Native Quotes

Now you will feel no rain,

for each of you will be shelter for the other.

Now you will feel no cold,

for each of you will be warmth for the other.

Now there is no more loneliness,

for each of you will be companion for the other.

Now you are two persons,

but there is only one life before you.

Go now to your dwelling to enter into

the days of your life together.

And may your days be good,

and long upon the earth.

Apache Wedding Ceremony

Only after the last tree has been cut down,

Only after the last river has been poisoned,

Only after the last fish has been caught,

Only then will you find money cannot be eaten.

Cree Prophecy

We cannot all sit on the same side of the Fire. A Council Fire forms a circle, not a line or a square. When we move to the side we still sit at the Fire with our Brothers and Sisters, but as we move away from one we move toward another. The circle, like the Dream Hoop, brings us ever back to where we start. Any time words of respect and love are spoken they will return as given. A harsh word runs forever in the circle, eventually vanishing from the wear against itself. Love settles within the Circle, embracing it and thereby lasting forever, turning within itself. The Medicine Wheel is the circle of life [sometimes called the Scared Hoop] starting with birth and continuing throughout our lives until death, when we have gone full circle. The Medicine wheel has four Directions, each direction offering it's own lessons, color, and animal guide. There are two paths shown which cross in the center, at which point for me is the heart. For when you work from your heart, you can reach all directions. The path from East to West is the path of spirits, [the Blue Road] the path from South to North is our physical Walk [the Red Road].

East - beginnings, purity, family, innocence, amazement of Life

South - youth - passions of life, friendships, self-control

West - adulthood - solitude, stillness, going inside oneself, reflection

North - Place of the Ancient Ones who have gone over - place of wisdom above - freedom of mind, body, spirit below - nurturing, mother, life

Luther Standing Bear, Oglala

Beauty and ugliness are everywhere, even in some of the same things. To some a wide open prairie is empty and colorless, but to others it is uncluttered simplicity, the way life itself ought to look. Physical appeal is high on some lists, but nu tso se dv na, which is Cherokee comfort, lasts longer. Whatever is in our hearts is in our sight. To love something or someone makes us see the beauty of it, not the wrong. It is to our advantage to be gentle in our observations, to see and cultivate the best in who we are and in those around us. We love quiet; we suffer the mouse to play; when the woods are rustled by the wind, we fear not....

All things in the world are two. In our mind 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 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 [ Letakots-Lesa ] Pawnee

"There is a road in the hearts of all of us, hidden and seldom traveled, which leads to an unknown, secret place. The old people came literally to love the soil, and they sat or reclined on the ground with a feeling of being close to a mothering power. Their teepees were built upon the earth and their alters were made of earth. The soul was soothing, strengthening, cleansing and healing. That is why the old Indian still sits upon the earth instead of propping himself up and away from its life giving forces. For him, to sit or lie upon the ground is to be able to think more deeply and to feel more keenly. He can see more clearly into the mysteries of life and come closer in kinship to other lives about him."

Chief Luther Standing Bear