In early March Covid-19 was announced as a global pandemic and life had begun to come to a standstill. Well, society did, but what the world didn’t expect was the earth beginning to blossom with animal life that had gone away in industrial areas.

There have been many headlines circulating of the waters in Venice, Italy clear for the first time in decades, the air in China drastically cleared of smog, and animals roaming city streets that have become almost deserted.

But, with illness there also comes death. Thousands of people have died from complications of Covid-19, which can attack the respiratory system, leaving those with pre-existing health conditions and the elderly vulnerable. One man, who teaches native studies at Carlton Comprehensive High School in Prince Albert has stated that he spoke to his elderly mother in law about the current pandemic and she was not surprised, instead she spoke of the sickness that had been prophesied long ago.

“When we finally talked to her about what was really going on, she talked about all the sickness.” Said Victor Thunderchild. “And she often talked about it before, where she said there would be a lot of people that would be getting sick…. And talking about other influenzas before, taking people and how they had to adjust.”

Upon hearing that lots of people were getting sick and a lot of people are dying from it she replied, “That’s the sickness coming back.”

With the mortality rate and the fact that the environment is improving, there are two prophecies that come to mind: the seven fires prophecy and the eagle and the condor prophecy.

The seven fires prophecy

As the name suggests, there are seven components to this Anishinaabe prophecy.

The first fire is of the Anishinaabe leaving their homes by the sea and traveling to an Island in the shape of a turtle. They would be attacked by other nations and must be strong and ready to defend themselves.

The second fire is of a little boy who would come into dreams and point the way to the true path.

In the third fire, the Anishinaabe will continue West to where the food grows upon the water.

The fourth fire had two options; a light-skinned race would come to the land and if they came in brotherhood, there would be wonderful change. New knowledge would combine with old knowledge and they would create a strong nation. If the light-skinned people brought only their knowledge and good will, the new nation would be the strongest nation in the world.

However, the light-skinned people might wear the face of death, disguised as the face of brotherhood. If they came bearing weapons and seemed to be suffering, be weary. Underneath that face is greed. The face of death would be recognized if the rivers are poisoned and the fish are unfit to eat.

In the fifth fire there will be a struggle between the way of the mind of the light-skinned people and the natural path of spirit of the many nations of natural people. As the fifth fire begins to lose its heat there will come along people who promise joy and salvation. If this promise is accepted and old ways are abandoned, they will struggle for many generations. The promise is false and will nearly destroy those who accept it.

In the sixth fire it will be apparent the promise in the fifth fire was false. Those who were deceived by this promise will take their children away from the teachings of the elders. The elders will lose their purpose in life and many will become sick and die. Many people will be out of balance and the cup of life will become the cup of grief.

And now we come to the seventh fire, which some believe is being fulfilled during this time of present. During the seventh fire, the waters will be so poisoned that animals and plants that live near there will fall sick and die.

Much of the forest and prairies would be gone and the air would begin to lose the power of life. The way of the mind brought to the red, yellow, and black nations from the white nation would bring great danger to the whole world. A new nation will emerge from the clouds of illusion. They will bring back old teachings and stories and they will bring back the way of the circle. The elders will be asked for guidance, but many will have forgotten their wisdom, or point them in the wrong direction.

The light-skinned people will face two choices. If they choose the right path, the eighth fire will be lit; the fire of brotherhood and sisterhood. But if they choose the wrong path, there will be much suffering and death.

This prophecy does not speak of a global sickness or any sickness. However, the seventh fire speaks of people who will bring back old teachings and the way of the circle, which could be argued is taking place presently during this time of reconciliation. Many people are turning to natural medicine when sick, teaching culture and language to today’s youth, and turning to elders for teaching and guidance. Environmentalism is growing every year as large corporations turn to renewable resources, governments are taxing carbon emissions, and even banning the use of some plastics.

So, what about Covid-19?

Right now, Canada is on lockdown. Only essential businesses are allowed to operate, and travel has cut down drastically with countries closing their borders except for citizens returning from travel. The country is encouraged to stay home as much as they can and not travel unless necessary. This lockdown, which other countries are partaking in, has a silver lining. As schools have closed down, many children have much more time to spend with their parents, gas emissions have reduced significantly, waters are becoming more clear, the air is cleaner is highly populated cities, and wildlife is venturing into new territory.

In March there was a call for jingle dress dancers to dance and pray for the whole world and people from all over North America answered that call as many videos surfaced on social media of dancers in their regalia saying a prayer and  dancing the sacred dance.

Indigenous culture is becoming more widespread with even the ‘light-skinned’ races taking part in cultural activities.

The Eagle and the Condor

The seven fires is not the only prophecy that speaks of two paths either. The prophecy of the eagle and the condor is somewhat similar, but it originated in the Amazon.

The eagle and condor prophecy speaks of two paths. The path of the eagle – the mind, the industrial, and the masculine. And the path of the condor – the heart, intuition, and the feminine.

Society will split into these two paths and the those who follow the path of the eagle will become so powerful that they will nearly drive the path of the condor out of existence. The 1490s will begin a 500 year period in which the path of the eagle will have this power and then the path of the condor will have an opportunity to come together with the path of the eagle and they will fly together in harmony.

According to this prophecy it will be up to those who walk the path of the eagle to join the condor and live in harmony, but if they choose not to, they will continue to be in power and the world will remain unbalanced.

It’s interesting how both of these prophecies foretell two paths and that its up to humans to make the right decision. It’s also a little worrying, as the human mind is very complex and emotions, like anger, can take over quite easily and cause people to act and think irrationally.

There is no way to know if we’re in the midst of a prophecy or if it’s just another pandemic, of which there have been many and scientists have warned would happen again as viruses continue to evolve and search for hosts.

However, in a time like this it can be nice to think that we are living through a prophecy and coming out of it, humanity could live in harmony