Rolling Thunder (person)
| Rolling Thunder | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
John Walter Pope September 10, 1916 Stamps, Arkansas |
| Died | January 23, 1997 (aged 80) Elko, Nevada |
| Cause of death | Complications from diabetes |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | New Age spiritualist |
| Spouse(s) |
Spotted Fawn (her death 1984) Carmen Sun Rising (his death 1997) |
| Children | Mala Spotted Eagle Buffalo Horse Ozella Morning Star Patty Mocking Bird |
Rolling Thunder (birth name: John Pope, 1916–1997) was a spiritual leader who self-identified as a Native American medicine man. He was raised in Oklahoma and later moved to Nevada.
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.
Rolling Thunder had bit parts in Billy Jack (1971), The Trial of Billy Jack (1974) and Billy Jack Goes to Washington (1977).
Rolling Thunder appears on Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart's album Rolling Thunder, a 1972 release. In 1975/76, Bob Dylan organized and headlined a nationwide series of concerts called the Rolling Thunder Revue (named for thunder itself, according to Dylan.)
Rolling Thunder appears in taped interviews with John Trudell and Michael Chosa in which he describes the contemporary treatment of Native Americans.
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.
Rolling Thunder died in 1997 from complications associated with diabetes. He also suffered from emphysema in the later years of his life.
Rolling Thunder's given name was John Pope. At times he claimed to be part Cherokee and at other times Shoshone or Hopi. He never provided proof of any Native heritage. He has been accused of cultural appropriation and cited as an example of non-Natives who teach Native-style ceremonies, often for money. He often claimed to represent the Western Shoshone Nation.
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