Native American Quotes

These were the words given to my great-grandfather by the Master of Life: ‘At some time there shall come among you a stranger, speaking a language you do not understand. He will try to buy the land from you, but do not sell it; keep it for an inheritance to your children.’

– Aseenewub

My son, you are now flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone. By the ceremony performed this day, every drop of white blood was washed from your veins; you were taken into the Shawnee Nation.

– Blackfish

When a man moves away from nature his heart becomes hard.

– Lakota proverb

When a white army battles Indians and wins, it is called a great victory, but if they lose it is called a massacre.

– Chiksika

All dreams spin out from the same web.

– Hopi Indian proverb

Of all the animals the horse is the best friend of the Indian, for without it he could not go on long journeys. A horse is the Indian’s most valuable piece of property. If an Indian wishes to gain something, he promises that if the horse will help him he will paint it with native dye, that all may see that help has come to him through the aid of his horse.

– Brave Buffalo

We shall live again; we shall live again.

– Comanche Ghost Dance song

Children were encouraged to develop strict discipline and a high regard for sharing. When a girl picked her first berries and dug her first roots, they were given away to an elder so she would share her future success. When a child carried water for the home, an elder would give compliments, pretending to taste meat in water carried by a boy or berries in that of a girl. The child was encouraged not to be lazy and to grow straight like a sapling.

– Mourning Dove (Christine Quintasket)

The mountains – I become part of it.
The flowers, the evergreen tree – I become part of it.
The morning moisture, the clouds, the bodies of water – I become part of it
The wilderness, the water drops, the pollen – I become part of it.

– Navajo chant

Life is not separate from death. It only looks that way.

– Blackfoot proverb

I called to my men: ‘This is a good day to die. Follow me!’

– Low Dog

A nation is not conquered until the hearts of its women are on the ground. Then it is finished, no matter how brave its warriors or how strong their weapons.

– Cheyenne proverb

They came with a Bible and their religion. They stole our land and crushed our spirit, and now tell us we should be thankful to the Lord for being saved.

– Chief Pontiac

May you walk in beauty.

– Navajo saying

A 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.’

– An old Cherokee story

All Creatures exist for a purpose. Even an ant knows what that purpose is – not with its brain, but somehow it knows. Only human beings have come to a point where they no longer know why they exist.

– John Fire Lame Deer