“Only to the white man was nature a "wilderness" and only to him was the land "infested" with "wild" animals and "savage" people. To us it was tame. Earth was bountiful and we were surrounded with the blessings of the Great Mystery. Not until the hairy man from the east came and with brutal frenzy heaped injustices upon us and the families that we loved was it "wild" for us. When the very animals of the forest began fleeing from his approach, then it was that for us the "Wild West" began.” PeopleMenEarthJusticeWhiteAnimalMysteryLandBlessingApproachSocial JusticeWestInjusticeEastForestsWildernessBrutalSavagesWhite ManFrenzyWild AnimalFleeingWild WestLakota Author:Luther Standing Bear
“We did not think of the great open plains, the beautiful rolling hills, and winding streams with tangled growth as wild. Earth was beautiful and we were surrounded with the blessings of the Great Mystery.” ThinkingEarthBeautifulGrowthMysteryBlessingStandingHillsIndianStreamsNativeWildernessNative AmericanRollingAmerican IndianTangledNative AmericaNative American IndianGreat Native AmericanIndian CultureNative American EarthModern CultureLakotaRolling Hills Book:My People the Sioux Source: My People the Sioux
“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 into the air came to rest upon the earth and it was the final abiding place of all things that lived and grew. The soil was soothing, strengthening, cleansing and healing.” PeopleMadeFeelingsEarthWalksHealingAirFeetGrewBirdBuiltAll ThingsSkinsSacredFinalsSatSoilRemoveOld PeopleAltarsAbidingFlewSoothingStrengtheningCleansingMotheringNative American EarthNative American SpiritualBare Feet Book:Land of the Spotted Eagle Source: Land of the Spotted Eagle
“Kinship with all creatures of the earth, sky and water was a real and active principle. In the animal and bird world there existed a brotherly feeling that kept the Lakota safe among them. And so close did some of the Lakotas come to their feathered and furred friends that in true brotherhood they spoke a common tongue.” WorldRealFeelingsEarthWaterAnimalCommonPrinciplesSkySafeCreaturesBirdStandingActiveTongueSpokesBrotherhoodAmerican IndianKinshipNative American IndianIndian CultureNative American EarthBrotherlyIndian WisdomModern CultureNative American SpiritualLakotaSky And WaterTrue BrotherhoodCreatures Of The Earth Book:Land of the Spotted Eagle Source: Land of the Spotted Eagle
