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Native American Wisdom Quotes

Browse 147 quotes about Native American Wisdom.

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Native American Wisdom Quotes

“The Native Americans, whose wisdom Thoreau admired, regarded the Earth itself as a sacred source of energy. To stretch out on it brought repose, to sit on the ground ensured greater wisdom in councils, to walk in contact with its gravity gave strength and endurance. The Earth was an inexhaustible well of strength: because it was the original Mother, the feeder, but also because it enclosed in its bosom all the dead ancestors. It was the element in which transmission took place. Thus, instead of stretching their hands skyward to implore the mercy of celestial divinities, American Indians preferred to walk barefoot on the Earth: The Lakota was a true Naturist – a lover of Nature. He loved the earth and all things of the earth, the attachment growing with age. 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 on the earth and it was the final abiding place of all things that lived and grew. The soil was soothing, strengthening, cleansing and healing. That 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. Walking, by virtue of having the earth’s support, feeling its gravity, resting on it with every step, is very like a continuous breathing in of energy. But the earth’s force is not transmitted only in the manner of a radiation climbing through the legs. It is also through the coincidence of circulations: walking is movement, the heart beats more strongly, with a more ample beat, the blood circulates faster and more powerfully than when the body is at rest. And the earth’s rhythms draw that along, they echo and respond to each other. A last source of energy, after the heart and the Earth, is landscapes. They summon the walker and make him at home: the hills, the colours, the trees all confirm it. The charm of a twisting path among hills, the beauty of vine fields in autumn, like purple and gold scarves, the silvery glitter of olive leaves against a defining summer sky, the immensity of perfectly sliced glaciers … all these things support, transport and nourish us.”

ArtPhilosophyEarthJoyPoetryPeaceNatureFreedomWalksWonderBeautyMovementAdventureWalkingDiscoveryWanderAweHikingSerenityOur PlanetPilgrimExplorePilgrimageFresh AirNative American WisdomWandererOutsideOutdoorsHoly PlacesSacred PlacesVisual PoetryGet OutsideHikesOutdoors Church
Book:A Philosophy of Walking
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“No man is as wise as Mother Earth. She has witnessed every human day, every human struggle, every human pain, and every human joy. For maladies of both body and spirit, the wise ones of old pointed man to the hills. For man too is of the dust and Mother Earth stands ready to nurture and heal her children.”

WisdomNatureHealingNative AmericanMother EarthNative American WisdomAnasazi FoundationAnasazi
Book:The Seven Paths: Changing One's Way of Walking in the World
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“Life is a walking, a journey. So, if life upon Mother Earth is a journey, there are two ways to walk. We can choose to walk forward or we can choose to walk backward. Forward Walking choices are rewarded with consequences that light the way to peace, happiness, joy, comfort, knowledge, and wisdom. Backward Walking choices bring to the Two-Legged beings consequences of misery despair, and darkness.”

WisdomNatureHealingNative AmericanMother EarthNative American WisdomAnasazi FoundationAnasaziGood Buffalo Eagle
Book:The Seven Paths: Changing One's Way of Walking in the World
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“I have learned that the point of life's walk is not where or how far I move my feet but how I am moved in my heart. If I walk far but am angry toward others as I journey, I walk nowhere. If I conquer mountains but hold grudges against others as I climb, I conquer nothing. If I see much but regard others as enemies, I see no one.”

WisdomNatureHealingNative AmericanMother EarthNative American WisdomAnasazi FoundationAnasazi
Book:The Seven Paths: Changing One's Way of Walking in the World
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“I speak of the Creator. Are you surprised by my candor? In a world that has killed the sacred, mention of it can seem shocking, even foolhardy. But how foolhardy it is to kill the sacred! And how shocking to think that we could! For there is always a light that walks forward.”

WisdomSacredCreatorNative AmericanNative American WisdomAnasazi Foundation
Book:The Seven Paths: Changing One's Way of Walking in the World
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“In my opinion, it was chiefly owing to their deep contemplation in their silent retreats in the days of youth that the old Indian orators acquired the habit of carefully arranging their thoughts. They listened to the warbling of birds and noted the grandeur and the beauties of the forest. The majestic clouds—which appear like mountains of granite floating in the air—the golden tints of a summer evening sky, and the changes of nature, possessed a mysterious significance. All of this combined to furnish ample matter for reflection to the contemplating youth.”

WisdomNatureSilenceEloquenceNative American WisdomOratory
Author:Francis Assikinack (Blackbird)
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“Mother Earth is our first teacher. She has informed us that oneness does not equal sameness. She shows us this through the harmonious balance that is held in the rich biodiversity that exists within our world. To achieve oneness we must transcend our differences and embrace the integration of every individual aspect of humanity into the whole, knowing that all healthy systems are comprised of complexity and an abundance of diversity.”

DiversityOnenessBiodiversityNative American WisdomNative American Writer
Author:Sherri Mitchell Weh'na Ha'mu Kwasset
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“Unlike Penn and those who stood to profit from the acquisition of land, Lenape sachems sought trade goods and payments for their lands in order to distribute the wealth to their communities. Penn, an eyewitness and careful observer of Lenape sachems, noted that 'wealth circulates like blood, all parts partake.”

CommunismNative AmericanCommonwealthDecolonizationNative American WisdomCircular EconomicsLenape
Book:A Lenape among the Quakers: The Life of Hannah Freeman
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“But me, I know why. I heard him talk to the lifeguard. He’s finally getting cagey, is all. The way Papa finally did when he came to realize that he couldn’t beat that group from town who wanted the government to put in the dam because of the money and the work it would bring, and because it would get rid of the village: Let that tribe of fish Injuns take their sink and their two hundred thousand dollars the government is paying them and go some place else with it! Papa had done the smart thing signing the papers; there wasn’t anything to gain by bucking it. The government would of got it anyhow, sooner or later; this way the tribe would get paid good. It was the smart thing. McMurphy was doing the smart thing. I would see that. He was giving in because it was the smartest thing to do, not because of any of these other reasons the Acutes were making up. He didn’t say so, but I knew and I told myself it was the smart thing to do. I told myself that over and over: It’s safe. Like hiding. it’s the smart thing to do nobody could say and different. I know what he’s doing.”

WinningBeing SmartNative American WisdomNative Americans
Book:One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
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“Caretaking is the utmost spiritual and physical responsibility of our time, and perhaps that stewardship is finally our place in the web of life, our work, the solution to the mystery that we are. There are already so many holes in the universe that will never again be filled, and each of them forces us to question why we permitted such loss, such tearing away at the fabric of life, and how we will live with our planet in the future.”

SpiritualityNatureStewardshipNative American WisdomCaretaking
Book:Dwellings: A Spiritual History of the Living World
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“Listen to the air. You can hear it, feel it, smell it, taste it. Woniya wakan—the holy air—which renews all by its breath. Woniya, woniya wakan—spirit, life, breath, renewal—it means all that. Woniya—we sit together, don’t touch, but something is there; we feel it between us, as a presence. A good way to start thinking about nature, talk about it. Rather talk to it, talk to the rivers, to the lakes, to the winds as to our relatives.”

SpiritualitySpiritual QuotesAmerican IndianNative American WisdomAmerican Indian Mythology
Book:Lame Deer, Seeker of Visions
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“In the morning sun, I see myself, my true Self I have served you and I have loved you My beloved Soul Who I was yesterday Who I am today and Who I become with the rising sun I rise with you beloved Soul, space within Tell me, whisper in my ear Your truth Tell me, when will the white buffalo come? The prayers, sweetest of dreams of those before us Of all here and now Of those yet to come I look to the sacred four directions Father Sky Mother Earth Together we breathe White buffalo calf woman return, we are ready Past, present, future To usher in new times and new energies Give us signs, show us the way Balance, Miracles We are ready Higher Self Greater forces of the Universe Breathe us forward We wait no longer We are the ones We call upon you White buffalo Higher Self Beloved Soul Secure us in your strength, faith Great will power We breathe We are ready For it is you and it is me We are white buffalo calf woman before you Wait no longer for the other Awaken Feel your great strength In the morning sun We see ourselves, our true Self Beloved, now we dance.”

PrayerBecomingMother EarthNative American WisdomSoul JourneySpiritual PoetryCalling On EarthFather SkyInner SunSacred Calling
Book:Sutras of the Heart: Spiritual Poetry to Nourish the Soul
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“So you make this deal with the gods. You do these dances and they'll send rain and good crops and the whole works? And nothing bad will ever happen. Right.' Prayer had always struck me as more or less a glorified attempt at a business transaction. A rain dance even more so. I thought I might finally have offended Loyd past the point of no return, like stealing the lobster from frozen foods that time, to get myself fired. But Loyd was just thinking. After a minute he said, 'No, it's not like that. It's not making a deal, bad things can still happen, but you want to try not to cause them to happen. It has to do with keeping things in balance.' In balance.' Really, it's like the spirits have made a deal with us.' And what is the deal?' I asked. We're on our own. The spirits have been good enough to let us live here and use the utilities, and we're saying: We know how nice you're being. We appreciate the rain, we appreciate the sun, we appreciate the deer we took. Sorry if we messed up anything. You've gone to a lot of trouble, and we'll try to be good guests.' Like a note you'd send somebody after you stayed in their house?' Exactly like that. 'Thanks for letting me sleep on your couch. I took some beer out of the refrigerator, and I broke a coffee cup. Sorry, I hope it wasn't your favorite one.”

ReligionPrayerNative American Wisdom
Author:Barbara Kingsolver
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“[My grandmother Mamie] used to say, 'Marion, if you don't feel right, if you don't feel good, just go outside. Take care of your flower bed and forget about everything else. If it's wintertime, go dig yourself a path in the snow whether you need it or not. You don't have to think too much to plant anything or scoop snow, and your mind can go back and figure out what's wrong.' I still take her advice to this day. (From Marion "Strong Medicine" Gould)”

NatureNative AmericanNative American WisdomOral History
Book:Strong Medicine Speaks: A Native American Elder Has Her Say
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“When we connect with our ancestors and put their wisdom into action, we are evolving our collective consciousness. We are transporting the ancient truths of our collective past and birthing them into our future. What we create out of those truths extends the wisdom of all those who have gone before us, and it provides a guide for all those who will follow.”

Philosophy Of LifeAncestorsNative American WisdomNative American Writer
Author:Sherri Mitchell Weh'na Ha'mu Kwasset
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“We are all tied to a lineage of love that has existed since time immemorial. Even if we haven't had a direct experience of that love, we know that it exists and has made an indelible imprint on our souls. It's remarkable to think that the entire span of human life exists within each one of us, going all the way back to the hands of the Creator. In our bodies we carry the blood of our ancestors and the seeds of the future generations. We are a living conduit to all life. When we contemplate the vastness of the interwoven network that we are tied to, our individual threads of life seem far less fragile. We are strengthened by who we come from and inspired by the those who will follow. ~ Sacred Instructions; Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change.”

LoveAncestorsNative American WisdomLineageNative American Writer
Author:Sherri Mitchell Weh'na Ha'mu Kwasset
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“Mi Humanidad Insiste (The Sonnet) Mi corazón insiste that I can't sit still, Till the society is human and thus starts living. Mi corazón insiste that I can't sleep in peace, Till I bring out the peace the world holds within. Mi conciencia insiste that I can't stop walking, Till I make the fallen rise to make their destiny. Mi conciencia insiste that I can't stop working, Till each human extends a hand out in solidarity. Mi alma insiste that my breath is not my own, Till I breathe life into the souls lost in misery. Mi alma insiste that I have no right over my veins, Till the veins of society are freed from disparity. Mi humanidad insiste the life of one is the life of all. Either we are one family or nothing at all.”

Social JusticeEqualityHumanitarianService Of HumanityActivistHumanidadSonnetCorazónDisparityNative American Wisdom
Book:Sleepless for Society
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