Wisdom Quotes (Native American)

Honour the sacred.
Honour the Earth, our Mother.
Honour the Elders.
Honour all with whom we share the Earth ~
four-leggeds, two leggeds,
winged ones, swimmers and crawlers,
plant and rock people.
Walk in balance and beauty.

(Native American Elder)

Lakota Instructions for Living

Friend, do it this way ~ that is,
whatever you do in life,
do the very best you can
with both your heart and mind.

And if you do it that way,
The Power of the Universe
will come to your assistance,
if your heart and mind are in Unity.

When one sits in the Hoop of the People,
one must be responsible
because all of Creation is related.
And the hurt of one is the hurt of all.
And an honour of one is the honour of all.
And whatever we do affects everything in the universe.

If you do it that way ~ that is,
if you truly join your heart and mind as One,
whatever you ask for,
that's the Way It's Going to Be.

(passed down from Buffalo Calf Woman)

Go Forward with Courage

When you are in doubt, be still and wait;
when doubt no longer exists for you, then go forward with courage.
So long as mists envelop you, be still;
be still until the sunlight pours through and dispels the mists
as it surely will.
Then, act with courage.

Ponca Chief White Eagle (1800's to 1914)

Earth, Teach Me

Earth, teach me quiet ~ as the the grasses are still with new light.
Earth, teach me suffering ~ as old stones suffer with memory.
Earth, teach me humility ~ as blossoms are humble with beginning.
Earth, teach me caring ~ as mothers nurture their young.
Earth, teach me courage ~ as the tree that stands alone.
Earth, teach me limitation ~ as the ant that crawls on the ground.
Earth, teach me freedom ~ as the eagle that soars in the sky.
Earth, teach me acceptance ~ as the leaves that die each fall.
Earth, teach me renewal ~ as the seed that rises in the spring.
Earth, teach me to forget myself ~ as melted snow forgets its life.
Earth, teach me to remember kindness ~ as dry fields weep with rain.

An Ute Prayer

Symbolism of the Circle

You have noticed that everything an Indian does, is in a circle,
and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles.
And everything and everything tries to be round.

In the old days, all our power came to us from “the sacred hoop” of the nation
and so long as the hoop was unbroken, the people flourished.
The flowering tree was the living centre of the hoop
and the circle of the four quarters nourished it.
The east gave peace and light, the south gave warmth,
the west gave rain and the north with its cold and mighty wind
gave strength and endurance.
This knowledge came to us from the outer world with our religion.

Everything the Power of the World does is done in a circle.
The sky is round and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball
and so are the stars. The wind, in its greatest power, whirls.
Birds make their nests in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours.
The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle;
the moon does the same and both are round.
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.
Our tepees were round like nests of the birds;
and these were always set in a circle,
the nation’s hoop, a nest of many nests ~
where the Great Spirit meant us to hatch our children.

Black Elk, Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux (1863 to 1950)

When you were born,
you cried and the world rejoiced.
Live your life so that when you die,
the world cries and you rejoice!

White Elk

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More Native American Quotes
will be the next publication in this series...
well written prose by Indian Chiefs.
Sunday, June 5, 2011.

Merle Baird-Kerr
May 29, 2011