Native Quote #18

“The Great Spirit is not perfect: it has a good side and a bad side. Sometimes the bad side gives us more knowledge than the good side.”

Lakota

Native Quote #17

“Everyone lightens. Each one of us is moving and vibrating as we become one as the light beings we are. All of us have been called. All of us feel the change and know the urgency of becoming One.”  

Flordemayo, Mayan

Native Quote #16

"Will you ever begin to understand the meaning of the soil beneath your very feet? From a grain of sand to a great mountain, all is sacred. Yesterday and tomorrow exist eternally upon this continent. We natives are the guardians of this sacred place."

 Aroniawenrate (Peter Blue Cloud), Turtle Clan, Mohawk

Native Quote #15

"When all the trees have been cut down,
when all the animals have been hunted,
when all the waters are polluted,
when all the air is unsafe to breathe,
only then will you discover you cannot eat money."

Cree Prophecy

Native Quote #14

"Silence is the absolute poise or balance of body, mind and spirit. The man who preserves his selfhood is ever calm and unshaken by the storms of existence ... What are the fruits of silence? They are self-control, true courage or endurance, patience, dignity and reverence. Silence is the cornerstone of character."

 Ohiyesa, Wahpeton Santee Sioux

Native Quote #13

"I am poor and naked, but I am the chief of the nation. We do not want riches but we do want to train our children right. Riches would do us no good. We could not take them with us to the other world. We do not want riches. We want peace and love."

         

 

Maȟpíya Lúta (Red Cloud), Oglala Lakota

Native Quote #12

An elder said:

"Inside of me there are two dogs. One of the dogs is mean and evil. The other dog is good. The mean dog fights the good dog all the time."

When asked which dog wins, he reflected for a moment and replied, "The one I feed the most."

Native Quote #11

"Look as they rise, up rise
Over the line where sky meets the earth;
Pleiades !
Lo ! They are ascending, come to guide us,
Leading us safely, keeping us one;
Pleiades !
Teach us to be, like you, united."

 Pawnee

Native Quote #10

"We never had a thought of exchanging our land for any other... fearing the consequences may be similar to transplanting an old tree, which would wither and die away."

 Itte-wamba Minco (Levi Colbert) Chickasaw

Native Quote #9

"These stories were the libraries of our people. In each story, there was recorded some event of interest or importance...A people enrich their minds who keep their history on the leaves of memory."

 Ota Kte (Plenty Kill) or Mochunozhin, 

Luther Standing Bear, Oglala Lakota

Native Quote #8

"Your forefathers crossed the great water and landed on this island. Their numbers were small. We took pity on them and they sat down among us. We gave them corn and meat. They gave us poison in return." 

Sagoyewatha (Red Jacket), Seneca

Native Quote #7

"Deer, I am sorry to hurt you, but the people are hungry."

Choctaw, Hunter's prayer

Native Quote #6

"A very great vision is needed and the man who has it must follow it as the eagle seeks the deepest blue of the sky."  

Tashunca Uitco (Crazy Horse), Oglala Sioux

Native Quote #5

"All things share the same breath - the beast, the tree, the man, the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports." 

 

Si'ahl (Chief Seattle), Dkhw’Duw’Absh (Duwamish)

Native Quote #4

"When a white man kills an Indian in a fair fight it is called honorable, but when an Indian kills a white man in a fair fight it is called murder.

  

When a white army battles Indians and wins it is called a great victory, but if they lose it is called a massacre and bigger armies are raised. "

 Chiksika, Shawnee

Native Quote #3

"Grown men can learn from very little children for the hearts of the little children are pure.  Therefore, the Great Spirit may show to them many things which older people miss."

Heȟáka Sápa (Black Elk), Ogala Sioux

Native Quote #2

 

"The earth has received the embrace of the sun and we shall see 

the results of that love."

 

 

Tatanka Iyotake (Chief Sitting Bull), Hunkpapa Sioux

Native Quote #1

"I have long since learned who you Castilians are... To me you are professional vagabonds who wander from place to place, gaining your livelihood by robbing, sacking, and murdering people who have given you no offense."

--- Florida Chief, 1539.