Rolling Thunder aka John Pope, 1916–1996) was a hippie spiritual leader who self-identified as a Native American

medicine man A medicine man or medicine woman is a traditional healer and spiritual leader who serves a community of Indigenous people of the Americas. Individual cultures have their own names, in their respective languages, for spiritual healers and cerem ...

. He was raised in Oklahoma and later moved to

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

.''Rolling Thunder Speaks'' He has been considered an example of a plastic medicine man.

Controversy

Rolling Thunder worked for most of his life as a

brakeman A brakeman is a rail transport worker whose original job was to assist the braking of a train by applying brakes on individual wagons. The earliest known use of the term to describe this occupation occurred in 1833. The advent of through brakes, ...

under the name John Pope. Going by his chosen name, Rolling Thunder, he appears in taped interviews with

John Trudell John Trudell (February 15, 1946December 8, 2015) was a Native American author, poet, actor, musician, and political activist. He was the spokesperson for the Indians of All Tribes' takeover of Alcatraz beginning in 1969, broadcasting as ''Radi ...

and Michael Chosa in which he discusses the contemporary treatment of Native Americans. At times he claimed to be part Hopi, at times

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

, and at other times Shoshone and that he could represent the Western Shoshone Nation.Rolling Thunder speaks : the Owyhee confrontation
/ref> He never provided proof of any Native heritage, nor have any Native people claimed him. He has been cited as an example of a plastic medicine man.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.'" Rolling Thunder is mentioned in a number of books on the

New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...

, 1960s counterculture, cultural appropriation,

cultural imperialism Cultural imperialism (sometimes referred to as cultural colonialism) comprises the cultural dimensions of imperialism. The word "imperialism" often describes practices in which a social entity engages culture (including language, traditions, ...

, and

neoshamanism Neoshamanism refers to new forms of shamanism. It usually means shamanism practiced by Western people as a type of New Age spirituality, without a connection to traditional shamanic societies. It is sometimes also used for modern shamanic rituals ...

.''Dream Catchers: How Mainstream America Discovered Native Spirituality'' By Philip Jenkins (2005) Oxford University Press . 2004.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.

Death

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

Legacy

In 1975 he and his wife Spotted Fawn founded a non-profit community on 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.Mickey Hart at Meta Tantay
/ref>

Bibliography

* ''Native Healer: Initiation Into an Ancient Art'' by Bobby Lake-Thom and Robert G. Lake – 1991 (Foreword by Rolling Thunder) Quest Books * ''Rolling Thunder'' by Doug Boyd - 1982 (Foreword by Dee Brown) Bantam Doubleday Dell

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)

Filmography

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

Notes

External links

"The Plowboy Interview: Rolling Thunder", ''Mother Earth News'', July/August 1981
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rolling Thunder 1916 births 1997 deaths Deaths from diabetes Hippies New Age spiritual leaders People from Nevada American people who self-identify as being of Native American descent