~*~ Native American Indain Quotes ~*~
ever since I was a boy. I realized then
that we could not hold our own with the
white men. We were like deer.
They were like grizzly bears.
We had small country.
Their country was large.
We were contented to let things remain as
the Great Spirit Chief made them.
They were not, and would change the rivers
and mountains if they did not suit them.
I am tired of fighting
from where the sun now stands,
I will fight no more.
Our fathers gave us many laws,
which they had learned from their fathers.
These laws were good.
They told us to treat all people as they
treated us; that we should never be
the first to break a bargain;
that is was a disgrace to tell a lie;
that we should speak only the truth;
that it was a shame for one man to
take another his wife or his property
without paying for it.
We were contented to let things remain
as the Great Spirit made them.
Suppose a white man should come to me
and say, "Joseph, I like your horses.
I want to buy them." I say to him,
"No, my horses suit me;
I will not sell them." Then he goesbr> to my neighbor and says, "Pay me money,
and I will sell you Joseph's horses."
The white man returns to me and says,
"Joseph, I have bought your horses and
you must let me have them."
If we sold our lands to the government,
this is the way they bought them.
I am not a child, I think for myself.
No man can think for me.
If the white man wants to live in peace
with the Indian, he can live in peace.
Treat all men alike. Give them a chance
to live and grow.
All men were made brothers.
The earth is the mother of all people,
and all people should have equal rights
upon it. You might as well expect the
rivers to run backward as that any man
who was born free should be contented
when penned up and denied liberty to go
where he pleases. If you tie a horse to
a stake, do you expect him to grow fat?
If you pen an Indian up on a small spot
of earth, and compel him to stay there,
he will not be contented, nor will he
grow and prosper.
The earth and myself are of one mind.
We were taught to believe that the
Great Spirit sees and hears everything,
and that he never forgets,
that hereafter he will give every man
a spirit home according to his deserts;
If he has been a good man,
he will have a good home;
if he has been a bad man,
he will have a bad home. This I believe,
and all my people believe the same.
Good words do not last long unless
they amount to something.
Words do not pay for my dead people.
They do not pay for my country,
now overrun by white men.
They do not protect my father's grave.
They do not pay for all my horses and cattle.
Good words cannot give me back my children.
Good words will not give my people good
health and stop them from dying.
Good words will not get my people a home
where they can live in peace and take care
of themselves. I am tired of talk that comes
to nothing It makes my heart sick when
I remember all the good words and all
the broken promises.
There has been too much talking by men
who had no right to talk.
It does not require many words to
speak the truth. We do not want churches
because they will teach us to quarrel
about God, as the Catholics and
Protestants do. We do not want that.
We may quarrel with men about things
on earth, but we never quarrel about
the Great Spirit.
I believe much trouble and blood
would be saved if we opened our hearts more.
I will tell you in my way how
the Indian sees things.
The white man has more words to tell you
how they look to him, but is does not
require many words to seek the truth.
Too many misinterpretations have been made.
too many misunderstandings.
The Great Spirit Chief
who rules above all will smile upon this
land. and this time the Indian race is
waiting and praying. I am tired of talk
that comes to nothing."
Chief Joseph
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