Arapaho: Before eating, always take a little time to thank the food. When we show our respect for other living things, they respond with respect for us. If we wonder often, the gift of knowledge will come. Take only what you need and leave the land as you found it. All plants are our brothers and sisters. They talk to us and if we listen, we can hear them. Cherokee: When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice. Cheyenne: Do not judge your neighbor until you walk two moons in his moccasins. Our first teacher is our own heart. Judge not by the eye but by the heart. Dakota: We will be known forever by the tracks we leave. Hopi: Wisdom comes only when you stop looking for it and start living the life the Creator intended for you. One finger cannot lift a pebble. The rainbow is a sign from Him who is in all things. The supreme law of the land is the Great Spirit's law, not man's law. Work hard, keep the ceremonies, live peaceably, and unite your hearts. Iroquois: The greatest strength is gentleness. Kiowa: Walk lightly in the spring; Mother Earth is pregnant. Lakota: When a man moves away from nature his heart becomes hard. Minquass: If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies in yourself. The soul would have no rainbow if the eyes had no tears. Oglala Sioux: To touch the earth is to have harmony with nature. Shenandoah: We are made from Mother Earth and we go back to Mother Earth. It is no longer good enough to cry peace, we must act peace, live peace and live in peace. Sioux: With all things and in all things,we are relatives. The frog does not drink up the pond in which he lives. Tuscarora: Man has responsiblity, not power. Unknown tribe: Walk tall as the trees, live strong as the mountains, be gentle as the spring winds, keep the warmth of the summer sun in your heart, and the great spirit will always be with you.
Now we are at the very end of our trail. Many people no longer recognize the true path of the Great Spirit. They have, in fact, no respect for the Great Spirit, or for our precious mother earth, who gives us all life. We were instructed in our ancient prophecy that this would occur. We were told that someone would try to go up to the moon; that they would bring something back from the moon; and after that, nature would show signs of loosing its balance. Now we see that coming about. All over the world there are now signs that nature is no longer in balance. Floods, droughts, earthquakes and great storms are occurring and causing much suffering…… There are many of you in this world who are honest people. We know you spiritually for we are the ‘Men’s Society Grandfathers’ who have been charged to pray for you and all life on earth, never forgetting anything or anyone in our ceremonials. Our prayer is to have a good happy life, with plenty of soft, gentle rain for abundant crops. We pray for balance on earth to live in peace and leave a beautiful world to the children yet to come. We know you have good hearts but good hearts are not enough to help us out with these great problems. So many people have come to us to Hopiland to meet with us. Some of you we have met on your lands. Many times people have asked how they can help us. Now I hope and pray that your help will come. If you have a way to spread the truth, through newspapers, radio, books, through meeting with powerful people – tell them the truth! Tell them what you know to be true. Tell them what you have seen here; what you have heard us say; what you have seen with your own eyes. In this way, if we do fall, let it be said that we tried, right up to the end, to hold fast to the path of peace as we were originally instructed by the Great Spirit. Should you really succeed, we will realize our mistakes of the past and return to the true path – living in harmony as brothers and sisters, sharing our mother, the earth, with all other living creatures. In this way we could bring about a new world. A world which would be led by the Great Spirit, and in which our Mother will provide plenty and happiness for all. Chief Dan Evahema of the Traditional Hopi Nation.
The great God of nature has given each their lands..he has stocked yours with cows, ours with buffalo; yours with hog, ours with bear; yours with sheep, ours with deer. He has indeed given you an advantage, in that your cattle are tame and domestic while ours are wild and demand not only a larger space for range, but art to hunt and kill them. Corn Tassel, cherokee, 1785
Heaven is my father The Earth is my mother All men are my brothers And all things are my companions I wasn't told if it's attributed to a specific nation.
Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realise we cannot eat money. ~ cree proverb
" Humankind has not woven the web of life . We are but a thread within it . What ever we do to the web , we do to ourselves . All things are bound together . All things connect . " Chief Seattle , 1854
Before our white brothers arrived to make us civilized men, we didn't have any kind of prison. Because of this, we had no delinquents. Without a prison, there can be no delinquents. We had no locks nor keys and therefore among us there were no thieves. When someone was so poor that he couldn't afford a horse, a tent or a blanket, he would, in that case, receive it all as a gift. We were too uncivilized to give great importance to private property. We didn't know any kind of money and consequently, the value of a human being was not determined by his wealth. We had no written laws laid down, no lawyers, no politicians, therefore we were not able to cheat and swindle one another. We were really in bad shape before the white men arrived and I don't know how to explain how we were able to manage without these fundamental things that (so they tell us) are so necessary for a civilized society. John (Fire) Lame Deer Sioux Lakota - 1903-1976
Native American Prayer 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 behold the red and purple sunset. Make my hands respect the things you have made and my ears sharp to hear your voice. Make me wise so that I may understand the things you have taught my people. 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 clean hands and straight eyes. So when life fades, as the fading sunset, my Spirit may come to you without shame. (translated by Lakota Sioux Chief Yellow Lark in 1887) published in Native American Prayers - by the Episcopal Church.
