Native American Quotes

The old Lakota was wise. He knew that a man's heart away from nature becomes hard.

You know that just before that first Thanksgiving dinner there was one wise, old Native American woman saying, Don't feed them. If you feed them, they'll never leave.

Every part of the earth is sacred to my people.

Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view and demand that they respect yours.

All things are bound together. All things connect.

Human beings must be known to be loved; but Divine beings must be loved to be known.

I was very sorry when I found out that your intentions were good and not what I supposed they were.

The earth was created by the assistance of the sun, and it should be left as it was. The country was made without lines of demarcation, and it is no man's business to divide it.

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. The soil was soothing, strengthening, cleansing and healing.

I was warmed by the sun, rocked by the winds and sheltered by the trees as other Indian babes. I can go everywhere with a good feeling.

We are going by you without fighting if you will let us, but we are going by you anyhow!

To us, the ashes of our ancestors are sacred and their resting place is hallowed ground.

Everywhere is the center of the world. Everything is sacred.

Only to the white man was nature a 'wilderness'.

[Seeing an ornately chained Native American for the first time] What Eden have they torn you from?

Each man is good in the sight of the Great Spirit.

Walking takes longer... than any other known form of locomotion except crawling. Thus it stretches time and prolongs life. Life is already too short to waste on speed.

Everything the Power of the World does is done in a circle.

The Great Spirit Chief who rules above all will smile upon this land... and this time the Indian race is waiting and praying.

For the Lakota there was no wilderness. Nature was not dangerous but hospitable, not forbidding but friendly.

By peace our condition has been improved in the pursuit of civilized life.

In more recent years, I've become more and more fascinated with the indigenous folklore of this land, Native American folklore, and also Hispanic folklore now that I live in the Southwest.

You think I am a fool, but you are a greater fool than I am.

I have good genes. My father is Danish and my mother is Irish and Native American. They both have good skin.

Any good thing you say to me shall not be forgotten. I shall carry it as near to my heart as my children, and it shall be as often on my tongue as the name of the Great Spirit.

I saw more than I can tell / And I understood more than I saw.

Like the grasses showing tender faces to each other, thus should we do, for this was the wish of the Grandfathers of the World.

Your religion was written on tablets of stone, ours on our hearts. 8. We are part of the earth and the earth is part of us.

Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide.

A cold wind blew on the prairie on the day the last buffalo fell. A death wind for my people.

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 believe profoundly in silence-the sign of a perfect equilibrium. Silence is the absolute poise or balance of body, mind, and spirit.

Arizona faces unique healthcare challenges including uncompensated care for illegal immigrants, and the large number of Native Americans who live in remote and isolated areas of the state.

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.

Listen, or your tongue will make you deaf.

I do not see a delegation for the four-footed. I see no seat for the eagles. We forget and we consider ourselves superior.

The only good Indian is a dead Indian

He put in your heart certain wishes and plans; in my heart he put other different desires.

Now that we are poor, we are free. No white man controls our footsteps.

Help me always to speak the truth quietly, to listen with an open mind when others speak, and to remember the peace that may be found in silence.

What white man has ever seen me drunk? Who has ever come to me hungry and left me unfed? Who has seen me beat my wives or abuse my children? What law have I broken?

I have Indian Blood in me. I have just enough white blood for you to question my honesty!

[last words] What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night.

For most Native Americans, there's no more offensive name in English. That non-Native folks think they get to measure or decide what offends us is adding insult to injury.

A bit of advice Given to a young Native American At the time of his initiation: As you go the way of life, You will see a great chasm. Jump. It is not as wide as you think.

We were like deer. They were like grizzly bear.

America does not seem to remember that it derived its wealth, its values, its food, much of its medicine, and a large part of its "dream" from Native Americans.

The power of the world always works in circles.

Like a man who has been dying for many days, a man in your city is numb to the stench.

The native American has been generally despised by his white conquerors for his poverty and simplicity.