"In my opinion"...... No division of: sexes, races, pathways, life-experience, schooled experience, street smarts, spirituality, religion and/or anything else, constitutes any ONE person being better and/or having more knowledge of one thing, over another. Everyone interprets, absorbs & rationalizes things in their own, unique way. Yes..., we are all ONE, but we are also "all unique". EVERY "ONE" has their own talents and abilities, in my own experience of life. Let's not try to make any more separations between us all.... Let's try to appreciate each other as a uniquely talented individual, who is part of a large collective whole.

"We are all tied together by a spiritual bond & love,
whether we can realize it, or not...
But..., wouldn't it be a very boring world....,
if we were all exactly the same?"

GOOD DREAMS!!

How can Indigenous Peoples have "trust" that the world will respect & be honest with them, until everything that was "promised" is owned up to? If a used car salesman sold you a lemon, would you go back and buy another car from him? Would you "trust" his word? I think that a LOT of us here don't think like past Government & Church, and hopefully..., neither does the Government & Church of today. But..., a word of HONOUR to a Native American is something that is said & taken , with pride & respect. Whether they are words from the past makes no difference. They must be honoured, and the faults of past Governments and Churchs must be rectified, ... for there to be any complete, and unqualified respect & trust expected in return.

I don't mean to be so political here, but I believe this is a necessary point, in understanding why "some" Indigenous Peoples have a hard time sharing anything else. If your child makes a mistake & steals something from the store, do you not sit him/her down and explain why it was wrong, and make them take the stolen property back to the store & apologize? Isn't this very much the same, but on a MUCH larger scale? What lessons are we teaching our children, if they see wrongful acts in history, with no consequences to the actions?

I think that the wise Elders can easily see who walks with a "true heart". And that those who do, will be welcomed with open arms, in sharing a beautiful spirituality. "Intention" is the most important thing, I believe. But honoring the past, is also very important. I just truly believe, that rectifying the past does not have to include any more violence & sadness, ... from any organization. "Two wrongs, don't make a right." Agreed?

Peace, Understanding, & Change.... All are needed, for a better tomorrow......

I grew up in Northern Ontario, Canada. I had many friends in my childhood, many of whom were also Indigenous people. We went to school together, played together, swam together & shared many stories & meals together.

I remember my mother making her famous "pigs in a blanket" and inviting my friends to share lunch with us, on many occasions. I was also invited into some of their homes on the reservation.

I remember in grade eight, watching my teacher condemn a full-blood, Native friend of mine for speaking his own language in class. I remember the teacher picking up the desk with the chair attached to it (with my friend still in it) and tossing him out in the hall, only to have this "teacher" return back into a silent class of stern faces, cries, fear & anger. I remember hating that teacher for the rest of the year.

I also remember many other disgusting scenarios, where my friends were made fun of, mocked, ridiculed and disrespected by others who thought they were somehow "better" than them. I was picked on for being pale & sickly with asthma, as a child. I KNEW what that terrible prejudice felt like, that my friends were feeling. In my whole life,

I have NEVER judged someone from their appearance, where they came from, or what their beliefs were.

You can't judge a book, from it';s cover.. You would miss some really good "reads"...

"When you arise in the morning, give thanks
for the morning light, for your life and strength.
Give thanks for your food, and the joy of living.
If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault
lies with yourself...."

-- Tecumseh / Shawnee

THE JOURNEY OF LIFE

We did not think of the great open plains, the beautiful rolling hills, the winding streams with tangled growth, as 'wild'. Only to the white man was nature a 'wilderness' and only to him was it 'infested' with 'wild' animals and 'savage' people. To us it was tame. Earth was beautiful and we were surrounded with the blessings of the Great Mystery.

If today I had a young mind to direct, to start on the journey of life, and I was faced with the duty of choosing between the natural way of my forefathers and that of the... present way of civilization, I would, for its welfare, unhesitatingly set that child's feet in the path of my forefathers. I would raise him to be an Indian!

Praise, flattery, exaggerated manners and fine, high-sounding words were no part of Lakota politeness. Excessive manners were put down as insincere, and the constant talker was considered rude and thoughtless. Conversation was never begun at once, or in a hurried manner.

No one was quick with a question, no matter how important, and no one was pressed for an answer. A pause giving time for thought was the truly courteous way of beginning and conducting a conversation.

From Wakan Tanka, the Great Spirit, there came a great unifying life force that flowed in and through all things -the flowers of the plains, blowing winds, rocks, trees, birds, animals -- and was the same force that had been breathed into the first man. Thus all things were kindred, and were brought together by the same Great Mystery.

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.

The animals had rights -the right of man's protection, the right to live, the right to multiply, the right to freedom, and the right to man's indebted-ness and in recognition of these rights the Lakota never enslaved an animal and spared all life that was not needed for food and clothing. For the animal and bird world there existed a brotherly feeling that kept the Lakota safe among them.

This concept of life and its relations was humanizing and gave to the Lakota an abiding love. It filled his being with the joy and mystery of living; it gave him reverence for all life; it made a place for all things in the scheme of existence with equal importance to all.

The Lakota could despise no creature, for all were of one blood, made by the same hand, and filled with the essence of the Great Mystery. In spirit, the Lakota were humble and meek. 'Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth' -this was true for the Lakota, and from the earth they inherited secrets long since forgotten. Their religion was sane, natural, and human.

----Luther Standing Bear
Chief of the Ojanjan Sioux Tribe, (1905-1939)

THE LIVING SPIRIT OF THE INDIAN

The feathered and blanketed figure of the American Indian has come to symbolize the American continent. He is the man who through centuries has been moulded and sculpted by the same hand that shaped the mountains, forest, and plains, and marked the course of it rivers.

The American Indian is the soil, whether it be the region of forest, plains, pueblos, or mesas. He fits into the landscape, for the hand that fashioned the continent also fashioned the man for his surroundings. He once grew as naturally as the wild sunflowers; he belongs just as the buffalo belonged.

With a physique that fitted, the man developed fitting skills -crafts which today are called American. And the body had a soul, also formed and moulded by the same master hand of harmony. Out of the Indian approach to existence there came a great freedom -an intense and absorbing love for nature; a respect for life; enriching faith in a Supreme Power; and principles of truth, honesty, generosity, equity, and brotherhood....

Becoming possessed of a fitting philosophy and art, it was by them that native man perpetuated his identity; stamped it into the history and soul of this country, made land and man one. By living -struggling, losing, meditating, i'm-bibing, aspiring, achieving -he wrote himself into the ineraseable evidence -- an evidence that can be and often has been ignored, but never totally destroyed....
The white man does not understand the Indian for the reason that he does not understand America. He is too far removed from its formative processes. The roots of the tree of his life have not yet grasped the rock and soil. The white man is still troubled with primitive fears; he still has in his consciousness the perils of this frontier continent, some of its fastnesses not yet having yielded to his questing footsteps and inquiring eyes. The man from Europe is still a foreigner and an alien. But the Indian the spirit of the land is still vested; it will be until other men are able to divine and meet its rhythms....

When the Indian has forgotten the music of his forefathers, when the sound of the tom-tom is no more, when the memory of his heroes is no longer told in story... he will be dead. When from him has been taken all that is his, all that he has visioned in nature, all that has come to him from infinite sources, he then, truly, will be a dead Indian.

---- Luther Standing Bear
Chief of the Ojanjan Sioux Tribe, (1905-1939)

Chief Seattle: We May Be Brothers After All.

Chief Seattle (more correctly known as Seathl) was a Susquamish chief who lived on the islands of the Puget Sound. As a young warrior, Chief Seattle was known for his courage, daring and leadership. He gained control of six of the local tribes and continued the friendly relations with the local whites that had been established by his father.

His now famous speech was believed to have been given in December, 1854. There are several versions of his letter; the following was provided by Barefoot Bob

CHIEF SEATTLE'S LETTER

The President in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land. But how can you buy or sell the sky? 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 meadow, every humming insect. All are holy in the memory and experience of my people.

We know the sap which courses through the trees as we know the blood that courses through our veins. We are part of the earth and it is part of us. The perfumed flowers are our sisters. The bear, the deer, the great eagle, these are our brothers. The rocky crests, the dew in the meadow, the body heat of the pony, and man all belong to the same family.

The shining water that moves in the streams and rivers is not just water, but the blood of our ancestors. If we sell you our land, you must remember that it is sacred. Each glossy reflection in the clear waters of the lakes tells of events and memories in the life of my people. The water's murmur is the voice of my father's father.

The rivers are our brothers. They quench our thirst. They carry our canoes and feed our children. So you must give the rivers the kindness that you would give any brother.

If we sell you our land, remember that the air is precious to us, that the air shares its spirit with all the life that it supports. The wind that gave our grandfather his first breath also received his last sigh. The wind also gives our children the spirit of life. So if we sell our land, you must keep it apart and sacred, as a place where man can go to taste the wind that is sweetened by the meadow flowers. Will you teach your children what we have taught our children? That the earth is our mother? What befalls the earth befalls all the sons of the earth.

This we know: the earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.

One thing we know: our God is also your God. The earth is precious to him and to harm the earth is to heap contempt on its creator.

Your destiny is a mystery to us. What will happen when the buffalo are all slaughtered? The wild horses tamed? What will happen when the secret corners of the forest are heavy with the scent of many men and the view of the ripe hills is blotted with talking wires?

Where will the thicket be? Gone! Where will the eagle be? Gone!

And that is to say goodbye to the swift pony and then hunt!

The end of living and the beginning of survival.

We May Be Brothers After All (2): Chief Seattle

edition " Irish Press of June 4th, 1976

Chief Seattle 1854 : "We May Be Brothers After All"... In 1854, "The Great White Chief" (the President) in Washington made an offer for a large area of Indian land and promised a "reservation" for the Indian people.

Chief Seattle replied on behalf of his people:

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 sap which courses through the trees carries the memory and experience of my people. The sap which courses through the trees carries the memories of the red man.

The white man's dead forget the country of their birth when they go to walk among the stars. Our dead never forget this beautiful Earth, for it is the mother of the red man. We are part of the Earth and it is part of us. 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.

So, when the Great Chief in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land, he asks much of us. The Great White Chief sends word he will reserve us a place so that we can live comfortably to ourselves. He will be our father and we will be his children. So we will consider your offer to buy land. But it will not be easy. For this land is sacred to us.

This shining water that moves in streams and rivers is not just water but the blood of our ancestors. If we sell you land, you must remember that it is sacred blood of our ancestors. If we sell you land, you must remember that it is sacred, and you must teach your children that it is sacred and that each ghostly reflection in the clear water of the lakes tells of events in the life of my people. The waters murmur is the voice of my father's father. The rivers of our brothers they quench our thirst. The rivers carry our canoes and feed our children. If we sell you our land, you must remember to teach your children that the rivers are our brothers, and yours, and you must henceforth give the rivers the kindness that you would give my brother.

We know that the white man does not understand our ways. One portion of land is the same to him as the next, for he is a stranger who comes in the night and takes from the land whatever he needs. The Earth is not his brother, but his enemy and when he has conquered it, he moves on. He leaves his father's graves behind, and he does not care. He kidnaps the Earth from his children, and he does not care.

His father's grave, and his children's birthright are forgotten. He treats his mother, the Earth, and his brother, the same, as things to be bought, plundered, sold like sheep or bright beads. His appetite will devour the Earth and leave behind only a desert. I do not know. Our ways are different from yours ways. The sight of your cities pains the eyes of the red man. But perhaps it is because the red man is a savage and does not understand.

There is no quiet place in the white man's cities. No place to hear the unfurling of leaves in spring, or the rustle of an insect's wings. But perhaps it is because I am a savage and do not understand. The clatter only seems to insult the ears. And what is there to life if a man cannot hear the lonely cry of a whippoorwill or the arguments of the frogs around a pond at night. I am a red man and do not understand. The Indian prefers the soft sound of the wind darting over the face of the pond, and the smell of the wind itself, cleansed by a midday rain, or scented with the pin on pine.

The air is precious to the red man, for all things share the same breath - the beast, the tree, the man, they all share the same breath. The white man does not seem to notice the air he breathes. Like a man dying for many days, he is numb to the stench. But if we sell you our land, you must remember that the air is precious to us, that the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports. The wind that gave our grandfather his first breath also receives his last sigh. And if we sell you our land, you must keep it apart and sacred, as a place where even the white man can go to taste the wind that is sweetened by the meadow's flowers.

So we will consider your offer to buy our land. If we decide to accept, I will make one condition - the white man must treat the beasts of this land as his brothers. I am a savage and do not understand any other way. I have seen a thousand rotting buffaloes on the prairie, left by the white man who shot them from a passing train. I am a savage and do not understand how the smoking iron horse can be made more important than the buffalo that we kill only to stay alive.

What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, man would die from a great loneliness of the spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts, soon happens to man. All things are connected.

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 what 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. This we know - the Earth does not belong to man - man belongs to the Earth. This we know. All things are connected like the blood which unites one family. All things are connected.

Whatever befalls the Earth - befalls the sons of the Earth. Man did not weave the web of life - he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself. Even the white man, whose God walks and talks with him as friend to friend, cannot be exempt from the common destiny. We may be brothers after all. We shall see. One thing we know, which the white man may one day discover - Our God is the same God. You may think now that you own Him as you wish to own our land, but you cannot. He is the God of man, and His compassion is equal for red man and the white. The Earth is precious to Him, and to harm the Earth is to heap contempt on its creator.

The whites too shall pass, perhaps sooner than all other tribes. But in your perishing you will shine brightly, fired by the strength of the God who brought you to this land and for some special purpose gave you dominion over this land and over the red man. That destiny is a mystery to us, for we do not understand when the buffalo are slaughtered, the wild horses tamed, the secret corners of the forest heavy with scent of many men, and the view of the ripe hills blotted by talking wires.

Where is the thicket?
Gone

Where is the Eagle?
Gone

This is the end of living and the beginning of survival.

(Teaching from Chief Tecumseh)

So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and It's purpose in the service of your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide.

Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, even a stranger, when in a lonely place. Show respect to all people and bow to none. When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself. Abuse no one and nothing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision.

When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear of death, so that when their time comes -they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home.

"No tribe has the right to sell, even to each other, much less to strangers.... Sell a country! Why not sell the air, the great sea, as well as the earth. Didn't the Great Spirit make them all for the use of his children? The way, the only way to stop this evil is for the red man to unite in claiming a common and equal right in the land, as it was first, and should be now, for it was never divided.

We gave them forest-clad mountains and valleys full of game, and in return what did they give our warriors and our women? Rum, trinkets and a grave. Where today are the Narrangansett, the Mohican, the Pakanoket and many other once powerful tribes of our people? They have vanished before the avarice and the oppression of the White Man, as snow before a summer sun."

---- Chief Tecumseh
Shawnee indian (Translates to Panther Crossing)

Religious Calling: Chief White Cloud

Your religious calling was written on Plates of Stone by the flaming finger of an angry god. Our religion was established by the traditions of our Ancestors, and the premonitions of the Learned Beings.

It is written in the hearts of our people, thus: we do not require Churches -which would only lead us to argue about God. We do not wish this. Earthly things may be argued about white Men, but we never argue over God. And the thought that white men should rule over Nature and Change its ways following his liking was never understood by the red man.

Our belief if that the Great Spirit has created all things. Not just mankind, but all animals, all plants, all rocks... all on Earth and amongst the stars, with true soul. For us all, Life is holy.

But, You do not understand our prayers when we address the Sun, Moon and Winds. You have judged us without understanding. Only because our Prayers are different. But we are able to live in harmony whit all of Nature. All of nature is within us and we are part of all nature.

---- Chief White Cloud

THE TEN INDIAN COMMANDMENTS

- Treat the Earth and all that dwell thereon with respect.

- Remain close to the Great Spirit.

- Show great respect for your fellow beings.

- Work together for the benefit of all Mankind.

- Give assistance and kindness wherever needed.

- Do what you know to be right.

- Look after the well-being of mind and body.

- Dedicate a share of your efforts to the greater good.

- Be truthful and honest at all times.

- Take full responsibility for your actions.

��People sometimes get in the habit of being loyal to a mistake.

---- �� Richard Russo, Mohawk

Knowing and knowing what to do about it were two different things.��

---- Richard Russo, Mohawk

"Believing people can soar beyond ordinary life."

---- Fools Crow / Lakota

��He [Wakan Tanka] walks with us along the pathways of Life, and He can do for us what we could never do on our own."

---- Fools Crow / Lakota

"Sometimes it feels like energy or electricity when it is moving in and through us, but spiritual power is really a distinctive kind of knowledge that is like the key that opens the door or the switch that starts the energy moving."

---- Frank Fools Crow

"Survival of the world depends on our sharing what we have, and working together. If we don't the whole world will die. First the planet, and next the people." Then he continues, "The ones who complain and talk the most about giving away Medicine Secrets, are always those who know the least."

-- Frank Fool's Crow

"I cured with the power that came through me. Of course, it was not I who cured, it was the power from the Outer World, the visions and the ceremonies had only made me like a hole through which the power could come to the two-leggeds. If I thought that I was doing it myself, the hole would close up and no power could come through. Then everything I could do would be foolish."

--- Frank Fools Crow