You have noticed that everything as Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round..... The Sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power, whirls. Birds make their nest in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours....Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves.
"What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset."
"The ground on which we stand is sacred ground. It is the blood of our ancestors."
"How smooth must be the language of the whites, when they can make right look like wrong, and wrong like right."
"The white people, who are trying to make us over into their image, they want us to be what they call "assimilated," bringing the Indians into the mainstream and destroying our own way of life and our own cultural patterns. They believe we should be contented like those whose concept of happiness is materialistic and greedy, which is very different from our way.We want freedom from the white man rather than to be intergrated. We don't want any part of the establishment, we want to be free to raise our children in our religion, in our ways, to be able to hunt and fish and live in peace. We don't want power, we don't want to be congressmen, or bankers....we want to be ourselves. We want to have our heritage, because we are the owners of this land and because we belong here.
The white man says, there is freedom and justice for all. We have had "freedom and justice," and that is why we have been almost exterminated. We shall not forget this."
"When the Earth is sick, the animals will begin to disappear, when that happens, The Warriors of the Rainbow will come to save them."
"Our land is everything to us... I will tell you one of the things we remember on our land. We remember that our grandfathers paid for it - with their lives."
In the beginning of all things, wisdom and knowledge were with the animals, for Tirawa, the One Above, did not speak directly to man. He sent certain animals to tell men that he showed himself through the beast, and that from them, and from the stars and the sun and moon should man learn.. all things tell of Tirawa.All things in the world are two. In our minds we are two, good and evil. With our eyes we see two things, things that are fair and things that are ugly.... We have the right hand that strikes and makes for evil, and we have the left hand full of kindness, near the heart. One foot may lead us to an evil way, the other foot may lead us to a good. So are all things two, all two.
Don't be afraid to cry. It will free your mind of sorrowful thoughts. - Hopi
Day and night cannot dwell together. - Duwamish
It is better to have less thunder in the mouth and more lightning in the hand. - Apache
They are not dead who live in the hearts they leave behind. - Tuscarora
All plants are our brothers and sisters. They talk to us and if we listen, we can hear them. - Arapaho
Tell me and I'll forget. Show me, and I may not remember. Involve me, and I'll understand. - Tribe Unknown.
Before eating, always take time to thank the food. - Arapaho
When we show our respect for other living things, they respond with respect for us. - Arapaho
If we wonder often, the gift of knowledge will come. - Arapaho
Most of us do not look as handsome to others as we do to ourselves. - Assiniboine
Those that lie down with dogs, get up with fleas. - Blackfoot
In age, talk; in childhood, tears. - Hopi
We always return to our first loves. - Tribe Unknown
What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little
shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset. - Blackfoot
When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice. - Cherokee
Those who have one foot in the canoe, and one foot in the boat, are going to fall into the river. - Tuscarora
The weakness of the enemy makes our strength. - Cherokee
When the white man discovered this country, Indians were running it. No taxes, no debt, women did all the work. White man thought he could improve on a system like this. - Cherokee
A good soldier is a poor scout. - Cheyenne
Poverty is a noose that strangles humility and breeds disrespect for God and man. - Sioux
We will be known forever by the tracks we leave. - Dakota
Do not judge your neighbor until you walk two moons in his moccasins. - Cheyenne
There is nothing as eloquent as a rattlesnakes tail. - Navajo
Force, no matter how concealed, begets resistance. - Lakota
Our first teacher is our own heart. - Cheyenne
Everyone who is successful must have dreamed of something. - Maricopa
All who have died are equal. - Comanche
Remember that your children are not your own, but are lent to you by the Creator. - Mohawk
One rain does not make a crop. - Creole
Man's law changes with his understanding of man. Only the laws of the spirit remain always the same. - Crow
What the people believe is true. - Anishinabe
You already possess everything necessary to become great. - Crow
There is no death, only a change of worlds. - Duwamish
Life is not separate from death. It only looks that way. - Blackfoot
You can't wake a person who is pretending to be asleep. - Navajo
It is less of a problem to be poor, than to be dishonest. - Anishinabe
One finger cannot lift a pebble. - Hopi
Beware of the man who does not talk, and the dog that does not bark. - Cheyenne
All dreams spin out from the same web. - Hopi
He who would do great things should not attempt them all alone. - Seneca
Even a small mouse has anger. - Tribe Unknown
If a man is as wise as a serpent, he can afford to be as harmless as a dove. - Cheyenne
Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children. - Tribe Unknown
The rainbow is a sign from Him who is in all things. - Hopi
Walk lightly in the spring; Mother Earth is pregnant. - Kiowa
When a man moves away from nature his heart becomes hard. - Lakota
Old age is not as honorable as death, but most people want it. - Crow
Many have fallen with the bottle in their hand. - Lakota
(May the Great Spirit walk with you)
Yigaquu osaniyu adanvto adadoligi nigohilvi nasquv utloyasdi nihiMay the Great Spirit's Blessings Always Be With You
Ho! Mitakuye Oyasin
"We Are All Related"
Ea Nigada Qusdi Idadadvhn
"All My Relations In Creation"
Trouble no one about their religion;
respect others in their view and demand that they respect yours.
~Chief Tecumseh~
"When the Earth is sick, the animals will begin to disappear, when that happens, The
Warriors of the Rainbow will come to save them.
~Chief Seattle ~
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