Bahá’í World/Volume 18/Trail of Light
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INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHA’I, ACTIVITIES
9. TRAIL OF LIGHT
BARBARA BARRETT
THE ‘Trail of Light’ blazed through Latin America by indigenous Bahá’í’s from North America in the summer of 1982 gave thrilling evidence of the bond of Faith that unites the hemisphere’s indigenous Bahá’ís. Nine Bahá’ís, members of seven native tribes of North America—Cree, Blackfoot, Metis and Tlingit of Canada; Upik Eskimo and Tlingit of Alaska; Navajo and Makah Of the United States—traveled and taught in ten countries during June, July and August. They visited Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama, Chile, Peru, Bolivia and finally Ecuador, where their visit was planned to coincide with the opening of the International Bahá’í Conference at Quito on 6—8 August. They spoke, danced and sang before varied groups, forging links of friendship with their Latin American brothers in the Faith, and especially with their brother-indigenous, the native tribal peoples of the south. The public acceptance of the visitors from North America surprised even the planners. Everywhere they were received with admiration, enthusiasm and fraternal spirit. Many Bahá’ís were moved to observe that this was an important step toward realizing ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s vision of the destiny of the Western hemisphere’s native peoples. In the Tablets of the Divine Plan He wrote:
You must attach great importance to the Indians, the original inhabitants of America
. should these Indians be educated and properly guided, there can be no doubt that through the Divine teachings they will become so enlightened that the whole earth will be illumined.
The Trail of Light began in Arizona on the Navajo Reservation where an International Teaching Conference on the property of the future Southwest Bahá’í Institute brought the team members together for the first time on 19—20 June. Reports mention ‘a sense of history in the making’ as three members of the Continental Board of Counsellors in the Americas helped to launch the first trip of its kind. They were Mrs. Lauretta King of Alaska, Mr. Rafil Pavén of Colombia and
Mrs. Carmen de Burafato of Mexico. Mrs. de Burafato described the original migrations of native peoples of the hemisphere, saying that the travels Of the Bahá’ís along a ‘trail of light’ was a dream come true. Mrs. King, who is a Tlingit from Eagle River, Alaska, was able to share her sensitive perception of Indian teaching needs. A memorable session with Mr. Pavon on the spirit and principles of teaching was translated from Spanish into English and then into Navajo. A memorial service for Mr. Amoz Gibson, recently deceased member of the Universal House of Justice, flooded the hearts of those gathered there with memories of his early Navajo pioneering days and reminded them of his love for the Navajos. The ‘Trail of Light’ was there dedicated to his memory.
Two teams set out from Arizona. One went to five countries of Central America and the other to Chile, Bolivia and Peru, meeting up in Quito, Ecuador, at the International Conference. The southern contingent was made up of:
Rita Blumenstein of Palmer, Alaska, a Yupik Eskimo who speaks Yupik, performs native dances, makes traditional baskets and is adept at the Eskimo art of skin-sewing;
Chester Kahn of Houck, Arizona, Navajo, a knowledgeable Bahá’í teacher of rich experience in the Faith, who performs Navajo songs and dances; (Later that summer Mr. Kahn was elected a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States)
Rebecca McKennet, of Juneau Alaska, Of Tlingit Indian and Japanese ancestry, who sings Tlingit cultural songs and is one of few remaining members of a Tlingit royal family. She wears a beautiful native costume;
Louise Profeit, of Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada, a Tlingit who recites prayers in her native tongue. She is a registered nurse working in health education whose Bahá’í experience includes Local Spiritual Assembly and National Teaching Committee membership. Mrs. Profeit is from a respected Yukon family and is the mother of three children.
{WORLD
240 THE BAHA
This picture of the four members of the southern contingent of Trail of Light appeared in newspapers of Chile. They are, left to right: Chester Kahn,
Rebecca McKennett, Rita Blumenstein, Louise Profeit.
The southern team visits
the A guaruna tribe in the
jungle area ofnorthem
Peru. Hundreds of
A guarunas came with their chiefs to see the Trail of Light, and the two groups performed for each other.
The North American visitors with four membem‘ Of the indigenous community ofPorras, Bolivia.
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Their schedule took them first to Chile for nine days—22—30 June.
CHILE
The National Assembly wrote: ‘Praised be God for the “Trail of Light” . . . Their impact on the Bahá’í community and the mass media will be felt strongly for a long time to come . . .’ They performed in a park in Santiago, recorded music and interviews for Bahá’í radio and gave a public performance in Concepcion. ‘Publicity for the group’, reported Chile’s Feast Newsletter, ‘put the Faith in the first rank, since not only were there numerous articles in the press in Concepcion, Temuco and Santiago, but also photos and articles on the covers of dailies of Temuco and Concepcion and Of the Chronicle of Santiago, an English newspaper. In Temuco the Sunday supplement of 4 July devoted the entire first page to the subject. Radio interviews were outstanding in all the cities.’
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In Region IX (where eighty-nine-of Chile’s Local Assemblies are and 14,000 Bahá’ís live) there were public performances at two Bahá’í schools, a presentation at the Bahá’í Institute and at the Cultural Center of the City of Temuco with two hundred and fifty present, and an appearance at a municipal school in Temuco for an audience of six hundred children and faculty.
‘Among all the activities, the most moving was the heart-to-heart contact with our brothers the Mapuche Bahá’ís’, stated the National Spiritual Assembly. ‘The high point came at the end of the performance in Temuco when they danced the ‘Eagle Dance’ with a Chilean Mapuche group, Kalle-Kalle Mapu. They made the amazing discovery that Tlingit and Mapuche have almost exactly the same Eagle Dance. The audience was ecstatic, responding to the dance with a standing ovation. Mr.-Athos Costas, Counsellor of the Continental Board in the Americas, who
The nine members who made up the Trail of Light teams in J une 1982, together for the first time at the Southwest Bahá’í Institute in Arizona, U.S.A., before beginning their southward journey to Central and South America. Left to right: Walter Austin, Tlingit, of Kake, Alaska; Rick Belcourt, Men's, from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; Rita Blumenstein, Yupik Eskimo, Of Palmer, Alaska; Audrey McCarty, Makah, of Washington, U.S.A.; Chester Kuhn, Navajo, Of Houck, Arizona, USA; Rita Markishtum, Makah, of Washington, U.S.A.; Pat Twigge, Blackfoot, from Blood Reserve in Alberta, Canada; Rebecca McKennett, Of Tlingit and Japanese ancestry, from Juneau, Alaska; Louise Profeit, Tlingit, of Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada.
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accompanied the team said, ‘The full effect of this visit still has not been manifested.’
BOLIVIA
Leaving Chile on 1 July, the same group visited the cities of La Paz, Cochabamba, Sucre, Potosi and Oruro during eighteen days in Bolivia, giving public meetings in cultural centers, schools and universities. Between city visits they met rural indigenous Bahá’ís and their neighbors. One memorable visit to the countryside is described by the group’s photographer and sometime translator, Gregg Suhm (a pioneer to Ecuador and staff member of Radio Bahá’í of Otavlo). He traveled with the team to the town of Cajas Kasa high in the Andes. He writes, ‘After a seven-hour jeep ride through rough terrain the team came upon an arch of stones perched on a boulder . . . An explosion of dynamite (a sign of respect paid to honored guests) startled the team, but let neighbors know that a special event was to take place.’ As the team approached, the wood flute and drum bands of three Local Spiritual Assemblies struck up lively Bolivian tunes. Heartfelt greetings of ‘Alláh-u-Abhá’ were exchanged as Trail members choked back tears of joy at the warmth of their reception. After a lunch served inside the modest local Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds built of adobe brick, they made their presentation outside against a backdrop of barren hills and a deep blue sky. Afterwards, the Quechua believers, wearing multi—colored woven caps, played their long flutes called samponas. All joined in dancing around the circle of musicians. Sturdy children sang lustily their songs of love for Bahá’u’lláh and the joy of being Bahá’ís. It ended too soon. Hands reached out in farewell. Another stick of dynamite was set off as a ‘goodbye’, and the jeep moved away while the team sang ‘Alláh-u-Abhá’ with the encounter etched in their memories.
A typical ‘city’ day for the busy team would include a television interview, a proclamation in ceremonial costume at a Cultural Center, a fireside and a radio interview, as in Potosi on 9 July (preceded by early rising for dawn prayers and a seven-hour jeep ride). In La Paz, on 14 July, the President of Bolivia welcomed the team. Also present were twelve Ministers of Departments from around the
THE BAHA’I’ WORLD
country, some of whom were themselves indigenous. The Governor of the Department of La Paz also greeted the Trail members in his office, stating that he identified with many of the Bahá’í principles. Other major events in the capital included two twenty-minute cultural programs for the state-owned television which were later aired nationwide.
PERU
On 18 July the team was received at the border between Bolivia and Peru by members of the staff of Radio Bahá’í of Puno. They rested that night and on the next day went as guests of honor to a gigantic indigenous music festival hosted by the Local Spiritual Assembly of Caspa. Three thousand Aymara Indians from surrounding villages attended. From morning to afternoon there were performances by the visitors in their native dress and by local groups. In Caspa the team was joined by Counsellor Mas’ud Ighamsi who spoke over the microphone to the vast crowd, emphasizing the importance of the visit by the northerners and of the fulfillment of Indian prophecy through the coming of the Trail of Light. Auxiliary Board member Andres J achacollo spoke in Aymara with strength and fervor. The crowd listened intently as each North American shared his thoughts and some aspects of his culture.
In the late afternoon of the same day the team performed in the stadium of the town of Juli for more than a thousand persons. The following day they Were guests at the official inauguration of the Bahá’í Teaching Institute building at Chucuito, adjacent to the Bahá’í. radio station. Thousands of villagers attended and many more heard the program on the air. In Puno on the let, the Trail group visited the College of Fine Arts and the radio and television stations. In Cuzco on the 22nd, they met hundreds of campesinos and toured the magnificent ruins of Machu Pichu, capital of the ancient Inca empire. Some described the visit as a kind of ‘pilgrimage’ to pay homage to the once-great civilization with which they felt a kinship. The vestiges of that civilization inspired a feeling of awe for the majestic beauty and the evidences of high technology. The visitors were accompanied by Exaltacién Quispé and his wife. (Quispé is the first indigenous Bahá’í Of Cuzco.)
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In Lima they visited newspapers and were interviewed on a television news show wearing their colorful costumes. From there they were flown to northern Peru to visit the jungle area of the Aguaruna Indians. At an all-day Council given by the Naranjilla Bajo Bahá’í community they met hundreds of Aguarunas and their chiefs, performing for them, feasting with them and expressing common concerns and values. From Lima the southern group left for Ecuador to join the other team at Quito where their participation was one of the highlights of the International Conference.
An outdoor performance in Pucyum, Peru.
The team that went to five Central American countries included:
Walter Austin, Tlingit of Kake, Alaska, who speaks and writes the Tlingit language and is an effective public orator;
Rick Belcourt, Metis (a mixture of Plains Indian and French ancestry), from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, who has a profound grasp of native culture and history, plays guitar and performs the traditional pipe ceremony;
Rita Markishtum, Makah, of Washington, U.S.A., who has served the Bahá’í community in many capacities, and who performs traditional dances;
Audrey McCarty, Makah, also of Washington, also a dancer and narrator of native legends;
Pat Twigge, Blackfoot from Blood Reserve in Alberta, Canada. (He was, unfortunately, with the group only through Mexico as ‘a
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chronic back ailment became aggravated by dancing, forcing him to return home.)
MEXICO
‘Five beautiful souls have won the hearts of the people, both Bahá’í and public,’ wrote Counsellor Artemus Lamb. The five-member Trail group arrived in Mexico City on 21 J une accompanied by Counsellor Lauretta King and Fletcher Bennett, Auxiliary Board member from Canada who filmed the activities. In Tampico, State of Veracruz, interviews were held with the leading newspaper, the University newspaper and television and radio stations. In Pablanta there were many meetings with Totonaco Indians of that region and a proclamation for more than one hundred. In Oaxaca City about three hundred people were drawn to a public meeting where the team demonstrated their tribal dances and songs and shared Bahá’í Teachings. In the indigenous village of Lachigoloo one hundred and seventy-five persons attended a public meeting. Both meetings were the largest of their kind ever held by Bahá’ís in the State of Oaxaca. Media publicity was extensive.
At the Bahá’í Center in Men'da, Yucatan, an interview was filmed for television news, and an article and photograph were published in a Merida paper. In other parts of the Yucatan peninsula more than one hundred Bahá’ís and their friends attended each event. In Quintana Roo a proclamation in an openair theatre belonging to the government attracted an audience of over six hundred. The performers shared samples of their tribal songs, dances and traditions as well as the basic teachings of the Faith. The next morning brought an interview with the President of the city.
Counsellor Lamb wrote: ‘It is impossible to estimate the spiritual impact of this historic project, but it is certainly very great, both on local Bahá’ís and on friends of the Faith and the public. Everywhere people were amazed to learn that the Faith had penetrated the indigenous areas of North America; furthermore, they were deeply impressed by the spirituality, capacity and love of the team. Already in Mexico, new concepts, ideas and plans are being discussed on how to carry this process forward, both on a national and an international level.’
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BELIZE
On 9 July the team left for Belize, reduced to four members. They talked and performed for public meetings in Corozal, Orange Walk and Belize City, attracting large crowds in the last two places. Their dances and songs and some talks on the Faith were videotaped for Belize television. They recorded two radio shows for the regular Bahá’í program of Belize. A newspaper story on 9 July was headlined, ‘First Time in Belize! American Indians Visit.’ It called the ‘Trail of Light’ an exciting, energetic, colorful group of Bahá’í Indians and named their tribes, inviting the public to hear them talk about their religion at the Town Hall.
HONDURAS
Torrential rains made travel almost impossible during the three-day stay of the team in Honduras, 13—15 April. Nevertheless, a visit was made to Yoro where the Indian chiefs were begging for them to come. Four hundred native people, including several tribal chiefs, heard the Message. On a washed-out road between Tegucigalpa and Viaseto the river was so swollen that the team had to cross on logs. At the top of a hill, after a long walk in the intense heat, the team met with one hundred people in a log cabin. The chief of the village told a traditional tale of their ancestors who had said that one day friends from the north would come looking for them. ‘Now you are here,’ he said, ‘now you have found us and our hearts are bound together.’ In spite of widespread hunger in the village of Viaseto, the people shared their food with great love and generosity. It was here that Rita Markishtum Of the Makah tribe of Neah Bay, Washington, speaking on the oral traditions of her people, said: ‘There is a prophecy that a man in Canada saw the beginning of the spiritual rebirth of the Makahs. He said that he saw a council fire gather, not only at Neah Bay, but he saw that same fire move to Alaska, down through the United States, and even into Central and South America. So, when the invitation was extended to us to go on this trip, it was more than just a teaching endeavor, rather, it was to be part of a tremendous undertaking . . .’
The Paya Indians of Olancho, a smaller
THE BAHA” WORLD
The Trail of Light in Honduras.
group, were so inspired that they did not want to let the visitors go. Forty enrolled in the Faith. The team members called this the most receptive of any group visited.
GUATEMALA
In Guatemala, two sparkling performances of dance, song and inspired talks on the Faith drew crowds which filled the National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds to overflowing both morning and afternoon. Violence in other Indian areas of the country caused the four days in mid-July to be spent in Quezaltenango and surrounding villages. In Cantel a small theatre that had been rented quickly filled up. The Mayor sent word that the entire village wanted to see the program and asked that it be moved to the main square. It was, and an estimated five hundred attended. In San Juan Ostuncalco the team visited the Mayor, had supper with Bahá’ís in a home, then went to a large theatre which promptly filled with an enthusiastic audience of twelve hundred—a record attendance for a Bahá’í event. The final number that evening was performed by a local group whose director is the husband of a Bahá’í. They were nine young ladies (not Bahá’ís) who sang three Bahá’í songs. In Quezaltenango there were two radio interviews, a visit to the Mayor and lunch with Bahá’ís at the Center, followed by a meeting for three hundred at a central hall. The keen interest of the public, the authorities and the media in the Trail of Light and its performances was due, in the opinion of Counsellor
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Lamb, to the members’ ‘warm and loving attitude and their deep spirituality and devotion.’
PANAMA
The travelers arrived in Panama 011 21 July to start a schedule that included radio and television appearances and public programs which were given wide newspaper coverage. Visits were made to Puerto Armuelles and David and a meeting at the Magisterio Panamefio Unido brought a capacity audience. A Teaching Conference with ‘Camino del 801’, as the Trail of Light was called in Spanish, was held in the gardens of the Bahá’í House of Worship on the first of August, just before the team left for Ecuador. Probably the most significant event of the Central American tour was the first Native Bahá’í Council of the region. From the Muhájir Institute at Boca de Soloy, scene of the mass meeting of indigenous, a cable was sent to the Universal House of Justice on 30 July, recording the victory:
OVERJOYED OUTCOME FIRST NATIVE COUNCIL GUAYMI INDIANS CATALYZED INSPIRING KIN TRAIL OF LIGHT SIGNALIZING BEGINNING FULFILLMENT INDIGENOUS TRADITIONS BAHAI PROPHECIES. CONSULTATION FRUITFUL CONTINUED SPIRITUAL CULTURAL INTERCHANGE DEVELOPMENT. MORE THAN 1000 GUAYMI BELIEVERS JOINED BY PANAMANIAN CUNA COSTA RICAN GUAYMI TALAMANCA TERIBE REPRESENTATIVES DESPITE TORRENTIAL RAINS. HISTORIC GATHERING FURTHER BLESSED PRESENCE COUNSELLOR PRINGLE AND INDIGENOUS AUXILIARY BOARD MEMBER. RECOMMENDATION MADE FUND INITIATED ESTABLISHMENT NATIVE COUNCIL PANAMANIANS COSTA RICAN TRIBES RISING INDIGENOUS ENKINDLEMENT FAITH BAHAULLAH. LOVING GREETINGS. BAHAI NATIVE COUNCIL SOLOY PANAMA.
In answer, the Universal House of Justice sent the following message:
HIGHLY PLEASED SIGNAL SUCCESS FIRST NATIVE COUNCIL GUAYMIS INSPIRED PRESENCE MEMBERS TRAIL OF LIGHT FELLOW INDIGENOUS BELIEVERS PANAMA COSTA RICA. ARDENTLY PRAYING ENTHUSIASM ENGENDERED THIS AUSPICIOUS OCCASION WILL STIMULATE PARTICIPANTS ARISE FULFILL DESTINY PROMISED MASTER.
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ECUADOR
From 29 July to 9 August the Trail of Light teams converged in Ecuador to the delight of their more than fourteen hundred Bahá’í brothers and sisters from forty-three countries, including representatives of twenty-four National Spiritual Assemblies and of more than twenty Indian tribes. When the two teams joined on 4 August in Quito for their first reunion since the Arizona Conference, high excitement and a sense of jubilation prevailed as they shared joys and difficulties experienced along the ‘Trail of Light’. The Hand of the Cause Paul Haney paid them tribute, as did the Counsellors of the Americas who had been instrumental in the creation, organization and carrying out of the entire project.
Highlights of the teams” contributions in Ecuador outside the Conference setting were: an appearance at a university in the coastal city of Guayaquil; a newspaper interview and a television performance in the same city; a visit to Otavalo, home of Radio Bahá’í; and a television appearance in the capital, publicizing the International Conference. The moving performances they had given in scores of places during June, July and August were repeated for an audience of two thousand at ‘Noche Falklérico’, a night—time event to which the public were invited. The climax of the Quito Conference came as the Trail of Light, accompanied by Counsellors Lauretta King and Rafil Pavén, made a moving presentation in which they called onto the stage Bahá’í’s Of twenty-seven Indian tribes.
A final leg of the trip took team members to Canada to attend the third North American Bahá’í Native Council held on the Blood Reserve in southwestern Alberta on 12—15 August. There they shared moving accounts of the Latin American tour with four hundred and sixty Bahá’ís and friends—members of sixty Indian tribes. And on 3—5 September, in their last appearance, the Trail of Light was introduced to approximately ten thousand Bahá’ís attending the International Bahá’í Conference in Montreal. They were warmly praised for their historic trek which had done so much to justify the Master’s confidence in the high destiny of the native Americans.