WHO WE ARE

Introduction

This phase of my journey began approximately five years ago. I received a friend request from a brother named Tecumseh Brown Eagle, Chief of the Erie Mound Builders. After accepting his request, I soon realized that this was no ordinary request and that he was no ordinary man. He was then, as he is now, a wealth of knowledge.

Chief Tecumseh and I really hit it off, especially when we realized that we were both martial artists. But it was his knowledge of Native American history that truly grabbed my attention. After listening to him share what he understood to be our true Native American history, I began to wonder about my own.

I discovered that my great-grandmother was listed on one of the census reports as Cherokee. This was family history I had never known.

Chief Tecumseh and I continued having discussions on the subject. Then one day he asked me:

I gave it some thought, but I did not know what to call it. Then one day it occurred to me that The Honorable Elijah Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, who was taught by Allah in the Person of Master Fard Muhammad, taught us that we—the Black man and Black woman here in the Wilderness of North America—were members of the Original Tribe. He taught that we are descendants of The Tribe of Shabazz.

The Tribe of Shabazz is the name of the Tribe that, according to these teachings, settled on this part of what we now call Earth following the deportation of what we now call the Moon 66 trillion years ago.

This knowledge—this TRUTH, as it is taught—was not known to us until the coming of a man who came to fulfill the ultimate prophecy. That man, Master Fard Muhammad, came to North America to reclaim the lost members of The Tribe of Shabazz.

Master Fard Muhammad was in and out of North America for twenty years before making His presence known among the Black people of North America in what was then called Black Bottom, Detroit.

On July 4, 1930, He began teaching our people here about a history they had never heard before.

One of the things that had to be done was to restore to Black people an identity that would uplift them and provide them with pride, dignity, and love for themselves. He taught that the Black man and Black woman in the Wilderness of North America were direct descendants of a Royal Family.

That Royal Family was The Tribe of Shabazz.

He taught that a member of The Tribe of Shabazz left the Root of Civilization on a mission into what was then called “The Jungles of East Asia,” which we now call Africa.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught that we are The Original People of Planet Earth—the Makers, the Owners, and the Cream of the Planet Earth.

Within that declaration is the word Original.

Original means first.

If we are the Original Man and Woman—the first—then we are the oldest people on the planet. It does not matter how many different names we may go by today. There are many names, but we are all descendants of that first Tribe:

Sixty-six trillion years is a very long time for a people to hold on to one name. It is not difficult for wise men and women to understand how names can change over such an enormous period of time.

When people are given the freedom to choose, they decide where they want to live and what they want to call themselves. They name places and peoples according to circumstances, territories, surroundings, animals, experiences, and other conditions.

Therefore, I came to understand that The Tribe of Shabazz was a name that became lost in the shuffle of time until the coming of Allah in the Person of Master Fard Muhammad.

The date of this original writing is April 2021.

It was my belief then, and remains my conviction, that the time had come to reclaim our birthright under the name that started it all.

During my research, I encountered writings concerning the Washitaw de Dugdahmoundyah Muur Nation of Louisiana, including claims concerning its antiquity and its relationship to the Original Tribe, The Tribe of Shabazz.

When I began this assignment, I had no knowledge of the Washitaw Nation or of the work associated with Empress Verdiacee Washitaw. As I studied the material available to me, I came across writings connecting their history with the Tribe of Shabazz.

I have no formal education beyond the twelfth grade, so when I began conducting this research, I felt that I had a major stumbling block to overcome.

I am not what you would call a historian.

I am a follower of The Honorable Elijah Muhammad.

While trying to find a way to prove my Native American heritage and connect it to a Native American tribe, a thought occurred to me:

Why?

Because The Honorable Elijah Muhammad had already given us the name of the Tribe to which, according to his teachings, we belong.

It was at that moment that I decided to begin the work of restoring The Tribe of Shabazz as an organized and functioning people in North America.

I did not know exactly how I would accomplish it, but I felt strongly that this was my new assignment.

The first thing I did was research some of the tribes that were federally recognized. I noticed that they had seals and flags. I immediately began working on a seal and a flag for The Tribe of Shabazz.

It did not take me long to design both.

After doing this, I realized that at some point I would have to provide documentation and support for what I was discovering. At that point, I became overwhelmed and temporarily put the work down so that I could focus on my health.

But I never gave up on the assignment.

I simply had to take care of myself.

In March 2021, I encountered information in a book called The Brown Book, associated with Prophet Noble Drew Ali. That material led me to further information concerning the Washitaw.

As I continued studying, I encountered claims and writings concerning the Washitaw Nation, its international standing, its history, and its asserted relationship to the ancient Royal Family known as The Tribe of Shabazz.

Whether every historical claim I encountered could immediately be proven was secondary to the realization that had taken root within me:

Therefore, on July 4, 2021, I, Nasiir Abdul Muhammad, under my faith in Allah, Master Fard Muhammad, and the teachings of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, formally declared the restoration and organization of The Official Tribe of Shabazz in the Wilderness of North America.

The purpose was not to create the Tribe of Shabazz.

The Tribe was not ours to create.

The purpose was to restore the name, preserve the history, organize our people, build institutions, and carry the responsibility forward.