~A collection of some of my favorite Native poetry, wisdom, and quotes. Proper credit and reference is given in each, as they are not my own words. More may appear later as they are added...Enjoy!~
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"In the beginning, people lived beyond the sky, because deep waters covered the entire earth. Then, a pregnant woman fell from the Sky World toward the water. Ducks and geese broke her fall with their wings and carried her to the Great Turtle, master of all animals, and set her on his back. The Turtle ordered the other animals to bring earth from the bottom of the water and cover his back that she might have land to live upon."~Iroquois Creation Story
"Will you ever begin to understand the meaning of the very soil beneath your feet? From a grain of sand to a great mountain, all is sacred. Yesterday and tomorrow exist eternally upon this continent. We natives are guardians of this sacred place."~Peter Blue Cloud, Mohawk
"What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, men would die from great loneliness of spirit, for whatever happens to the beasts also happens to man. All things are connected. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the children of the earth."~Seathl, Duwamish chief
(from THE BLANKET AROUND HER)
"The white wind that encircles her is a part just as the blue sky hanging in turquoise from her neck..."~Joy Harjo, Creek
PRAYER TO A CEDAR TREE
"Look at me, friend! I come to ask for your dress since there is nothing you cannot be used for. I come to beg you for this, long-life maker."~Kwakiutl
I love the land and the buffalo, and will not part with it. I love to roam over the prairies. There I feel free and happy."~White Bear, Santana
"Our land, our religion, and our life are one. It is upon this land that we have hunted deer, elk, antelope, buffalo, rabbit, turkey. It is from this land that we obtained the timbers and stone for our homes and kivas."~Hopi creed
"I buried my father in that beautiful valley of the winding rivers. I love that land more than all the rest of the world."~Chief Joseph, Nez Perce
"I have been to the end of the earth. I have been to the end of the waters. I have been to the end of the sky. I have been to the end of the mountains. I have found none that are not my friends."~Navajo proverb
(from CALLING MYSELF HOME)
"This land is the house we have always lived in. The women, their bones are holding up the earth."~Linda Hogan, Chickasaw
"The old people came literally to love the soil. They sat on the ground with the feeling of being close to a mothering power. It was good for the skin to touch the earth, and the old people liked to remove their moccasins and walk with their bare feet on the sacred earth. The soil was soothing, strengthening, cleansing, and healing."~Luther Standing Bear, Lakota Sioux
"We are the stars which sing, we sing with our light; we are the birds of fire, we fly over the sky. We look down on the mountains. This is the song of the stars."~Algonquian poem
"When we show our respect for other living things, they respond with respect for us."~Arapaho proverb
"For the Lakota there was no wilderness. Nature was not dangerous but hospitable, not forbidding but friendly."~Luther Standing Bear, Lakota Sioux
"Our land is more valuable than your money. It will last forever. It will not even perish by the flames of fire. As long as the sun shines and the waters flow, this land will be here to give life to men and animals. We cannot sell the lives of men and animals. It was put here for us by the Great Spirit and we cannot sell it because it does not belong to us."~Crowfoot, Blackfoot
(from his address at the Survival Gathering, 1980)
"We must go beyond the arrogance of human rights. We must go beyond the ignorance of civil rights. We must step into the reality of natural rights because all the natural world has a right to existence. We are only a small part of it. There can be no trade-off."~John Trudell, Santee Sioux
"These lakes, these woods, and mountains were left us by our ancestors. They are our inheritance; and we will part with them to none. He, the Great Spirit and Master of Life, has provided food for us in these spacious lakes, and on these woody mountains."~Pontiac, Ottawa chief
"Great Spirit! You lived first, and you are older than all need, older than all prayer. All things belong to you-the two-legged, the four-legged, the wings of the air and all green things that live...I am sending you a voice, Great Spirit, my Grandfather, forgetting nothing you have made, the stars of the universe and the grasses of the earth.:~Black Elk, Oglala Sioux
"Today is a good day to fight-today is a good day to die."~Crazy Horse, Oglala Sioux
"The might of our arms will be known and the courage of our brave hearts."~Aztec scribe
"A nation is not conquered until the hearts of its women are on the ground."~Traditional Cheyenne saying
"Our lives are in the hands of the Creator. We are determined to defend our lands, and if it be his will, we wish to leave our bones upon them."~Tecumseh, Shawnee chief
"It is no longer good enough to cry peace, we must act peace, live peace, and live in peace."~Shenandoah proverb
"I come to a powwow to be an Indian, to get a sense of myself. This is part of Indian spirituality, to help each other and to celebrate with each other. When I come to powwows, I gain strength to carry on with my life."~ Rachel Snow, Assiniboin
"We are bought and divided into clay pots; we die on granite scaffolding on the shape of the Sierras and lie down with lips open thrusting songs on the world."~ Wendy Rose, Hopi/Miwok
"Remember that your children are not your own, but are lent to you by the Creator."~Mohawk proverb
