Rolling Thunder (person)

Rolling Thunder (birth name: John Pope, 1916–1997) was a hippy spiritual leader who self-identified as a Native American medicine man.[3] He was raised in Oklahoma and later moved to Nevada.[4]

Rolling Thunder
Born	John Walter Pope (1916-09-10)September 10, 1916 Stamps, Arkansas, US
Died	January 23, 1997(1997-01-23) (aged 80) Elko, Nevada, US
Nationality	American
Known for	New Age spiritualist
Spouse(s)	Spotted Fawn ( died 1984) [1] Carmen Sun Rising ( his death 1997) [2]
Children	Mala Spotted Eagle Buffalo Horse Ozella Morning Star Patty Mocking Bird[1]

In print

John Pope has been the subject of several books, notably Rolling Thunder (1974), by American journalist and author Doug Boyd, and the book Rolling Thunder Speaks: A Message for Turtle Island (1998), a narrative edited by his second wife, Carmen Sun Rising Pope. He also figures prominently in Mad Bear (1994), Boyd's follow-up book to Rolling Thunder, which chronicles the life of Mad Bear Anderson, who Boyd says was a peer and mentor to Rolling Thunder.[4]

In music

Pope appears on Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart's 1972 album Rolling Thunder. His voice is heard on the first track of Side A: "Rolling Thunder/Shoshone Invocation". In 1975/76, Bob Dylan organized and headlined a nationwide series of concerts called the Rolling Thunder Revue. In the film Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese, Bob Dylan states “This tour was named after chief Rolling Thunder”.[5]

On audio cassette

Rolling Thunder appears in taped interviews with John Trudell and Michael Chosa in which he describes the contemporary treatment of Native Americans.[6]

Life and legacy

In 1975 he and his wife Spotted Fawn founded a non-profit community on 262 acres (1.06 km²) of land in north-eastern Nevada (just east of the town of Carlin) that they named Meta Tantay. It operated until 1985; visitors over the years included Mickey Hart.[7]

Death

Rolling Thunder died in 1997 from complications associated with diabetes. He also suffered from emphysema in the later years of his life.[4]

Controversy

Rolling Thunder's given name was John Pope.[8] At times he claimed to be part Cherokee[8] and at other times Shoshone[9] or Hopi.[10] He never provided proof of any Native heritage. He has been accused of cultural appropriation and cited as an example of a non-Native who taught fraudulent, "Native-style" ceremonies, often for money.[11][12] He often claimed to represent the Western Shoshone Nation.[9]

Bibliography

• Native Healer: Initiation Into an Ancient Art by Bobby Lake-Thom and Robert G. Lake – 1991 (Foreword by Rolling Thunder) Quest Books ISBN 978-0-8356-0667-7

Discography

• Rolling Thunder – Mickey Hart (1972)
• Rolling Thunder Speaks: the Owyhee Confrontation (Audio Book)
• From Alcatraz to Chicago - with John Trudell and Michael Chosa (Audio Book)

Video

• A Day with Rolling Thunder at Meta Tantay (1978) Produced by Al Licari and United Earth Fund http://unitedearthfund.org/rollingthunder.html

Filmography

• Rolling Thunder: Healer of Meta Tantay – UFO TV – DVD Release Date: February 22, 2005

Notes

1. Laszlo, Ervin (February 12, 2009). The Akashic Experience: Science and the Cosmic Memory Field. Inner Traditions. ISBN 1594772983.
2. The Shamanic Powers of Rolling Thunder: As Experienced by Alberto Villoldo, John Perry Barlow, Larry Dossey, and Others. Bear & Company. ISBN 1591432278.
3. Mystics, Magicians, and Medicine People: Tales of a Wanderer
4. Rolling Thunder Speaks
5. Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story, Netflix, This tour was named after chief Rolling Thunder. So it made sense that we go to the Tuscarora Indian Reservation and play.
6. http://www.worldcat.org/title/from-alcatraz-to-chicago/oclc/5578494
7. Mickey Hart at Meta Tantay
8. Panther-Yates 40
9. Rolling Thunder speaks : the Owyhee confrontation
10. History and Culture of the Boise Shoshone and Bannock Indians. Dorrance Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4349-5470-1.
11. G. Hobson, "The Rise of the White Shaman as a New Version of Cultural Imperialism." in: Hobson, Gary, ed. The Remembered Earth. Albuquerque, NM: Red Earth Press; 1978: 100-108.
12. Chidester, David, Authentic Fakes: Religion and American Popular Culture. University of California Press; 2005; p.173: "Defenders of the integrity of indigenous religion have derided New Age shamans, as well as their indigenous collaborators, as 'plastic shaman' or 'plastic medicine men.'"

References

• Ivakhiv, Adrian J. Claiming Sacred Ground: Pilgrims and Politics at Glastonbury and Sedona. Indiana University Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0253338990.

Further reading

• The Shamanic Powers of Rolling Thunder: As Experienced by Alberto Villoldo, John Perry Barlow, Larry Dossey, and Others by Sidian Morning Star Jones and Stanley Krippner, Ph.D. (editors) - Bear & Company (November 2016) ISBN 978-1591432272
• The Voice of Rolling Thunder: A Medicine Man's Wisdom for Walking the Red Road by Sidian Morning Star Jones and Stanley Krippner, Ph.D. (editors) - Bear & Company (September 2012) ISBN 978-1591431336
• Dream Catchers: How Mainstream America Discovered Native Spirituality By Philip Jenkins (2005) Oxford University Press ISBN 978-0-19-518910-0. 2004.
• Hollywood and the Supernatural by Sherry Hansen and Brad Steiger – St. Martin's Press (1990).
• Mad Bear: Spirit, Healing, and the Sacred in the Life of a Native American Medicine Man by Doug Boyd (1994) Touchstone
• Mystics, Magicians, and Medicine People: Tales of a Wanderer by Doug Boyd – Marlowe & Co (1995) ISBN 978-1-56924-880-5
• Personality Theories: Critical Perspectives by Albert Ellis, Mike Abrams and Lidia Abrams (2008) Sage Publications, Inc. ISBN 978-1-4129-1422-2
• Rolling Thunder: A Personal Exploration into the Secret Healing Powers of an American Indian Medicine Man by Doug Boyd – Delta (1976) ISBN 978-0-385-28859-0

External links

• "The Plowboy Interview: Rolling Thunder", Mother Earth News, July/August 1981