When it comes to UFO evidence, I tend to be much too skeptical and dismissive of videos, photographs, and "official" documents. It's much too easy to fake these, and there's no way to prove they're real. All you can do is prove they're fake. So I typically ignore that type of evidence, probably to a fault. What interests me the most are the stories people have. Hearing the account of events from people who were there. What they saw, how they felt, how they dealt with their experience afterwards, and how they feel about it now. That's what sticks with me the most.
This summer I read Encounters with Star People: Untold Stories of American Indians, a book comprised entirely of that type of evidence. I discovered it through the summer issue of the JSE which covered it in the book review section. The book is written by Ardy Sixkiller Clarke, a retired professor from Montana State University. As I alluded to a few posts ago, this is the most fascinating book I've read in a long, long time. So hold onto your hats, because this is wild stuff.
The book starts out with an interesting note that a number of American Indian researchers and journalists prefer the term American Indian over Native American, when referring to tribal groups as a whole. Part of the reason is that anyone born in the Americas is, by definition, a Native American. They also claim that most American Indians do not object to the word Indian, even though it is a misnomer. So I'll follow their advice and use the term American Indian.
Now for the good stuff. The author is herself an American Indian. She and many others grew up hearing about the Star People from their grandparents. The stories claim that the Star People came to the Earth from the Pleiades star cluster, and that Indians are descendants of them. As a result, when many of the older American Indians see a UFO (which apparently happens much more often than you'd think), they react as if they're seeing family members. By contrast, many of the younger Indians, who are more heavily influenced by mass media, often react with fear of "aliens".
Over the course of her career as an educator, the author collected stories from American Indians about their encounters with Star People. It's likely that only an insider could have written this book. Several people had never told anyone about their encounter, until her. Often times she had to get to know a person first, sometimes even doing small favors for them, to build up enough trust before they would reveal their encounter. In return, she promised them confidentiality, by changing the names and locations in their story. Over time, she became friends with several of the people, and she developed a reputation as the "UFO lady".
The book has over two dozen stories, which vary greatly. Some are chilling, some are touching, some are sad, and some are so wild they would make a great X-Files episode. There were a few common elements, though. For example, everyone who reported seeing a star person/extraterrestrial, said they were humanoids (head, torso, 2 arms, 2 legs). There was some variation (some said the being reminded them of an insect), but they all had the same basic shape. A number of people communicated with the beings, but in hindsight they couldn't recall if their communication was verbal, or if it was some form of telepathy. Finally, and most interestingly, several elderly people stated they weren't afraid of death, because they knew when they died, the Star People would come for them. And in several cases, UFOs or extraterrestrial beings were spotted the day that person died, or the day of their funeral.
A few examples of some of the stories:
- A snow plow driver in Alaska was working during a major snowstorm when he happened upon a UFO sitting in the middle of the road. Several extraterrestrials were outside repairing the craft. Startled, they hurried back into the ship and took off, but left one being behind in their haste. Rather than moving fluidly from one spot to another, the being seemed to teleport from spot to spot. The driver gave the being shelter in his truck (it was 70 below zero outside), and talked to it while he continued on his snowplow route. The being said where he came from, everyone teleports like he does, and we could do it too, if we learned how to use our brains the right way. It was also fascinated by the mechanics of the snowplow, and expressed bewilderment that our scientists hadn't investigated magnetic propulsion more thoroughly.
- A man went camping in the desert by himself and was stunned when a Star Person literally walked up to his campfire and started talking to him. The being said he was on a mission to gather soil and plant samples from our world, and couldn't resist the chance to talk to an inhabitant of the planet. He said he would get in a lot of trouble if his superiors found out about his infraction. The man asked if it was true that extraterrestrials were abducting humans. The being replied his species did not, but there were others that did.
- A teenage girl, whose parents owned a horse ranch on a reservation, said she and her family saw UFOs on an almost weekly basis. One day, a UFO appeared as a ball of light, flew up to her, and transformed into a Star Person. It said it had been coming here a long time, had seen her grow up, and watched her take care of the horses. It asked her about the digestive system of horses, saying they brought horses to their home planet, which were now dying but they didn't know why. The girl answered as best she could, but wasn't sure she was much help. A few years later, she decided to study veterinary science in college, and said she hoped the being would come back after she had graduated.
- A 92-year-old man, who was a respected elder in his community, and was described as the last chief of the northern plains, claimed that the Star People lived on Earth up until the white man arrived in America. He said they warned the Indians the white man was coming, suggested they leave the planet, and brought spaceships for those who chose to go with them. Many went, but many stayed.
There are lots of other fascinating stories I would love to write about, but I should probably stop here to encourage people to buy the book if they're interested. There are several great quotes I wanted to share, though. Like this one, from a man on why he never told anyone about his experience:
Then there's this from a 79-year-old woman in West Virginia:We are proud people. Everything we knew and told the white man, he changed or used to his own advantage. When we told him our history, he said it was just legends. We told him our ancient myths; he discounted them. Why would we tell them about the special relationship we have had for centuries with the Star People? They would say it was myth. We have our secrets, and sometimes it is best to keep them that way.
And finally, this quote from a mid-20's Navajo man:Out here in the mountains, you see a lot of things. I can tell you many stories, but the most frightful occurred right here on my front porch. It's a sad state of affairs when them aliens can come and take you right out of your house and the government claims they don't even exist. I'd like to bring one of them Congressmen out here and let him be abducted. Maybe then they would change their tune. Maybe George W. or old Daddy Bush. Give them a dose of reality.
I don't like talking about UFOs. People around here keep quiet about such things. We don't want a bunch of white people running all over the reservation looking for aliens. They can do that in Sedona. We like to be left alone.
So what to make of all this? On Amazon, the book has well over 150 reviews. Many people said they couldn't put the book down. I had the opposite problem. I had to keep putting the book down after each chapter to process what I'd read, and to try to figure out if we really live in a world where these bizarre stories are true. I finally decided that if these stories are true, they're just the tip of the iceberg, so the whole truth is likely far more bizarre than this.
So that's my book report. Take it with a grain of salt, or a grain of truth.
Oh, and one more exciting thing: the author has collected enough interviews for two more books. The next book is focused on interviews with people from Central America, and it comes out next week! I am eagerly looking forward to it.
