired the Guajiros to offer their own dance, the Chichamaya. The group was invited to the local high school where the Guaymis shared the story of the impact of the religion among their people (see Bahá'í Faith in Panama
Bahá'í Faith in Panama
The history of the Bahá'í Faith in Panama begins with a mention by `Abdu'l-Bahá, then head of the Bahá'í Faith, in the book Tablets of the Divine Plan, published in 1919; the same year, Martha Root made a trip around South America and included Panama on the return leg of the trip up the west coast....
.) The group was then invited to the elementary school. From Guajira the group headed to Valledupar
Valledupar
Valledupar is a city and municipality in northeastern Colombia. It is the capital of Cesar Department and was founded in 1550 by the Spanish conquistador Hernando de Santana. Its name, Valle de Upar , was established in honor of the Amerindian cacique who ruled the valley; Cacique Upar...
and then on to the homeland of the Arhuaco tribe in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta
Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta
The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is an isolated mountain range apart from the Andes chain that runs through Colombia. Reaching an altitude of 5,700 metres above sea level just 42 km from the Caribbean coast, the Sierra Nevada is the world's highest coastal range...
. There the group met with the leadership, the Mamos, or elders of the community for permission to present the message they had come to give. Various of the group presented to the Mamos including the Guaymi and their interpretation of their own prophecies. An elder shared that the Arhuaco had a similar prophecy. The Trail of Light group was allowed to make their presentations and exchanges of dances and talks followed. From there the group traveled to see the Yukpa
Yukpa
Yukpa is an Amerindian ethnic group that inhabits the northeastern part of the Cesar Department in northern Colombia by the Serrania del Perija bordering Venezuela. Their territory covers the eastern areas of the municipalities of Robles La Paz, Codazzi and Becerril in Resguardos named Socorpa,...
(Yuko) tribe. With the Yuko the group was able to hold a unity feast and shared dances and stayed for three days before heading home.
1988 Council
The 1988 North American Native Council as sponsored by the National AssemblyNational Assembly
National Assembly is either a legislature, or the lower house of a bicameral legislature in some countries. The best known National Assembly, and the first legislature to be known by this title, was that established during the French Revolution in 1789, known as the Assemblée nationale...
of the Bahá'ís of the United States and the group met with members of the assembly. The members of the U.S. National Assembly hosted a reception for the Tribal Council chairman and Councils of North and South Dakota and also met with the Cheyenne River Tribal Council and the Looking Horse family which keeps the original sacred pipe of the Lakota. Hooper Dunbar, a member of the Universal House of Justice, attended. The council opened recalling a vision -Jack Wilson's vision - that Sitting Bull
Sitting Bull
Sitting Bull Sitting Bull Sitting Bull (Lakota: Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake (in Standard Lakota Orthography), also nicknamed Slon-he or "Slow"; (c. 1831 – December 15, 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux holy man who led his people as a tribal chief during years of resistance to United States government policies...
attempted to call for but was killed before it could come about. See also Ghost Dance
Ghost Dance
The Ghost Dance was a new religious movement which was incorporated into numerous Native American belief systems. The traditional ritual used in the Ghost Dance, the circle dance, has been used by many Native Americans since prehistoric times...
and Wounded Knee Massacre
Wounded Knee Massacre
The Wounded Knee Massacre happened on December 29, 1890, near Wounded Knee Creek on the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, USA. On the day before, a detachment of the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment commanded by Major Samuel M...
.
Continued Trails
Smaller scale Trails of Light efforts continued to be carried out from the Native American Bahá'í Institute among the Navajo.Desert Rose Bahá'í Institute
Desert Rose began in 1988 in Tucson with the four-day Desert Rose Bahá'í School initiated by Hand of the Cause William SearsWilliam Sears (Bahá'í)
William Sears was a Hand of the Cause of God, writer and a popular television and radio personality. In 2010, he was honored at the Dawn Breakers International Film Festival for achieving excellence as a professional media personality.-Personal life:Sears was married twice and had two children...
and his wife, Marguerite, along with a core group of dedicated friends. When Mr. Sears died in 1992, Marguerite continued Desert Rose Bahá'í School, but, with the knowledge and encouragement of the Universal House of Justice, decided to expand the four-day school into a permanent institute.
In Chile
By 1994 a radio station was established in Chile to nurture and preserve the local culture by featuring local story-tellers and music recorded at station-sponsored annual indigenous music festivals.In Colombia
It was also in 1961 that the religion was brought to the region of the Guajira department. In 1962 four new assemblies were elected -one of them all-Indian. A new organizational unit, the Institute or Training Institute, was a goal of the Nine Year Plan started in 1964 by the Universal House of JusticeUniversal House of Justice
The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. It is a legislative institution with the authority to supplement and apply the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and exercises a judicial function as the highest appellate institution in the...
and Colombia's first one began to organize and operate in 1965 as part of initiatives focused on the Indian population in the La Guajira region. By winter 1965 there were many Baha'is among both the Colombian and Venezuelan Guajiros, about 1,000 on the Colombian side and 1,500 on the Venezuelan side. Another stated goal was in the realm of international cooperation - the newly developing Indian Institute of Riohacha was shared with the Venezuelans during the first Guajiro Teacher Training Institute held at Riohacha. Among the participants in this first training were: Rosalba Pimienta, Tiana Arpushana, Tomas Pimienta, Juan Artiz Pimienta, Martha Duarte Arpushana, Maria Teresa Duarte Arpushana, Carmen Pimienta Arpushana, and Martha Epiaya all of Colombia and Rogelio Hernández, José Martin Sempron, Cecilia del Carmen Iguaran, and Maria Cecilía González all of Venezuela. The next institute was held in January 1966 at which the dedication of the building was set and the building, called the Villa Rahmat, as an Institute was completed by August. After constructing the Guajiro Teaching Institute the community united in sending financial aid to Kenya, thus fulfilling that goal. By 1967 eight local assemblies were formed among the Motilones
Motilone Barí
The Motilone, or Bari are names of a Native American ethnic group, part of the Chibcha family, remnants of the Tairona Culture concentrated in northeastern Colombia and western Venezuela in the Catatumbo River basin, in the Colombian Department of Northern Santander in the Sierra Nevada de Santa...
. In late 1967 into 1968 Vicente Montezuma, a Panamanian Guaymí
Guaymí
The Guaymí or Ngäbe are an indigenous group living mainly within the Ngäbe-Buglé comarca in the Western Panamanian provinces of Veraguas, Chiriquí and Bocas del Toro, as well as in the indigenous town of Conte, Costa Rica near the extreme southern tip of the country...
who had previously served in the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Panama, pioneered to the rural areas of Colombia and promulgated the religion especially among the Choco speaking
Choco languages
The Choco languages are a small family of Native American languages spread across Colombia and Panama.-Family division:Choco consists of perhaps ten languages, half of them extinct....
Indians. Cross border activity in La Guajira continued in 1969 with Venezuelan Guajiri Bahá'ís traveling in Colombia and Colombian Guajiri Bahá'ís attending activities in Venezuela. At the 1969 national convention a number of Yukon/Yukpa delegates attended. In May 1970 an all-Guajira Bahá'í conference brought together some 200 Bahá'ís from the region for talks and lessons offered in Spanish and Guajira languages including a history of the religion in the region including noting 110 local assemblies being elected that year: 57 in Colombia: 53 in Venezuela, as well as the dedication of a local Bahá'í House of Worship. In 1973 Luis Montenegro, former long term member of the National Assembly of Colombia died while climbing the mountains of the Yukpa(Yuko), or Motilon, Indians. The first of the Paez people
Paez people
The Paez, also known as the Nasa, are a Native American people who live in the Andes Mountains of Colombia.-Religion:In the early 1900s, Lazarists built missions among the Paez and began the work to convert them to Christianity. Jesuits had originally tried to convert the Paez, but failed. However,...
joined the religion in 1974 due to the service of a Panamanian Bahá'í traveling in Colombia. The fifth All-Guajira Conference was held in July in Venezuela in 1977.
FUNDAEC
Against a backdrop of serious social disruption and violence across Colombia Bahá'ís turned to service to the people living in the countryside. In 1974 FUNDAECFUNDAEC
FUNDAEC, the acronym in Spanish for “The Foundation for the Application and Teaching of the Sciences”, is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that focuses on training and development in the rural areas of Colombia and other countries in Latin America...
was founded by group of professors at the University of Valle
University of Valle
The University of Valle , also called Univalle, is a public, departmental, coeducational, research university based primarily in the city of Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia. It is the largest higher education institution by student population in the southwest of the country, and the third in...
. According to Gustav Correa, director of FUNDAEC, it was originally inspired by a quotation from Bahá'u'lláh
Bahá'u'lláh
Bahá'u'lláh , born ' , was the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. He claimed to be the prophetic fulfilment of Bábism, a 19th-century outgrowth of Shí‘ism, but in a broader sense claimed to be a messenger from God referring to the fulfilment of the eschatological expectations of Islam, Christianity, and...
- "Baha'u'llah talks about man as 'a mine rich in gems of inestimable value.' He says that 'education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom'.
One of the authors was Farzam Arbab and president of FUNDAEC from 1974 to 1988, would also serve in several capacities for the religion including being a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Colombia, a Continental Counsellor, appointed to the International Teaching Centre and eventually elected to the Universal House of Justice
Universal House of Justice
The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. It is a legislative institution with the authority to supplement and apply the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and exercises a judicial function as the highest appellate institution in the...
in 1993.
FUNDAEC has instituted a number of development projects: the Centro Universitario de Bienestar Rural, the "Tutorial Learning System" or "SAT" (the Spanish acronym for "Sistema de Aprendizaje Tutorial") and a micro-finance Project. The SAT was particularly successful with cutting the process of urbanization
Urbanization
Urbanization, urbanisation or urban drift is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of global change. The United Nations projected that half of the world's population would live in urban areas at the end of 2008....
, increases in democratic behavior and aspects of gender equality, extra curricular activities in communities, stopping migratory movement of populations, and established public-private cooperation in Colombia. By 2002 the SAT system was in use in Honduras, Guatemala, Ecuador, Venezuela, Panama, Costa Rica, Brazil, Colombia and the first phases of the implementation of the program have started in Zambia. Parallel to SAT, FUNDAEC began a micro-finance initiative as well.
Ruhi Institute
In Colombia the Ruhi InstituteRuhi Institute
The Ruhi Institute is an educational institution, operating under the guidance of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'í Faith in Colombia. The general idea of an institute in Bahá'í terms originates with the beginning of the Nine Year Plan designated by the Universal House of Justice...
, a Bahá'í study circle
Bahá'í study circle
The term study circle has become common terminology in the Bahá'í Faith to describe a specific type of gathering for the study of the Bahá'í teachings, with an emphasis on "promoting the well-being of humanity."...
, began as an initiative of the community with a commitment starting in 1970. About 1980 one of the Auxiliary Board members in Colombia entered into a process of consultation with several rural communities around the town of Puerto Tejada in order to help them identify steps they could take to improve their own social conditions. An early aim was to establish nurseries and kindergartens. In 1983 it published its first course Principles and Beliefs, Course 1: Life and Death. The courses developed as a "Core Activities Initiative". In 1987 the institute wrote its first course book on the education of children. In 1988 the national assembly decided to seek legal recognition for the Ruhi Institute by incorporating it as an organization with its own Board of Directors appointed by the assembly. It dedicates its efforts to the development of human resources for the spiritual, social, and cultural development of the Colombian people
Colombian people
Colombian people are from a multiethnic Spanish speaking nation in South America called Colombia. Colombians are predominantly Roman Catholic and are a mixture of Europeans, Africans, and Amerindians.-Demography:...
. Although its center is in the town of Puerto Tejada in the department of Cauca
Cauca Department
Cauca is a Department of Colombia. Located in the south-western part of the country, facing the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Valle del Cauca Department to the north, Tolima Department to the northeast, Huila Department to the east and the Nariño Department to the south, covering a total area of...
, its area of influence extends throughout the entire country. Especially in recent years, its educational programs have been adopted by an increasing number of agencies worldwide.
If individuals developed interests in contributing to society beyond those of the formal Ruhi courses they were introduced to the opportunities provided by FUNDAEC.
In Costa Rica
The national assembly of Costa Rica sponsored a four-day Indian school in Amubre, Talamanc near the Sixaola RiverSixaola River
The Sixaola River is a river in southern Limón Province, Costa Rica. It flows from the Cordillera Talamanca to the Caribbean Sea northeast of Sixaola at . The river's headwaters are part of the La Amistad International Park. For part of its length, the river forms the border between Limón...
. In 1966 construction began on a new teaching institute on the Bahá'í endowment property in Alajuela and also in 1966 the community raised the number of assemblies from fourteen to twenty. A beautification project in 1984 was held in Guanacaste province inspired by the Bahá'í gardens
Terraces (Bahá'í)
The Terraces of the Bahá'í Faith, also known as the Hanging Gardens of Haifa, are garden terraces around the Shrine of the Báb on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. They are one of the most visited tourist attractions in Israel. The architect is Fariborz Sahba from Iran...
on Mt. Carmel as well as reading prayers - thirty people joined the religion during the project. There was also a chance to record some Bribri chanted prayers which would be broadcast on the radio.
In Panama
A Bahá'í Radio station on AM broadcastingAM broadcasting
AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...
from Boca del Monte with programs and news in Guaymí native language, Ngabere
Ngäbere
Guaymi , also known as Movere , is a native American language spoken by the Ngäbe or Guaymí people. There are 133,092 Guaymí in Central America, predominantly in Panama ....
, leading to maintaining the usefulness of the language and in the telling of stories and coverage of issues to the support of Guaymí traditions and culture.
In Panama's remote indigenous villages Bahá'í volunteers run ten primary schools where the government does not provide access to a school. Later a FUNDESCU stipend of $50 per month was made available for 13 teachers and the Ministry of Education added funds for a 14th. As subsistence farmers, the villagers have no money or food to offer. Instead they take turns providing firewood for an outdoor kitchen or build small wood-framed shelters with corrugated zinc panels and a narrow wooden platform for a bed. The teachers and administrators do not seek to convert the students. Some of the villagers are Bahá'ís, some are Catholics, some Evangelicals, and some follow the native Mama Tata
Mama Tata
Mama Tata or Mama Chi is a Christian syncretistic religion found in parts of Panama. It is a mixture of Catholicism and animism that has become popular among the Guaymí people...
religion. In all, about half the students are Bahá'ís (about 150). Nevertheless there is a strong moral component to the program including a weekly class on "Virtues and Values." Over the years, some training for the teachers has been provided but many have not finished the twelfth grade including some women who have faced difficulties getting even that much education.
Among the formal schools established there are:
- In the Panamá district the Bahá'ís established a Bahá'í inspired school in San MiguelitoSan Miguelito, PanamáSan Miguelito District is a district of Panamá Province in Panama. The population according to the 2000 census was 293,745.The district covers a total area of 50 km²...
, a city with widespread poverty, and a native population of Embera and Kuna peoples. - Bahá'í Elementary of Soloy which was in process of registration with the Ministry of Education as of 2007.
- The Badí School was founded in 1993 and began as a kindergarten with 12 students. In 2007 there were 290 students serving K-12, with a waiting list of 1,500, and six of the first seven graduates earned the highest grade on the Panama University entrance exam and were accepted with full four-year scholarships. Badí School also developed a two-story community library, and added a classroom and computer lab in 2006.
- Molejon High School which was registered with the Ministry of Education in March 2007.
- Soloy Community Technology & Learning Center
- Ngöbe-Buglé Universidad which began having classes and was processing accreditation with the University of PanamaUniversity of PanamaThe University of Panama was founded on October 7, 1935, with a student body of 175 in the fields of Education, Commerce, Natural Sciences, Pharmacy, Pre-Engineering and Law. , it maintains a student body of 74,059 distributed in 228 buildings around the country.The University of Panama was founded...
in 2006.
Prominent North American Native Bahá'ís
Among the prominent Indian Bahá'ís are Kevin Locke, Patricia LockePatricia Locke
Patricia A. Locke was an American Indian educator.Born on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation, Locke was a Standing Rock Sioux, Hunkpapa band also known as Lakota, and Mississippi Band of White Earth Chippewa.She was the daughter of John and Eva McGillis; they lived for a time in Parker, Arizona...
, Jacqueline Left Hand Bull Delahunt, Phil Lucas
Phil Lucas
Phil Lucas was an American filmmaker of mostly Native American themes. He acted, wrote, produced, directed or edited more than 100 films/documentaries or television programs starting as early as 1979 when he wrote/co-produced and co-directed Images of Indians for PBS - a five-part series exploring...
and Buffy Sainte-Marie
Buffy Sainte-Marie
Buffy Sainte-Marie, OC is a Canadian Cree singer-songwriter, musician, composer, visual artist, educator, pacifist, and social activist. Throughout her career in all of these areas, her work has focused on issues of Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Her singing and writing repertoire includes...
.
See also
- :Bahá'í Faith by country
- Bahá'í radioBahá'í radioSince 1977 the international Bahá'í community has established several radio stations worldwide, particularly in the Americas. Programmes may include local news, music, topics related to socio-economic and community development, educational programmes focusing on indigenous language and culture,...
and Socio-economic development (Bahá'í)Socio-economic development (Bahá'í)Since its inception the Bahá'í Faith has had involvement in socio-economic development beginning by giving greater freedom to women, promulgating the promotion of female education as a priority concern, and that involvement was given practical expression by creating schools, agricultural coops, and... - Legend of Rainbow WarriorsLegend of Rainbow WarriorsSince the early 1970s, a legend of Rainbow Warriors inspired some environmentalists in the United States with a belief that their movement is the fulfillment of a Native American prophecy. The origin is from a 1962 book titled Warriors of the Rainbow by William Willoya and Vinson Brown from...
- Rainbow GatheringRainbow GatheringRainbow Gatherings are temporary intentional communities, typically held in outdoor settings, and espousing and practicing ideals of peace, love, harmony, freedom and community, as a consciously expressed alternative to mainstream popular culture, consumerism, capitalism and mass media.Rainbow...