~A collection of some of my favorite Native poetry, wisdom, prayers, 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 so keep checking back...Enjoy!~

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A Prayer Addressed To The Mountain Spirits

(Apache)

Mountain Spirit, leader of the Mountain Spirits, your body is holy.
By means of it, make him well again.
Make his body like your own.
Make him strong again.

He wants to get up with all of his body.
For that reason, he is performing this ceremony,
Do that which he has asked of you.

Long ago, it seems you restored someone's legs and eyes for them.
This has been said.
In the same way, make him free again from disease.
That is why I am speaking to you.

An Aztec Prayer

Reportedly translated from an original dating from the 1500's

Lord most giving and resourceful, I implore you;
make it your will that this people enjoy the goods and riches you naturally give,
that naturally issue from you,
that are pleasing and savory,
that delight and comfort,
though lasting but briefly, passing away as if in a dream.

A Sioux Prayer

Translated by Chief Yellow Lark - 1887

Oh, Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the winds
Whose breath gives life to the world, hear me
I come to you as one of your many children
I am small and weak
I need your strength and wisdom

May I walk in beauty
Make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset.
Make my hands respect the things you have made
And my ears sharp to your voice.
Make me wise so that I may know the things you have taught your children.

The lessons you have written in every leaf and rock
Make me strong--------!
Not to be superior to my brothers, but to fight my greatest enemy....myself

An Indian Prayer

H. Kent Craig

My grandfather is the fire
My grandmother is the wind
The Earth is my mother
The Great Spirit is my father
The World stopped at my birth
and laid itself at my feet
And I shall swallow the Earth whole
when I die
and the Earth and I will be one
Hail The Great Spirit, my father
without him no one could exist
because there would be no will to live
Hail The Earth, my mother
without which no food could be grown
and so cause the will to live to starve
Hail the wind, my grandmother
for she brings loving, lifegiving rain
nourishing us as she nourishes our crops
Hail the fire, my grandfather
for the light, the warmth, the comfort he brings
without which we be animals, not men
Hail my parent and grandparents
without which
not I
nor you
nor anyone else
could have existed
Life gives life
which gives unto itself
a promise of new life
Hail the Great Spirit, The Earth, the wind, the fire
praise my parents loudly
for they are your parents, too
Oh, Great Spirit, giver of my life
please accept this humble offering of prayer
this offering of praise
this honest reverence of my love for you.

Indian Prayer

Chief Yellow Lark, Lakota

Oh, Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the winds.
And whose breath gives life to all the world.
Hear me! I am small and weak.
I need your strength and wisdom.
Let me walk in beauty, and make my eyes
Ever hold the red and purple sunset.
Make my hands respect the things you have made.
My ears sharp to hear your voice.
Make me wise so that I may understand
The things you might teach me.
Let me learn the lessons you have hidden
In every leaf and rock.
I seek strength, not to be greater than my brother.
But to fight my greatest enemy, myself.
Make me always ready to come to you
With clear hands and straight eyes.
So when life fades, as the fading sunset.
My spirit may come to you without shame.

Cherokee Prayer

As I walk the trail of life
in the fear of the wind and rain,
grant O Great Spirit
that I may always walk
like a man

Cherokee Traveler's Greeting

I will draw thorns from your feet.
We will walk the White Path of Life together.
Like a brother of my own blood,
I will love you.
I will wipe tears from your eyes.
When you are sad,
I will put your aching heart to rest.

Dream Catchers

An ancient Chippewa tradition
The dream net has been made
For many generations
Where spirit dreams have played.

Hung above the cradle board,
Or in the lodge up high,
The dream net catches bad dreams,
While good dreams slip on by.

Bad dreams become entangled
Among the sinew thread.
Good dreams slip through the center hole,
While you dream upon your bed.

This is an ancient legend,
Since dreams will never cease,
Hang this dream net above your bed,
Dream on, and be at peace.

Grandfather Cries

Charles Phillip Whitedog

Grandfather, do you know me?
I am your blood.
The son of your son.
I come to ask you a question Grandfather.
Grandfather, don't you know me?
Can I stop being Indian now?
There are others that want to be Indian,
And if they can start from nothing,
I should be able to stop from something?
Grandfather, don't you know me?
Grandfather, I don't look like you.
I don't know what you know.
It would be easy for me to hide behind my paler skin.
No one would know the pain I feel,
Or see the tears I cry for your Great Grandchildren.
Grandfather, don't you know me?
Grandfather, look what I have done to our world.
Mother Earth is on her knees.
The Snake and Owl rule the day.
I don't understand the language you speak Grandfather.
Grandfather, don't you know me?
Grandfather, I want my Pepsi, Levi's and Porsche too.
I want to go where the others go,
And see the things they see too.
I don't have time to dance in the old way Grandfather.
Grandfather?
Grandfather, why are you crying?
Grandfather, why are you crying?
Grandfather, please stop crying.
Grandfather, don't you know me?

Grandfather Great Spirit

All over the world the faces
of living ones are alike.

With tenderness they have
come up out of the ground.

Look upon your children
that they may face the winds
And walk the good road to the Day of Quiet.

Grandfather Great Spirit
Fill us with the Light.
Give us the strength to understand,
And the eyes to see.

Teach us to walk the soft Earth
as relatives to all that live.

Native Commandments

Jasper Saunkeah, Cherokee

Treat the Earth and all that dwell thereon with respect.
Remain close to the Great Spirit.
Show great respect for your fellow beings.
Work together for the benefit of all Mankind.
Give assistance and kindness wherever needed.

Do what you know to be right.
Look after the well being of mind and body.
Dedicate a share of your efforts to the greater good.
Be truthful and honest at all times.
Take full responsibility for your actions.
Let us greet the dawn of a new day
when all can live as one with nature
and peace reigns everywhere.

Oh Great Spirit, bring to our brothers
the wisdom of Nature and the knowledge
that if her laws are obeyed
this land will again flourish
and grasses and trees will grow as before.

Guide those that through their councils
seek to spread the wisdom of their leaders to all people.
Heal the raw wounds of the earth
and restore to our soul the richness
which strengthens men's bodies
and makes them wise in their councils.

Bring to all the knowledge that great cities
live only through the bounty
of the good earth beyond their paved streets
and towers of stone and steel.

Ojibwa Prayer

Oh Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the winds
And whose breath gives life to everyone,
Hear me.
I come to you as one of your many children;
I am weak... I am small...I need your wisdom
and your strength.
Let me walk in beauty, and make my eyes ever
behold the red and purple sunsets.
Make my hands respect the things you have made,
and make my ears sharp so I may hear your voice.
Make me wise, so that I may understand what you
have taught my people and
The lessons you have hidden in each leaf and each rock.
I ask for wisdom and strength,
Not to be superior to my brothers, but to be able
to fight my greatest enemy, myself.
Make me ever ready to come before you with
clean hands and a straight eye,
So as life fades away as a fading sunset,
My spirit may come to you without shame.

Paiute Medicine Song

Now all my singing Dreams are gone,
But none knows where they have fled
Nor by what trails they have left me.
Return, O Dreams of my heart,
And sing in the Summer twilight,
By the creek and the almond thicket
And the field that is bordered with lupins!

Now is my refuge to seek
In the hollow of friendly shoulders,
Since the singing is stopped in my pulse
And the earth and the sky refuse me;
Now must I hold by the eyes of a friend
When the high white stars are unfriendly.

Over-sweet is the refuge for trusting;
Return and sing, O my Dreams,
In the dewy and palpitant pastures,
Till the love of living awakes
And the strength of the hills to uphold me.

Shoshone Love Song

Fair is the white star of twilight,
and the sky clearer at the day's end;
But she is fairer, and she is dearer.
She, my heart's friend!

Far stars and fair in the skies bending,
Low stars of hearth fires and wood smoke ascending,
The meadow-lark's nested,
The night hawk is winging;
Home through the star-shine the hunter comes singing.

Fair is the white star of twilight,
And the moon roving
To the sky's end;
But she is fairer, better worth loving,
She, my heart's friend.

Sun Tracks

Atoni (Choctaw)

The Track of the sun
across the Sky
leaves its shining message,
Illuminating,
Strengthening,
Warming,
us who are here,
showing us we are not alone,
we are yet ALIVE!
And this fire......
Our fire.....
Shall not die

True Path Walkers

Obligations of the True Path Walkers

To bring back the natural harmony that humans once enjoyed.
To save the planet from present practices of destruction.
To find and re-employ real truth.
To promote true balance between both genders.
To share and be less materialistic.
To become rid of prejudice.
To learn to be related.

To be kind to animals and take no more than we need.
To play with one's children and love each equally and fairly.
To be brave and courageous, enough so,
to take a stand and make a commitment.
To understand what Generations Unborn really means.
To accept the Great Mystery
in order to end foolish argument over religion.

"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