Monday, March 23, 2015

Native American Wisdom, Images and Quotes Collection

Our Native American brothers and sisters had an understanding of nature, balance and the cycles of life that elude many of us in the modern age. We've gathered some meaningful and beautiful quotes in this blog post. It is interesting to note how timeless these quotes are. While many years have passed from the time most of these quotes were spoken and technology has made incredible advances, the Native American wisdom still holds true today. 

 Here we share some quotes and wisdom by the original people of the Americas. We hope you'll find them inspirational.



"There are many things to be shared with the Four Colors of humanity in our common destiny as one with our Mother the Earth. It is this sharing that must be considered with great care by the Elders and the medicine people who carry the Sacred Trusts, so that no harm may come to people through ignorance and misuse of these powerful forces."

Resolution of the Fifth Annual Meetings of the Traditional Elders Circle, 1980


Humankind must be a steward of the Earth;
Caretakers for all that dwells upon it;
To be of one heart with all things.

Human beings must learn to share
the tears of every living thing,
To feel in our hearts the pain
of the wounded animal,
each crushed blade of grass;

Mother Earth is our flesh;
the rocks, our bones;
The rivers are the blood of our veins.

We are all children of God.
Traditions are open to anyone
who wants to learn.

Huichol Holy Man



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


 "What is life?  It is the flash of a firefly in the night.  It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime.  It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset." ~ Crowfoot

"Once you have heard the meadowlark and caught the scent of fresh-plowed earth, peace cannot escape you." ~ Sequichie



An old Cherokee chief was teaching his grandson about life...

"A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. 
"It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.

"One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, self-doubt, and ego.

"The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. 

"This same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, 
"Which wolf will win?"

The old chief simply replied, 
"The one you feed."


I do not think the measure of a civilization is how tall its buildings of concrete are, but rather how well its people have learned to relate to their environment and fellow man.
~ Sun Bear of the Chippewa Tribe 


"How can you buy or sell the sky, the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us. If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them? Every part of the Earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every clear and humming insect is holy in the memory and experience of my people.The perfumed flowers are our sisters, the deer, the horse, the great eagle, these are our brothers. The rocky crests, the juices in the meadows, the body heat of the pony, and the man, all belong to the same family."
~ Chief Seattle


"Hills are always more beautiful than stone buildings. Living in a city is an artificial existence.  Lots of people hardly ever feel real soil under their feet, see plants grow except in flower pots, or get far enough beyond the street light to catch the enchantment of a night sky studded with stars.  When people live far from scenes of the Great Spirit's making, it's easy for them to forget his laws." 
~ Walking Buffalo
"The old Indian teaching was that is is wrong to tear loose from its place on the earth anything that may be growing there. It may be cut off, but it should not be uprooted. The trees and the grass have spirits. Whatever one of such growth may be destroyed by some good Indian, his act is done in sadness and with a prayer for forgiveness because of his necessities...” ~ Wooden Leg (late 19th century) Cheyenne
"Flowers do not force their way with great strife.
Flowers open to perfection slowly in the sun. . . .
Don't be in a hurry about spiritual matters.
Go step by step, and be very sure."
~ White Eagle

"I am a red man. If the Great Spirit had desired me to be a white man he would have made me so in the first place. He put in your heart certain wishes and plans, in my heart he put other and different desires. Each man is good in his sight. It is not necessary for Eagles to be Crows. We are poor... but we are free. No white man controls our footsteps. If we must die...we die defending our rights." - 
~ Sitting Bull, Hunkpapa Sioux


"The land is sacred. These words are at the core of your being. The land is our mother, the rivers our blood. Take our land away and we die. That is, the Indian in us dies." ~ Mary Brave Bird 


"Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were.  The life of a person is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves." ~ Black Elk



"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. It was good for the skin to touch the earth, and the old people liked to remove their moccasins and walk with bare feet on the sacred earth. Their tipis were built upon the earth and their altars were made of earth. The birds that flew in the air came to rest upon the earth, and it was the final abiding place of all things that lived and grew. The soul was soothing, strengthening, cleansing, and healing. This is why the old Indian still sits upon the earth instead of propping himself up and away from its life-giving forces. For him, to sit or lie upon the ground is to be able to think more deeply and to feel more keenly. He can see more clearly into the mysteries of life and come closer in kinship to other lives about him."
~ Chief Luther Standing Bear - Teton Sioux, Born 1868


"You must teach your children that the ground beneath their feet is the ashes of our grandfathers. So that they will respect the land, tell your children that the earth is rich with the lives of our kin. Teach your children that we have taught our children that the earth is our mother. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. If men spit upon the ground, they spit upon themselves."
~ Chief Seattle




Honor the Sacred
Honor the Earth, our Mother.
Honor the Elders.
Honor All with whom we share the Earth:
Four-leggeds, two leggeds, 
winged ones, swimmers, crawlers, 
plant and rock people. 
Walk in balance and beauty.


"The first peace, which is the most important, is what comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize at the center of the universe dwells the Great Spirirt, and that its center is really everywhere, it is within each of us. ~ Black Elk (1863 - 1950), Medicine and holy man of the Oglala Lakota, Sioux Nation

For more information about the Native American Culture and History visit out Native American Pinterest Board. 

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