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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 8, 1987)
Hopi spiritual leader brings prophecies to campus By Laurie Schwartz Of the Kmerald One day white men would in vent a gourd full of ashes that would be terribly powerful and hot if allowed to fall on the earth. That is how Hopis in the dis tant past described the atomic bomb, according to Thomas Banyacya, a Hopi spiritual leader whose mission since 1948 has been to interpret Hopi prophecies and spread their message around the world. It was a sobering message Banyacya gave to about 200 people Tuesday night as part of Peace Week. He said that since several prophecies have been fulfilled, “we have entered a dangerous period.” If we do not clean up this mess caused by an imbalance with nature, the world faces destruction, either from the forces of nature or from the destructiveness of human inventions, he said. A council of Hopi elders in 1948 chose Banyacya as one of Thomas Banyacya four interpreters to pass on pro phecies that had been carried by elders. “The elders don’t pro phesize. They carry the pro phesy from way back to present time.” he said. The elders chose interpreters who could speak and write English, so that the message could 1m; carried to white people — who, after all. invented the bomb. "A lot of people say, ‘Why worry about tomorrow if we’re going to get blown up anyway.’ ” he said. “But elders say this land belongs to the Great Spirit. Every living thing is looking to us. Each one of us has the responsibility to see that it doesn’t happen here." Prayer and spiritual ways are very powerful, and there is hope that people with good hearts can gather together and change the wrongdoing before it’s too late, Banyacya said. “We’re going to start marching across the country." he said. “We may reach the leaders.” Other prophecies said that people would speak over cobwebs —• which Banyacya said are telephone wires — and that men would go to the moon. Banyacya also said that other nations would get tired of the United States throwing bombs at them and would start throw ing bombs back. Elders have warned that the Four Corners area in the Southwest should be left in a natural state so that survivors would have a refuge, he said. Coal mining at Black Mesa and a uranium plant violate warn ings in prophecies, he said. Banyacya has been involved in the opposition to the forced relocation of Navaho and Hopi people in the Big Mountain area in Arizona. He said during an interview Tuesday afternoon that the problem is not caused by disputes between the Nava jos and Hopis. “This is propaganda put out by the (U.S.) government to have some kind of excuse to pass this legislation that would give themselves power over the land.” he said. Banyacya will speak about the relocation tonight at 7:30 at the Temple Beth Israel. Argentine mother to speak about government injustice By Val Chambers Of the Km*rald Human rights activist Renee Epelbaum will give the second keynote speech tonight as Peace Week activities continue. Epelbaum, who spoke at a press conference Monday after noon. is an Argentine )ew and a member of I^s Madres de Plaza de Mayo, a group also referred QUESTION 1 WHEN SHOULD THE COLLEGE STUDENT CALL FAMILY AND EMENDS? a) During weekends until 5 pm Sunday, and from 11 pm to 8 am Sunday through Friday, to save over 50% off AT&T’s weekday out-of-state rates. b) The minute your bank statement reveals a negative $60 balance. c) Between 5 pm and 11 pm, Sunday through Friday, to save 38% off AT&T’s weekday out-of-state rate. d) With AT&T, any time you want a clear long distance connection. e) When you hear they’ve removed the mysterious “Venetian Blind” ritual from your fraternity initiation. You’ve just aced the calculus exam that you’d been dreading like the plague. 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Epelbaum lost all three of her children soon after the install ment of the first military junta in 1976 when the military step ped up its efforts to rid the country of dissidents. Tens of thousands of Argentines simply disappeared from their homes and jobs, and the lack of any government records of these disappearances makes it nearly impossible for families to trace the whereabouts or status of missing relatives. It is assumed that most were detained, tortured and even tually murdered in secret camps scattered around the countryside. Epelbaum’s oldest son work ed as a doctor among the poor in Buenos Aires before his disap pearance at the hands of the military. She fled to Uruguay with her two remaining children, but they soon were ab ducted by Uruguayan agents working in conjunction with Argentine security forces. In 1977, Epelbaum and several other women took to the streets in protest. Every Thurs day. the mothers marched around the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires with their placards and white shawls chanting. “Return them alive.” Thousands more joined them in their resistance, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel. After the Falkland Islands conflict in 1983, the civilian government of Raul Alfonsin unseated the military junta. Many promises were made to the Argentine people regarding military prosecutions, but few were brought to trial or punished. And though a presidential commission headed by writer Ernesto Sabato has investigated 9.000 of the disappearances, Alfonsin's government set last Feb. 22 as the deadline for sum moning or prosecuting military officials for their crimes against the Argentine people. According to Epelbaum. most Argentines are deeply dissatisfied with this latest government action. “Justice is needed,” she said. “It’s not a question of revenge.” Epelbaum and the mothers of the Plaza de Mayo continue to voice their concerns to the United Nations, the Catholic Church and human rights organizations. Turn to Mother, Page 9
