The one thing I've always maintained is that I'm an American Indian. I'm not politically correct. — Russell Means
What the American Indian Movement says is that the American Indians are the Palestinians of the United States, and the Palestinians are the American Indians of Europe. — Russell Means
[Seeing an ornately chained Native American for the first time] What Eden have they torn you from? — Cesare Borgia
And Americans realized that native people are still here, that they have a moral standing, a legal standing. — Dennis Banks
These Indians are fierce, they wear feathers and grunt. Most of us dont fit this idealized figure since we grunt only when overeating — Vine Deloria Jr.
When asked by an anthropologist what the Indians called America before the white men came, an Indian said simply "Ours. — Vine Deloria Jr.
All the problems we face in the United States today can be traced to an unenlightened immigration policy on the part of the American Indian. — Pat Paulsen
An Indian is an Indian regardless of the degree of Indian blood or which little government card they do or do not possess. — Wilma Mankiller
To be an Indian in modern American society is in a very real sense to be unreal and ahistorical. — Vine Deloria Jr.
I was bred as an outcast, part Negro and part Seminole, in my early years raised as an Indian. — Willie Stargell
The Great Spirit Chief who rules above all will smile upon this land... and this time the Indian race is waiting and praying. — Chief Joseph
The old Lakota was wise. He knew that man's heart, away from nature, becomes hard; he knew that lack of respect for growing, living things soon led to lack of respect for humans too. — Luther Standing Bear
The old Lakota was wise. He knew that a man's heart away from nature becomes hard. — Luther Standing Bear
Above all, I wanted to be appreciated as a prima ballerina who happened to be a Native American, never as someone who was an American Indian ballerina. — Maria Tallchief
Spiritual Native American Quotes
If you talk to the animals they will talk with you and you will know each other. If you do not talk to them you will not know them and what you do not know, you will fear. What one fears, one destroys. — Chief Dan George
When we become hollow bones there is no limit to what the Higher Powers can do in and through us in spiritual things. — Frank Fools Crow
Everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the power of the world always works in circles. — Black Elk
I am not born for one corner; the whole world is my native land.
The voice of the Great Spirit is heard in the twittering of birds, the rippling of mighty waters, and the sweet breathing of flowers. — Zitkala-Sa
Each soul must meet the morning sun, the new sweet earth and the Great Silence alone. — Charles Alexander Eastman
To us, the ashes of our ancestors are sacred and their resting place is hallowed ground. — Chief Seattle
Defiance, not obedience, is the American's answer to overbearing authority.
Everything the Power of the World does is done in a circle. — Black Elk
Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a person is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves. — Black Elk
Like the grasses showing tender faces to each other, thus should we do, for this was the wish of the Grandfathers of the World. — Black Elk
I saw more than I can tell / And I understood more than I saw. — Black Elk
Native American Indian Quotes
Historically speaking, we went from being Indians to pagans to savages to hostiles to militants to activists to Native Americans. Its five hundred years later and they still cant see us. We are still invisible. — John Trudell
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. It does not require many words to speak the truth. — Chief Joseph
At the center of the universe dwells the Great Spirit. And that center is really everywhere. It is within each of us. — Black Elk
Where no one intrudes, many can live in harmony. — Chief Dan George
How smooth must be the language of the whites, when they can make right look like wrong, and wrong like right. — Black Hawk
There is no death, only a change of worlds. — Chief Seattle
Don't let yesterday use up too much of today. — Will Rogers
Brothers, we must be united; we must smoke the same pipe; we must fight each other's battles; and more than all, we must love the Great Spirit. — Tecumseh
The land is sacred. These words are at the core of your being. The land is our mother, the rivers our blood. Take our land away and we die. That is, the Indian in us dies. — Mary Brave Bird
Knowledge was inherent in all things. The world was a library. — Luther Standing Bear
Native American Earth Quotes
There is a direct connection between violence against the Earth and violence against women. — Lee Maracle
Earth does not belong to us; we belong to earth. Take only memories, leave nothing but footprints. — Chief Seattle
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. — Chief Seattle
What if the American people woke up and understood that the official reasons for going to war are almost always based on lies and promoted by war propaganda in order to serve special interests.
We do not want churches because they will teach us to quarrel about God. We do not want to learn that. We may quarrel with men sometimes about things on this earth, but we never quarrel about the Great Spirit. We do not want to learn that. — Chief Joseph
We live, we die, and like the grass and trees, renew ourselves from the soft earth of the grave. Stones crumble and decay, faiths grow old and they are forgotten, but new beliefs are born. The faith of the villages is dust now... but it will grow again... like the trees. — Chief Joseph
What is this you call property? It cannot be the earth, for the land is our mother, nourishing all her children, beasts, birds, fish and all men. The woods, the streams, everything on it belongs to everybody and is for the use of all. How can one man say it belongs only to him? — Massasoit
I hope the Great Heavenly Father, who will look down upon us, will give all the tribes his blessing, that we may go forth in peace, and live in peace all our days, and that He will look down upon our children and finally lift us far above this earth. — Red Cloud
Children must early learn the the beauty of generosity. They are taught to give what they prize most, that they may taste the happiness of giving. — Charles Alexander Eastman
When the Earth is sick, the animals will begin to disappear, when that happens, The Warriors of the Rainbow will come to save them. — Chief Seattle
You ask me to plow the ground. Shall I take a knife and tear my mother's bosom? Then when I die she will not take me to her bosom to rest. — Wovoka
Native American Wisdom Quotes
The faintness of the stars, the freshness of the morning, the dewdrop on the flower, speaks to me. — Chief Dan George
It is important to understand that there are many different ways of seeing the world and expressing the wisdom of Native belief...No one voice speaks for all voices. — Joseph Bruchac
Old age is not as honorable as death, but most people seek it. — David Gemmell
Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision. — Tecumseh
We were contented to let things remain as the Great Spirit Chief made them. They were not; and would change the rivers and mountains if they did not suit them. — Chief Joseph
Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view and demand that they respect yours. — Tecumseh
The earth was created by the assistance of the sun, and it should be left as it was. The country was made without lines of demarcation, and it is no man's business to divide it. — Chief Joseph
All things are bound together. All things connect. — Chief Seattle
We are going by you without fighting if you will let us, but we are going by you anyhow! — Chief Joseph
We do not want churches. They will teach us to quarrel about God. — Chief Joseph
Native American Culture Quotes
Peace cannot exist without justice, justice cannot exist without fairness, fairness cannot exist without development, development cannot exist without democracy, democracy cannot exist without respect for the identity and worth of cultures and peoples. — Rigoberta Menchu
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. — Luther Standing Bear
Sing your death song and die like a hero going home. — Tecumseh
In the end, there is no absence of irony: the integrity of what is sacred to Native Americans will be determined by the government that has been responsible for doing everything in its power to destroy Native American cultures. — Winona LaDuke
We need only look to our Navajo Code Talkers during World War II to see the value that Native languages bring not only to their culture, but to the security of all Americans. — Rick Renzi
Instead of kids just hearing about beads and baskets and fringe, and about what 'was' and 'were,' we present Native American culture as a living contemporary culture. — Buffy Sainte-Marie
Native Americans are not and must not be props in a sort of theme park of the past, where we go to have a good time and see exotic cultures. “What we have done to the peoples who were living in North America” is, according to anthropologist Sol Tax, “our Original Sin. — James W. Loewen
Native people such as the Cherokees are just as human and complex and real as Americans are, and our nation needs to respect American Indian cultures and traditions. — Joseph Bruchac
In our culture, the Native Americans, when two strangers come together. You know what we do in our culture? We smoke the peace pipe. — Tatanka
Native American Proverbs Quotes
So long as mists envelop you, be still. Be still until the sunlight pours through and dispels the mists - as it surely will. Then act with courage. — Chief White Eagle
Listen, or your tongue will make you deaf. — Terri Farley
Don't judge a man until you have walked two moons in his moccasins. — Sharon Creech
The power of the world always works in circles. — Black Elk
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. — Black Elk
The more you give, the more good things come to you. — Robert Muller
His grandfather had often told him that he tried too hard to move trees when a wiser man would walk around them. — Patricia Briggs
When asked which dog wins, he reflected for a moment and replied, "The one I feed the most." — George Bernard Shaw
Looking behind, I am filled with gratitude. Looking forward, I am filled with vision. Looking upwards, I am filled with strength. Looking within, I discover peace. — Robert Muller
He who would do great things should not attempt them all alone. — Seneca
American Indian Quotes
It is essential to our interest and the security of our colonies that the several nations or tribes of Indians... who live under our protection, should not be molested or disturbed. — George III
Now, of course, the great thing about the solar system as a frontier is that there are no Indians, so you can have all the glory of the myth of the American westward expansion without any of the guilt. — Sarah Zettel
Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the government take care of him better take a closer look at the American Indian. — Henry Ford
Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. — Tecumseh
It takes a strong effort on the part of each American Indian not to become Europeanized. The strength for this effort can only come from the traditional ways, the traditional values that our elders retain. — Sayings
Native Americans had only stone and wooden weapons and no animals that could be ridden. Those military advantages repeatedly enabled troops of a few dozen mounted Spaniards to defeat Indian armies numbering in the thousands. — Jared Diamond
If a man loses anything and goes back and looks carefully for it, he will find it. — Sitting Bull
Indians and animals know better how to live than white man; nobody can be in good health if he does not have all the time fresh air, sunshine, and good water. — Flying Hawk
Then, I realized that there is an indigenous presence in the Solar System. It's us. So, then, I got to wondering what would happen if a more technologically advanced society moved next door to us, the way we moved next door to the American Indians. — Sarah Zettel
Gary Cooper was a good friend. He was a great nature lover. He was like an American Indian, he knew every leaf that was turned over. It was an education to go for a walk with him. — Richard Widmark
Great Native American Quotes
My reason teaches me that land cannot be sold. The Great Spirit gave it to his children to live upon. So long as they occupy and cultivate it, they have a right to the soil. Nothing can be sold but such things as can be carried away — Black Hawk
This war did not spring up on our land, this war was brought upon us by the children of the Great Father who came to take our land without a price, and who, in our land, do a great many evil things... This war has come from robbery - from the stealing of our land. — Spotted Tail
My art speaks and will continue to speak, transcending barriers of nationality, language and other forces that may be divisive, fortifying the greatness of the spirit that has always been the foundation of the Ojibwa people. — Norval Morrisseau
Each man is good in the sight of the Great Spirit. It is not necessary for eagles to be crows. Now we are poor but we are free. No white man controls our footsteps. If we must die, we die defending our rights. — Sitting Bull
I was born where there were no enclosures. — Geronimo
I know Great Spirit is looking down upon me from above, and will hear what I say. — Sitting Bull
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. The soil was soothing, strengthening, cleansing and healing. — Luther Standing Bear
Do right always. It will give you satisfaction in life. — Wovoka
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. — Black Elk
Any good thing you say to me shall not be forgotten. I shall carry it as near to my heart as my children, and it shall be as often on my tongue as the name of the Great Spirit. — Ten Bears
Let me be a free man, free to travel, free to stop, free to work, free to trade where I choose, free to choose my own teachers, free to follow the religion of my fathers, free to talk, think and act for myself — and I will obey every law or submit to the penalty. — Chief Joseph
We have taken so much from your culture, I wish you had taken something from ours...For there were some beautiful and good things within it. Perhaps now that the time has come, We are fearful that what you take will be lost.... I shall grab the instruments of the white man's success: His education, his skills, and society. — Chief Dan George
A Native American grandfather was talking to his grandson about how he felt. He said, 'I feel as if I have two wolves fighting in my heart. One wolf is the vengeful, violent one, the other wolf is the loving compassionate one.' The grandson asked him, 'Which wolf will win the fight in your heart?' The grandfather answered, 'The one I feed.' — Black Hawk
Cows run away from the storm while the buffalo charges toward it - and gets through it quicker. Whenever I’m confronted with a tough challenge, I do not prolong the torment, I become the buffalo. — Wilma Mankiller
Someone needs to explain to me why wanting clean drinking water makes you an activist, and why proposing to destroy water with chemical warfare doesnt make a corporation a terrorist. — Winona LaDuke
A Native American elder once described his own inner struggles in this manner: Inside of me there are two dogs. One of the dogs is mean and evil. The other dog is good. The mean dog fights the good dog all the time. When asked which dog wins, he reflected for a moment and replied, The one I feed the most. — George Bernard Shaw
One thing to remember is to talk to the animals. If you do, they will talk back to you. But if you don't talk to the animals, they won't talk back to you, then you won't understand, and when you don't understand you will fear, and when you fear you will destroy the animals, and if you destroy the animals, you will destroy yourself. — Chief Dan George
[The is] a mistaken belief that [the word Indian] refers somehow to the country, India. When Columbus washed up on the beach in the Caribbean, he was not looking for a country called India. Europeans were calling that country Hindustan in 1492.... Columbus called the tribal people he met "Indio," from the Italian in dio, meaning "in God." — Russell Means
It is the mothers not the warriors who create a people and guide their destiny. — Sayings
You cannot really conceive of how insulting it is to Native Americans to be told they were discovered. — Ivan van Sertima
We were taught to believe that the Great Spirit sees and hears everything, and that he never forgets; that hereafter he will give every man a spirit-home according to his deserts: if he has been a good man, he will have a good home; if he has been a bad man, he will have a bad home. This I believe, and all my people believe the same. — Chief Joseph
If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans. — Stephen Hawking
The path to glory is rough, and many gloomy hours obscure it. May the Great Spirit shed light on your path, so that you may never experience the humility that the power of the American government has reduced me to. This is the wish of a man who, in his native forests, was once as proud and bold as yourself. — Black Hawk
Our country is the world, our countrymen are all mankind. We love the land of our nativity, only as we love all other lands. The interests, rights, and liberties of American citizens are no more dear to us than are those of the whole human race. Hence we can allow no appeal to patriotism, to revenge any national insult or injury. — William Lloyd Garrison
In Conclusion
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