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All things share the
same breath - the beast, the tree, the man, the air shares its spirit
with all the life it supports. - Chief Seattle, Suquamish Chief
Sing your death song and
die like a hero going home. -- Chief Tecumseh, Shawnee
It is strictly believed
and understood by the
Sioux that a
child is the greatest gift from Wakan Tanka, in response to many devout
prayers, sacrifices, and promises. Therefore the child is considered "sent
by Wakan Tanka," through some element--namely the element of human
nature. - Robert Higheagle (early 20th century) Teton
Sioux
"A wee child toddling in
a wonder world, I prefer to their dogma my excursions into the natural
gardens where the voice of the Great Spirit is heard in the twittering of
birds, the rippling of mighty waters, and the sweet breathing of flowers.
If this is Paganism, then at present, at least, I am a Pagan." - Zitkala-Sa
"I will follow the white
man's trail. I will make him my friend, but I will not bend my back to his
burdens. I will be cunning as a coyote. I will ask him to help me
understand his ways, then I will prepare the way for my children, and
their children. The Great Spirit has shown me - a day will come when they
will outrun the white man in his own shoes." - Many Horses
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. - Eagle
Chief (Letakos-Lesa) Pawnee
 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. -
Chief Red Cloud (Makhipiya-Luta)
Sioux Chief
"I was hostile to the
white man...We preferred hunting to a life of idleness on our
reservations. At times we did not get enough to eat and we were not
allowed to hunt. All we wanted was peace and to be let alone. Soldiers
came...in the winter..and destroyed our villages. Then Long Hair (Custer)
came...They said we massacred him, but he would have done the same to us.
Our first impulse was to escape...but we were so hemmed in we had to
fight. After that I lived in peace, but the government would not let me
alone. I was not allowed to remain quiet. I was tired of fighting...They
tried to confine me..and a soldier ran his bayonet into me. I have
spoken. -
Crazy Horse
Sioux Chief
A warrior who had more
than he needed would make a feast. He went around and invited the old and
needy....The man who would thank the food--some worthy old medicine man or
warrior--said: "...look to the old, they are worthy of old age; they have
seen their days and proven themselves. With the help of the Great Spirit,
they have attained a ripe old age. At this age the old can predict or give
knowledge or wisdom, whatever it is; it is so. At the end is a cane. You
and your family shall get to where the cane is." -
Black Elk, Oglala
Sioux Holy Man
"In 1868, men came out
and brought papers. We could not read them and they did not tell us truly
what was in them. We thought the treaty was to remove the forts and for us
to cease from fighting. But they wanted to send us traders on the
Missouri,
but we wanted traders where we were. When I reached Washington, the Great
Father explained to me that the interpreters had deceived me. All I want
is right and just." -
Chief Red Cloud (Makhipiya-Luta)
Sioux Chief,
April, 1870
From Wakan-Tanka, the
Great Mystery, comes all power. It is from Wakan-Tanka that the holy man
has wisdom and the power to heal and make holy charms. Man knows that all
healing plants are given by Wakan-Tanka, therefore they are holy. So too
is the
buffalo holy, because it is the gift of Wakan-Tanka. - Flat-Iron (Maza
Blaska Oglala
Sioux Chief
"Will we let ourselves be
destroyed in our turn without a struggle, give up our homes, our country
bequeathed to us by the Great Spirit, the graves of our dead and
everything that is dear and sacred to us? I know you will cry with me,
'Never! Never!'" - Chief Tecumseh, Shawnee
"Traditional people of
Indian
nations have interpreted the two roads that face the light-skinned race as
the road to technology and the road to spirituality. We feel that the road
to technology.... has led modern society to a damaged and seared earth.
Could it be that the road to technology represents a rush to destruction,
and that the road to spirituality represents the slower path that the
traditional native people have traveled and are now seeking again? The
earth is not scorched on this trail. The grass is still growing there." -
William Commanda, Mamiwinini, Canada, 1991
I hope the Great
Heavenly Father, who will look down upon us, will give all the tribes His
blessing, that we may go forth in peace, and live in peace all our days,
and that He will look down upon our children and finally lift us far above
the earth; and that our Heavenly Father will look upon our children as His
children, that all the tribes may be His children, and as we shake hands
to-day upon this broad plain, we may forever live in peace. -
Chief Red Cloud (Makhipiya-Luta)
Sioux Chief
Great Spirit, Great
Spirit, my Grandfather, all over the earth the faces of living things are
all alike...Look upon these faces of children without number and with
children in their arms, that they may face the winds and walk the good
road to the day of the quiet. -
Black Elk, Oglala
Sioux Holy Man
"My father, you have made
promises to me and to my children. If the promises had been made by a
person of no standing, I should not be surprised to see his promises fail.
But you, who are so great in riches and power; I am astonished that I do
not see your promises fulfilled! - Shinguaconse ("Little Pine")
"We know our lands have
now become more valuable. The white people think we do not know their
value; but we know that the land is everlasting, and the few goods we
receive for it are soon worn out and gone." Canassatego
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.
- Eagle Chief (Letakos-Lesa) Pawnee
"My Father: a long time
has passed since first we came upon our lands; and our people have all
sunk into their graves. They had sense. We are all young and foolish, and
do not wish to do anything that they would not approve, were they living.
We are fearful we shall offend their spirits if we sell our lands; and we
are fearful we shall offend you if we do not sell them. This has caused us
great perplexity of thought, because we have counselled among ourselves,
and do not know how we can part with our lands. - Metea, a
Potowatami Chief of the Illinois Nation
"You ask me to plow the
ground. Shall I take a knife and tear my mother's bosom? Then when I die
she will not take me to her bosom to rest. -- Wovoka, Paiute
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. -
Black Elk, Oglala
Sioux Holy Man
Updated February, 2008 |
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