NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY

[Carol Anne Kincaid~Paradis]

Native American Wisdom

Great Spirit is in all things:
He is in the air we breathe.
The Great Spirit is our father,
but the Earth is our Mother.
She nourishes us;
that which we put into the ground
she returns to us.
—BIG THUNDER (BEDAGI), WABANAKI ALGONQUIN

O’ Great Spirit, 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. —CHEROKEE PRAYER

Chief Seattle
or Sealth (Ts’ial-la-kum)
Suquamish and Duwamish tribes
Washington State, USA
(1786-1866)

This we know. The Earth does not belong to us; we belong to the Earth. All things are connected, like the blood that unites one family. Whatever befalls the Earth, befalls the children of the Earth. We do not weave the web of life; we are only a strand of it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. —CHIEF SEATTLE

You must speak straight so that your words may go as sunlight into our hearts. —COCHISE (HARDWOOD), CHIRACAHUA APACHE

When all the trees have been cut down;
When all the animals have been hunted;
When all the waters are polluted;
When all the air is unsafe to breathe;
Only then will you discover you cannot eat money.
—CREE PROPHECY

Respect means listening until everyone has been heard and understood, only then is there a possibility of balance and harmony, the goal of Indian spirituality. —DAVE CHIEF, GRANDFATHER OF RED DOG