We do not want churches because they will teach us to quarrel with God, as the Catholic and Protestants do. We do not want to learn that.

We may quarrel with men sometimes about things on earth. But we never quarrel about God. We do not want to learn that.

Chief Joseph - Nez Perce

Live & Learn Debbie Shoshone Indian

Good words do not last long unless they amount to something. Words do not pay for my dead people. They do not pay for my country, now overrun by white men. They do not protect my father's grave. They do not pay for all my horses and cattle.

Good words will not give back my children. Good words will not make good the promise of your War Chief. Good words will not give my people good health and stop them from dying. Good words will not get my people a home where they can live in peace and take care of themselves.

I am tired of talk that comes to nothing. It makes my heart sick when I remember all the good words and all the broken promises. There has been too much talking by men who had no right to talk.

Chief Joseph - Nez Perce

The attempted transformation of the Indian by the white man and the chaos that has resulted are but the fruits of the white man's disobedience of a fundamental and spiritual law.

"Civilization" has been thrust upon me since the days of the reservations, and it has not added one whit to my sense of justice, to my reverence for the rights of life, to my love for truth, honesty, and generosity, or to my faith in Wakan Tanka, God of the Lakotas.

For after all the great religions have been preached and expounded, or have been revealed by brilliant scholars, or have been written in fine books and embellished in fine language with finer covers, man, - all man - is still confronted by the Great Mystery.

Chief Luther Standing Bear - Oglala Sioux

All words are the word of God. And God gave us free will to bring validity and meaning to the word. It is because of this that we act.

We are still a people and we still have our words. We still feel the past of our ancestors and they are telling us to see the truth of our own words.

You are powerful because in your heart, you know that which is true and you act. Your action reflects your meaning and validates your word. And through your words you serve God's will.

I thank you for sharing your heart and showing me your truth.

Ghoona-chees,

Gil, (Tongas,Tlingit)

Many of the white man's ways are past our understanding ... They put a great store upon writing; there is always a paper.

The white people must think that paper has some mysterious power to help them in the world. The Indian needs no writings; words that are true sink deep into his heart, where they remain. He never forgets them. On the other hand, if the white man loses his papers, he is helpless.

I heard one of their preachers say that no white man was admitted to heaven unless there were writings about him in a great book!

Four Guns - Oglala Sioux

We send our little Indian boys and girls to school, and when they come back talking English, they come back swearing. There is no swear word in the Indian languages, and I haven't yet learned to swear.

Gertrude S. Bonnin (Zitkala-Sa) - Yankton Sioux

Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea) - Mohawk
No person among us desires any other reward for performing a brave and worth action, but the consciousness of having served his nation.

Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea) - Mohawk

Back to Wisdom

Our wise men are called Fathers, and they truly sustain that character. Do you call yourselves Christians? Does then the religion of Him whom you call your Savior inspire your spirit, and guide your practices? Surely not.

It is recorded of him that a bruised reed he never broke. Cease, then, to call yourselves Christians, lest you declare to the world your hypocrisy. Cease, too, to call other nations savage, when you are tenfold more the children of cruelty than they.

Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea) - Mohawk

Back to Wisdom

In the government you call civilized, the happiness of the people is constantly sacrificed to the splendor of empire. Hence the origin of your codes of criminal and civil laws; hence your dungeons and prisons. We have no prisons; we have no pompous parade of courts; we have no written laws; and yet judges as highly revered among us as they are among you, and their decisIons are as much regarded.

We have among us no exalted villains above the control of our laws. Daring wickedness here is never allowed to triumph over helpless innocence. The estates of widows and orphans are never devoured by enterprising swindlers.

We have no robbery under the pretext of law.

Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea) - Mohawk

You say that the virgin, mother of Jesus Christ, is not God, and that she has never offended God. You also say that her Son has redeemed all men, and atoned for all; but if she has done nothing wrong, her Son could not redeem her nor atone for her.

Brother! We are told that you have been preaching to the white people in this place. These people are our neighbors. We are acquainted with them. We will wait a little while, and see what effect your preaching has upon them. If we find it does them good and makes them honest and less disposed to cheat us, we will then consider again becoming Christians.

Red Jacket (Sogoyewapha) - Seneca

Back to Wisdom

Brother, you say there is but one way to worship and serve the Great Spirit. If there is but one religion, why do you white people differ so much about it? Why not all agreed, as you can all read the Book?

Red Jacket (Sogoyewapha) - Seneca

seems even the heathen savages can see the hypocracy of C's even back then very easily.

I am Shawnee! I am a warrior! My forefathers were warriors. From them I took only my birth into this world. From my tribe I take nothing. I am the maker of my own destiny! And of that I might make the destiny of my red people, of our nation, as great as I conceive to in my mind, when I think of Weshemoneto, who rules this universe! I would not then have to come to Governor Harrison and ask him to tear up this treaty and wipe away the marks upon the land. No! I would say to him, 'Sir, you may return to you own country!' The being within me hears the voice of the ages, which tells me that once, always, and until lately, there were no white men on all this island, that it then belonged to the red men, children of the same parents, placed on it by the Great Good Spirit who made them, to keep it, to traverse it, to enjoy its yield, and to people it with the same race. Once they were a happy race! Now they are made miserable by the white people, who are never contented but are always coming in! You do this always, after promising not to anyone, yet you ask us to have confidence in your promises. How can we have confidence in the white people? When Jesus Christ came upon the earth, you killed him, the son of your own God, you nailed him up! You thought he was dead, but you were mistaken. And only after you thought you killed him did you worship him, and start killing those who would not worship him. What kind of a people is this for us to trust?

Native American Legends
The Great Flood
An Algonquin Legend
One very remarkable character reported in our legends, dimly seen through the mist of untold centuries, is Kwi-wi-sens Nenaw-bo-zhoo, meaning, in Algonquin dialect, "The greatest clown-boy in the world." When he became a man, he was not only a great prophet among his people, but a giant of such marvelous strength, that he could wield his war-club with force enough to shatter in pieces the largest pine-tree.

His hunting-dog was a monstrous black wolf, as large as a full-grown buffalo, with long, soft hair, and eyes that shone in the night like the moon. The deity of the sea saw the charming beauty of this wolf-dog, and was so extremely jealous of him, that he was determined to take his life. So he appeared before him in the form of a deer; and as the dog rushed to seize him, he was grasped by the deity and drowned in the depths of the sea. He then made a great barbecue and invited as his guests whales, serpents, and all the monsters of the deep, that they might exult and rejoice with him that he had slain the dog of the prophet.

When the seer-clown learned of the fate of his noble dog, through cunning Waw-goosh (the fox), whose keen eyes saw the deception that cost the wolf- dog his life, he sought to take revenge upon the sea-god. So he went at once to the place where the latter was accustomed to come on land with his monster servants to bathe in the sunshine, and there concealed himself among the tall rushes until the "caravan of the deep" came ashore. When they had fallen fast asleep, he drew his giant bow, twice as long as he was tall, and shot a poisoned arrow that pierced Neben Manito, the water-god, through the heart. Neben Manito rolled into the sea, and cried, "Revenge! Revenge!" Then all the assembled monsters of the deep rushed headlong after the slayer of their king. The prophet fled in consternation before the outraged creatures that hurled after him mountains of water, which swept down the forests like grass before the whirlwind. He continued to flee before the raging flood, but could find no dry land. In sore despair he then called upon the God of Heaven to save him, when there appeared before him a great canoe, in which were pairs of all kinds of land-beasts and birds, being rowed by a most beautiful maiden, who let down a rope and drew him up into the boat.

The flood raged on; but, though mountains of water were continually being hurled after the prophet, he was safe. When he had floated on the water many days, he ordered Aw-milk (the beaver) to dive down and, if he could reach the bottom, to bring up some earth. Down the latter plunged, but in a few minutes came floating to the surface lifeless. The prophet pulled him into the boat, blew into his mouth, and he became alive again. He then said to Waw-jashk (the musk-rat), "You are the best diver among all the animal creation. Go down to the bottom and bring me up some earth, out of which I will create a new world; for we cannot much longer live on the face of the deep."

Down plunged the musk-rat; but, like the beaver, he, too, soon came to the surface lifeless, and was drawn into the boat, whereupon the prophet blew into his mouth, and he became alive again. In his paw, however, was found a small quantity of earth, which the prophet rolled into a small ball, and tied to the neck of Ka-ke-gi (the raven), saying, "Go thou, and fly to and fro over the surface of the deep, that dry land may appear." The raven did so; the waters rolled away; the world resumed its former shape; and, in course of time, the maiden and prophet were united and re-peopled the world.

shoshone means "sheep eaters"

does that make you a cannibal?

hmmm?? no reply deb??

Who are the Elders ?"
by Daniel Crowfeather

It seems that there are many people these days who are trying to find a spirituality that they can believe in. For whatever reason, we are beginning to pay more attention to our spirit and to our direction in life. Many of us have found ourselves drawn to the First Nations beliefs, perhaps because they are seen as clean and pure, and based on the simpler times that we all seem to miss.

As we make our way along the Red Road, with luck we are led to a person who has been given the wisdom and knowledge to be a teacher. We call these people Elders, and from them we begin to learn the ways and traditions that form the heart of First Nations beliefs. While these Elders generally do not think of themselves as anything special, they are usually highly regarded and treated with great respect.

For some of us, however, these early times can be dangerous. Being human, most of us have a desire to be respected by the people around us. When we see the respect being given to our Elders, we may begin to hope that, someday, we may earn that respect for ourselves. We try to learn as much as we can as quickly as we can, hoping to impress people with our wisdom. We forget that knowledge of facts is not the same as wisdom, which only comes from a lifetime of reflecting on these facts.

The danger is greatest at the time when we realize that there are people who share our road that know even less than we do. These people may be easily impressed by the tiny amount of knowledge that we carry. Such people might even mistake that knowledge for wisdom, and we may find ourselves receiving some of that respect that we crave. We may find that we enjoy the taste of that respect, and our egos may even lead us to think of ourselves as Elders... and the trap is sprung!

It is important to understand what an Elder is. Aboriginal traditions hold the elderly in high regard, because a long life full of experience leads to wisdom. But an Elder in the spiritual sense is not just old; today an elderly person may have no knowledge whatsoever of spirituality. While such a person may have valuable wisdom in other areas of life, they obviously cannot be a spiritual Elder. A real Elder carries facts about their traditions AND the wisdom that comes from long study and practice of those traditions. However, when you are just starting out on the path, it can be hard to tell the difference. Those who are impressionable can be fooled by an older person with a small amount of knowledge, claiming to be an Elder.

Another very popular claim is to be a Healer. True Healers are those who are given the ability to Heal others using only their own energies and resources. Such people are extremely rare: perhaps a handful walk the earth today. My wife and I do not know of any, and probably neither do you. If you know someone who is claiming that they are a Healer, rest assured that they are either lying or deluded... true Healers never advertise, because they know that the people who need them will be brought to them, quietly and without fuss. They do not seek recognition, because they are only too aware of the heavy burden of responsibility they carry, and they do not wish to add to it.

Finally, there are all the self-proclaimed Visionaries. At best, these people learn from real Seers, then pass on the visions as their own. At worst, they will invent any vision that will impress their audience. Once again, if the person brags of it, then it is not so. True Seers do not advertise, because they do not need to. Again, those who need their help will be brought to them, and they know it. They never seek the spotlight.

The lure of prestige and notoriety can be hard to resist. I am saddened that there are people within our own circle of friends who have started to call themselves Elders, and pretend to carry far more knowledge than they actually have. There is one who has appointed himself a spiritual leader, and has created a following of people who have virtually no knowledge of tradition. He tells them that they are Elders as well. There is another who claims to be a Healer, and performs smudging and purification ceremonies for others. Because she has not learned the proper use and purposes of sacred medicines, she has no understanding of the danger this poses for both herself and for the people she tries to help. There are still others who ask questions of Elders, then pass on the answers to other people claiming to have received them direct from the spirits. We call this 'riding someone else's tobacco,' and it is a simple attempt to gain notoriety at the expense of others. In each case, these people have brought a great deal of trouble into their own lives by doing these things. However, despite these warnings, their egos lead them to continue to misguide others, and they cause much suffering as a result.

Each of us has a best possible path to walk, and each of us is here for some specific purpose. For most of us, our walk is all about learning. While we may not see this as significant, the Creator does not make mistakes: each life interacts with many others, so each one is as important as any other. Ignoring our path and trying to do something more spectacular simply wastes a lifetime, and possibly endangers ourselves and others. While a person's life is their own, to waste if they so choose, causing someone else to waste or misuse their life is perhaps the vilest and most disgusting thing that one human can do to another.


It is time for all the pedestals to be torn down, and for each of us to walk the paths we were intended to walk. We must push aside our egos, and listen to the spirits and to the quiet voice of our own hearts. To do any less is to break faith with ourselves, and with the spirits who agreed to help and guide us. Let the true Elders to do the teaching. Let the Healers do the Healing. Let the Seers do the Seeing. Be content that your life, lived as it supposed to be lived, is as important and necessary as that of any other person. Learn, love, and be humble.

All my relations...