The Continental Indigenous Council was born in 1978 from the prayers, vision, consultation, and spiritual leadership of Indigenous peoples themselves.
Its first fire was prayerfully kindled in the Pacific Northwest through the Northwest Indian Spiritual Gathering held in Olympia, Washington, in 1978. This Sacred Indigenous Gathering emerged from a Circle of Indigenous Consultation centered at the Daybreak Star Center in Discovery Park, Seattle, beginning in 1975.
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It was through the Sacred Inipi, Sweat Lodge, and related Ceremonies, Talking Circles, and Circles of Consultations that the vision of the Continental Indigenous Council came into being.
This must be clearly remembered: the Continental Indigenous Council was not created from the outside for Indigenous peoples. It arose from Indigenous peoples. It came from Indigenous believers and relatives who were praying, consulting, dreaming, and organizing for the spiritual awakening and service of the First Peoples of this continent.
The National Spiritual Assemblies of Alaska and the United States, and later Canada, then lovingly embraced and supported this vision. Their support was deeply appreciated. They helped provide resources, encouragement, and institutional backing. But the original vision, the spiritual fire, and the leadership came from Indigenous peoples themselves.
From that foundation, a great continental movement of the Eagle began to unfold. The first North American Bahá’í Native Council was held October 6–8, 1978, at White Swan on the Yakama Reservation in Washington, with 28 tribes represented from the United States, Canada, and Alaska. This was one of the first great visible fruits of the Indigenous fire that had been kindled in the Pacific Northwest.
Then, in 1980, a historic gathering took place in Wilmette, Illinois, near the Mother Temple of the West. The second North American Bahá’í Native Council was held July 11–13, 1980. A great pow wow on July 12 brought together an estimated 1,000 people, including nearly 500 Native Americans.
The Council itself was attended by nearly four hundred Indigenous believers from Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and the United States, with approximately fifty-five tribes represented.
This Council Gathering was the fruit of the Indigenous spiritual fire kindled in the Pacific Northwest. It demonstrated what could happen when Indigenous vision was honored, when institutions supported rather than controlled, and when the friends moved together in love, humility, courage, and sacrifice.
In the circular spirit of Indigenous consultation, prayers were offered in many Indigenous languages as well as English, dawn prayers were held at the House of Worship, and sacred cultural expressions were honored as part of the life of the gathering.
The same fire continued to move. The third Continental Indigenous Council was held August 12–15, 1982, at the Blood Reserve in Southern Alberta, Canada. This CIC brought together 500 Indigenous peoples and guests from 10 countries, representing 60 First Nations.
The Gathering Theme was “Come Soar with the Knowledge of the Spirit.” A Saturday evening pow wow drew more than a thousand people, and the presence of the Hand of the Cause of God Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum blessed the Gathering.
This same movement also gave rise to Camino del Sol, the Trail of Light. The Trail of Light began gathering in Arizona on the Navajo Reservation on June 19–20, 1982, when Indigenous believers from Alaska, Canada, and the United States came together for preparation and dedication.
From there, the teams traveled through North America, Land of the Eagle, carrying songs, prayers, teachings, love, and spiritual encouragement among Indigenous peoples.
In 1988, the Camino del Sol, the Trail of Light, traveled through Belize, Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, and Ecuador.
The Trail of Light carried our Indigenous light from North America into Central and South America, strengthening bonds among Indigenous peoples of the hemisphere and awakening a deeper sense that the First Peoples of the Americas have a sacred role in the spiritual destiny of the world.
Later, when funding and institutional support were withdrawn without notice from the National Spiritual Assemblies of Alaska, Canada, and the USA, the visible activities of the Continental Indigenous Council continued to manifest through the work of Four Worlds and other Indigenous initiatives.
The first Stage of the founding vision of the Camino Del Sol, in 1982, and the Fullfillment of the Prophecy of the Reunion of the Condor and Eagle, in 1971, was completed on March 18-22, 2023, at the Great Pyramids of Palenque, Mexico, with the formation of the Union of the Condor, Hummingbird, Quetzal, and Eagle.
The same Four Worlds and the Continental Indigenous Council’s organizational, integrative scheme of thought, based on participatory, culturally respectful, community-based research, is the same Principle-Centered Spiritual Foundation of the Union of the Condor, Hummingbird, Quetzal, and Eagle.
A Sacred Seed may rest in the heart of Mother Earth, but it never dies. A Sacred Seed simply waits for the right season to bloom again. An eternal fire may seem quiet, but it’s quietly gathering power, burning brighter in spirit, ready to burst into full flame when the moment comes.
On June 16, 2026, the Sacred Fire of the Continental Indigenous Council of the People of the Eagle was prayerfully and publicly reignited for all to see, to feel, and to be spiritually inspired by. This reigniting is a call to unity, healing, courage, and collective action, so that our Peoples and all our relatives may Choose Peace, Live Peace, and End War.
What was born in a sacred ceremony and a sacred vision cannot be extinguished by time, distance, misunderstanding, or the withdrawal of outside support. The Continental Indigenous Council was never merely an organization, a program, or an administrative structure. It was a sacred trust, first carried through prayer, vision, ceremony, and the shared hopes of Indigenous Peoples across Turtle Island. Because of that, its spiritual life has never died. It may have rested for a season, waiting beneath the ashes like a living ember, protected by the prayers of the Elders and the unseen guidance of the Creator.
Now, when the conditions are right, that sacred fire rises again. It rises not to repeat the past, but to fulfill what was planted there. It rises to gather the Peoples of the Eagle once more, beyond borders, beyond divisions, beyond the wounds of colonial history, and beyond the limitations of institutions that come and go. The sacred purpose remains alive: to unify Indigenous Nations and communities, to strengthen spiritual and cultural renewal, to protect Mother Earth, to uplift our youth and Elders, and to help bring peace to the human family.
This is not simply a return. It is an awakening. What was first born through sacred vision is now being called forward for this time, this generation, and this global hour of testing. The fire has been reignited so that all who are ready may come close, offer their prayers, bring their gifts, and walk together in the spirit of peace, unity, justice, healing, and love.
It now rises again from the same foundation from which it was born: Indigenous prayer, Indigenous vision, Indigenous consultation, Indigenous leadership, and Indigenous love for the Cause of our Creator, Wakan Tanka, the Great Spirit, and the Healing of our Human Family, and all Life.
Its purpose remains alive. Its sacred trust remains before us. Its vision is not merely to remember the past, but to fulfill what was always intended: that the Indigenous peoples of the Americas will arise and become so “Illumined that they will Enlighten the World” and carry the light of healing, unity, justice, and spiritual transformation everywhere on our beloved Mother Earth.
Indigenous peoples formed the Continental Indigenous Council in 1978. It now returns into the Sunshine through Indigenous peoples. And from this ever-increasing and deepening Sacred Circle, the Sacred Light will arise again, as long-promised.