~*~ Native American Indain Quotes ~*~
We judged time,weather conditions,
and many things by the elements--
the good earth,the blue sky,the flying
of geese,and the changing winds.
We looked to these for guidance and
answers.Our prayers and thanksgiving
were said to the four winds--
to the East,
from whence the new day was born;
to the South,
which sent the warm breeze which gave
a feeling of comfort;
to the West,
which ended the day and brought rest;
and to the North,
the Mother of winter whose sharp air
awakened a time of preparation for
the long days ahead. We lived by God's
hand through nature and evaluated the
changing winds to tell us or warn us
of what was ahead.Today we are again
evaluating the changing winds.
May we be strong in spirit and equal
to our Fathers of another day in
reading the signs accurately and
interpreting them wisely.
May Wah-Kon-Tah, the Great Spirit,
look down upon us,guide us,inspire us,
and give us courage and wisdom.
Above all, may He look down upon us
and be pleased."
Unknown Speaker addressing the National
Congress of American Indians in the mid
1960's
"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
...I have seen that in any great
undertaking it is not enough for a man
to depend simply upon himself.
Lone Man (Isna-la-wica) Teton Sioux
All birds,even those of the same species,
are not alike,and it is the same with
animals and with human beings. The reason
WakanTanka does not make two birds,
or animals,or human beings exactly alike
is because each is placed here by
WakanTanka to be an independent
individuality and to rely upon itself.
Shooter Teton Sioux
Among the Indians there have been no
written laws.Customs handed down from
generation to generation have been the
only laws to guide them.Every one might
act different from what was considered
right did he choose to do so,but such
acts would bring upon him the censure
of the Nation.This fear of the Nation's
censure acted as a mighty band, binding
all in one social, honorable compact.
George Copway (Kah-ge-ga-bowh) Ojibwa Chief 1818-1863
"Where today are the Pequot?
Where are the Narragansett, the Mohican,
the Pokanoket, and many other once
powerful tribes of our people? They have
vanished before the avarice and the
oppression of the White Man, as snow
before a summer sun. "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!"
Tecumseh Shawnee
"The white people, who are trying to
make us over into their image, they want
us to be what they call "assimilated,"
bringing the Indians into the mainstream
and destroying our own way of life and
our own cultural patterns. They believe
we should be contented like those whose
concept of happiness is materialistic
and greedy, which is very different
from our way. We want freedom from the
white man rather than to be intergrated.
We don't want any part of the
establishment, we want to be free to
raise our children in our religion,
in our ways, to be able to hunt and fish
and live in peace. We don't want power,
we don't want to be congressmen,
or bankers....we want to be ourselves.
We want to have our heritage, because
we are the owners of this land and
because we belong here. The white man
says, there is freedom and justice for
all. We have had "freedom and justice,"
and that is why we have been almost
exterminated. We shall not forget this."
From the 1927 Grand Council of American Indians
"The ground on which we stand is sacred
ground. It is the blood of our ancestors."
From Chief Plenty Coups, Crow
"How smooth must be the language of the
whites, when they can make right look
like wrong, and wrong like right."
From Black Hawk, Sauk
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