native american poems and quotes

[swampiewolfess]

Native American Wisdom, Philsophy, Quotes









Native American wisdom is deep, profound, simple and true. It has passed the test of time. There are countless tribes each with their own language, sacred stories, customs and ceremonies. However, they all share the wisdom of being aware of the Cosmic connection to not only each other but the very earth and skies, trees and rocks, animals and plants.

They teach "walk lightly upon the Earth and live in balance and harmony."



Read the words of that great holy man, Black Elk:



"The first peace, which is the most important,
is that which comes within the souls of people
when they realize their relationship, their oneness,
with the universe and all its powers,
and when they realize that at the center of the universe
dwells the Great Spirit,
and that this center is really everywhere,
it is within each of us."
~ Black Elk - Oglala Sioux ~

They are profoundly spiritual people who have suffered greatly. Their words echo deep in my bones. I hear truth, beauty, and meaning in the words from their holy men and elders.

"From Wakan-Tanka, the Great Mystery,
comes all power.
It is from Wakan-Tanka that the holy man has wisdom
and the power to heal and make holy charms.
Man knows that all healing plants
are given by Wakan-Tanka;
therefore they are holy.
So too is the buffalo holy,
because it is the gift of Wakan-Tanka."
~ Flat-Iron (Maza Blaska) Oglala Sioux Chief ~



"Out of the Indian approach to life
there comes 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 as a guide to mundane relations."
~ Luther Standing Bear, Oglala ~

They lived and breathed their spirituality. And so do not forget.

"Every Dawn as it comes is a holy event
and everyday is holy,
for the light comes from "WAKAN-TANKA"
And Also you Must remeber that the Two-leggeds
and All other peoples who Stand upon this Earth
are Sacred and Should be Treated as Such."

~ White Buffalo Woman - Sioux Sacred Woman,
quoted by Black Elk , (Oglala Sioux) 1947 ~


It has become quite a 'fashion' to try to take on Native American teachings. We do this proud nation a dis-service to try to emulate them in a shallow way. They know (and they always knew) their kindred-ship with the Earth. We have tried to box them in, silence their words and 'educate' them, lest they cause us to shrivel up in shame!

Those of us who recognise these things can only move forward in love. Ask forgiveness from our Native American brothers and sisters who have managed to retain ancient wisdom. Their God, Wankan Tanka is our God too. How can it be other?

We live in very turbulent days and we owe the such a debt of gratitude for their forbearance. Surely now the time has come when we can share and meet in mutual acceptance and thanksgiving that they have kept ancient ceremonies and respect for elders and ancestors alive. We can learn so much about honour from these people.



My Thoughts and Feelings about the Native Americans
Why do I feel such an affinity for the Native American nation?

Quite simply because EVERYTHING they believe in resonates with great power deep in my soul. I am NOT a 'pretend Indian'. However, I do not rule out the possibility that in a previous life I was one. It explains so many things I experienced in childhood.

When we are children we are very close to Spirit and previous lives. It is my belief that the knowlege we bring into the world has been aquired through successive incarnations. This explains so many things that used to make me slightly 'different' in childhood.

When I say different, I do not mean in any way an odd ball. That came later!!! I mean that it was normal for me to see everything as living and full of magical possiblities. My love of nature was overwhelming equaled only by my love of animals. When I watched old 'cowboys and Indians films' my thoughts were always with the Indians.

As I grew and read and learned about what the 'white man' did to this proud and special people, I felt such anguish of soul... I can hardly put it into words. Reading of the massacre at Wounded Knee (this is chronicled in detail in the book 'Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee : An Indian History of the American West' by Dee Brown) left me burning with shame and inner torment that we could have acted in such a despicable fashion and then awarded ourselves medals in commeroration for the 'Valiant Acts!'

What has been done to these people is beyond belief. We thought in the typical arrogance of the British Empire that they were savages... WE were the savages. We sent our missionaries to 'save' them. They never needed saving. The only thing they ever needed saving from was us! Their spirituality and insight was way above anything we could teach them. They had integrity... We had none!

Now, their time has come. We are realising.... 'waking up' to the superior knowlege they always had about living in harmony with the Earth. Walking in balance and respect for the created universe.

They have suffered greatly. Still suffer greatly. My heart is in the Highlands of Scotland... but my soul is with the Native Americans.

I always know and recognise Truth when I read it. Something rises up inside me. It is a physical sensation. A deep joy. A sacred connection where words or explanations become totally redundant. That is what happens when I read Native American Wisdom.


An Indian Prayer

O' GREAT SPIRIT,
Whose voice I hear in the winds,
And whose breath gives life to all the world,
hear me! I am small and weak, I need your
strength and wisdom.

Let Me Walk In Beauty, and make my eyes
ever behold the red and purple sunset.

Make My Hands Respect the things you have
made and my ears sharp to hear your voice.

Make Me Wise so that I may understand the
things you have taught my people.

Let Me Learn the lessons you have hidden
in every leaf and rock.

I Seek Strength, not to be greater than my
brother, but to fight my greatest
enemy...myself.

Make Me Always Ready to come to you with
clean hands and straight eyes.

So When Life Fades, as the fading sunset,
my spirit may come to you
without shame.

(translated by Lakota Sioux Chief Yellow Lark in 1887)
published in Native American Prayers - by the Episcopal Church


What humilty and purity of spirit is demonstrated here!
In what way did we think we could 'educate' them?

[swampiewolfess]

Black Elk's Earth Prayer





Grandfather, Great Spirit, once more behold me on earth and lean to hear my feeble voice. You lived first, and you are older than all need, older than all prayer. All things belong to you -- the two-legged, the four-legged, the wings of the air, and all green things that live.

"You have set the powers of the four quarters of the earth to cross each other. You have made me cross the good road and road of difficulties, and where they cross, the place is holy. Day in, day out, forevermore, you are the life of things."

Hey! Lean to hear my feeble voice.
At the center of the sacred hoop
You have said that I should make the tree to bloom.
With tears running, O Great Spirit, my Grandfather,
With running eyes I must say
The tree has never bloomed
Here I stand, and the tree is withered.
Again, I recall the great vision you gave me.
It may be that some little root of the sacred tree still lives.
Nourish it then
That it may leaf
And bloom
And fill with singing birds!
Hear me, that the people may once again
Find the good road
And the shielding tree.

" I think I have told you, but if I have not, you must have understood, that a man who has a vision is not able to use the power of it until after he has performed the vision on earth for the people to see... It was even then only after the heyoka ceremony, in which I performed my dog vision, that I had the power to practice as a medicine man, curing sick people; and many 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, and the visions and 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..."

Revealing this, they walk.
A sacred herb -- revealing it, they walk.
Revealing this, they walk.
The sacred life of bison -- revealing it, they walk.
Revealing this, they walk.
A sacred eagle feather -- revealing it, they walk.
Revealing this, they walk.
The eagle and the bison -- like relatives they walk.

"The Six Grandfathers have placed in this world many things, all of which should be happy. Every little thing is sent for something, and in that thing there should be happiness and the power to make happy. Like the grasses showing tender faces to each other, thus we should do, for this was the wish of the Grandfathers of the World."

Black Elk - Oglala Sioux



The True Peace
The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness, with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells Wakan-Taka (the Great Spirit), and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us.

This is the real peace, and the others are but reflections of this. The second peace is that which is made between two individuals, and the third is that which is made between two nations. But above all you should understand that there can never be peace between nations until there is known that true peace, which, as I have often said, is within the souls of men.

Black Elk - Oglala Sioux



The Sacred Hoop
I was standing on the highest mountain of them all, and round about beneath me was the whole hoop of the world. And while I stood there I saw more than I can tell and I understood more than I saw; for I was seeing in a sacred manner the shapes of all things in the spirit, and the shape of all shapes as they must live together like one being. And I saw that the sacred hoop of my people was one of many hoops that made one circle, wide as daylight and as starlight, and in the center grew one mighty flowering tree to shelter all children of one mother and one father. And I saw that it was holy...but anywhere is the center of the world.

Black Elk - Oglala Sioux


The Great Circle
You have noticed that everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round. In the old days when we were a strong and happy people, all our power came to us from the sacred hoop of the nation, and so long as the hoop was unbroken, the people flourished. The flowering tree was the living center of the hoop, and the circle of the four quarters nourished it. The east gave peace and light, the south gave warmth, the west gave rain, and the north with its cold and mighty wind gave strength and endurance.

This knowledge came to us from the outer world with our religion. Everything the Power of the World does is done in a circle. The sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power, whirls. Birds make their nests in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours. The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle. The moon does the same, and both are round. Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves. Our teepees were round like the nests of birds, and these were always set in a circle, the nation's hoop, a nest of many nests, where the Great Spirit meant for us to hatch our children.

Black Elk - Oglala Sioux



Receiving Medicine Power
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.

Black Elk - Oglala Sioux



With tears running, O Great Spirit, my Grandfather-with tears running I must say now that the tree has never bloomed. Here at the center of the world where you took me when I was young and showed the goodness and the beauty and the strangeness of the greening earth, you have said that I should make the tree to bloom. It may be that some little root of the sacred tree still lives. Nourish it then, that it may leaf and bloom and fill with singing birds. Hear me not for myself but for my people; I am old. Hear me that they may once more go back into the sacred hoop and find the good red road, the shielding tree!

Black Elk - Oglala Sioux


The life of an Indian is like the wings of the air. That is why you notice the hawk knows how to get his prey. The Indian is like that. The hawk swoops down on its prey; so does the Indian. In his lament he is like an animal. For instance, the coyote is sly; so is the Indian. The eagle is the same. That is why the Indian is always feathered up; he is a relative to the wings of the air.

Black Elk - Oglala Sioux


I did not know then how much was ended. When I look back now from this high hill of my old age, I can still see the butchered women and children lying heapen and scattered all along the crooked gulch as plain as when I saw them with eyes still young. And I can see that something else died there in the bloody mud, and was buried in the blizzard. A peoples dream died there. It was a beautiful dream. . . .the nations hoop is broken and scattered. There is no center any longer, and the sacred tree is dead.

Black Elk - Oglala Sioux

[stormwolf]

"Hear me my Chiefs! I am tired; My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun stands I will fight no more forever."

Chief Joseph - Nez Perce

[swampiewolfess]

Elder's Meditation of the Day - June 15
"Today, what is important for us is to realize that the old sacred ways are correct, and that if we do not follow them we will be lost and without a guide."
--Thomas Yellowtail, CROW
A long time ago the Creator gave to the people all the knowledge on how we should live and conduct ourselves. The Native people have been influenced be outside "tribes" who don't know about the Sacred Way. Our Elders still know about the old sacred ways. We need to consult and talk to them before it's too late. Every family needs to seriously evaluate whether they are living according to the old knowledge. If we are faultfinding, putting one another down, being selfish, being violent to our spouses or children, if we are cheating and being dishonest, then we are not living the old Sacred Way. The old way is about respect, love, forgiveness and sharing.



Great Spirt, today, teach me the old Sacred Way you taught my ancestors.

[swampiewolfess]

Elder's Meditation of the Day - June 28
"Whenever you take anything from the earth, remember to leave an offering."
--Joe Coyhis, STOCKBRIDGE-MUNSEE
We need to look at nature and its inhabitants as our brothers and sisters. Whenever we pick plants or herbs, we should leave an offering of tobacco. We should talk to the plants and ask their permission to use them. The plants will feel honored to be of service for each of them knows they are here to serve. Each of them knows they carry a special medicine and this medicine is about continuing the cycle of life. We need always to be grateful to our brothers and sisters.



Creator, I thank you for the opportunity of life.