Hobron County

Native American Wisdom

One of the objectives our Ancestors sought to accomplish when they came here from Europe, apart from displacing the Native Americans from the lands which they occupied, was to introduce those Native Americans to the lifestyle and culture which the Europeans brought with them to America.

Upon reflection, it is very likely that, had the Europeans paid more attention to the lifestyle and culture of those Native Americans, those same Europeans may have greatly benefited from that experience!

Here below are a few examples of such Native American Wisdom

"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. "

 Chief White Cloud

"The earth does not belong to man,
man belongs to the Earth.
This we know.

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.

All things are connected.
Whatever befalls the Earth,
befalls the children of the Earth."

 Chief Seattle, 1854

"When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced.
 Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice."

Cherokee Expression

"Man has responsibility, not power."

Native American Proverb (Tuscarora).

An American Indian elder described his own inner struggles this way: "Inside of me there 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."  

Unknown

".  . everything on the earth has a purpose, every disease an herb to cure it, and every person a mission. This is the Indian theory of existence. "

Mourning Dove (Christine Quintasket), Salish

"There is no death. Only a change of worlds. "

Chief Seattle 

"Conversation was never begun at once, nor in a hurried manner. No one was quick with aquestion, 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. Silence was meaningful with the Lakota, and his granting a space of silence to the speech-maker and his own moment of silence before talking was done in the practice of true politeness and regard for the rule that "thought comes before speech." 

Luther Standing Bear, Oglala Sioux Chief

 "It is the general belief of the Indians that after a man dies his spirit is somewhere on the earth or in the sky, we do not know exactly where, but we are sure that his spirit still lives. . . . So it is with The Great Spirit. We believe that it is everywhere, yet it is to us as the spirits of our friends, whose voices we cannot hear. "

 Chased-by-Bears, Santee-Yanktonai Sioux

 "Native American isn't blood.  It is what is in the heart.  The love for the land, the respect for it, those who inhabit it, and the respect and acknowledgement of the spirits and elders.  That is what it is to be Indian."

White Feather, Navajo Medicine Man

 " Respect means listening until everyone has been heard and understood, only then is there a possibility of "Balance and Harmony" the goal of Indian Spirituality."

Dave Chief

"Only after the last tree has been cut down;
Only after the last fish has been caught;
Only after the last river has been poisoned;
Only then will the white man realize
that money cannot be eaten."

 Cree Indian Prophecy