Memorable Eco-Quotes – Part I: By Native American Indians

Next month is “National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month” and one of the best places to learn about the rich cultural history of our North American Indians and Alaskan Natives is thru the National Park Service (part of the U.S. Department of the Interior) which highlights a multitude of historic American Indian Properties open to the general public on their website – www.nps.gov/nr/feature/indian/. For most of us though, our knowledge of American Indian culture is deeply rooted in and limited to children’s cartoons, high school text books, and TV westerns featuring notable American Indians such as Pocahontas, Hiawatha, Sacajawea, Geronimo, Crazy Horse, Chief Sitting Bull, Chief Joseph, and Chief Tecumseh who represent just a tiny fraction of the numerous and distinctive Native American tribes that once inhabited the New World for thousands of years prior to the arrival of Christopher Columbus in October of 1492. For me, personally, I have always been fascinated by American Indian Spirituality which is eco-centered – influenced by Animal Symbolism and the “Circle of Life”, by ceremonial Sun and Rain Dances, and by the Pow-wow gathering of Nations and their tribal celebration of the “Spirit of the Harvest”. But to get a true sense of the Native American Indian belief system, their ‘eco-philosophy’, if you will, let us take a look at some of the most memorable quotes attributed to our Native American Indian brethren. I think you will be surprised by the natural ‘plain speaking’ of many of these proverbs and their relevance to today’s environmental issues.

1- “The frog does not drink up the pond in which he lives. “ – Sioux Proverb
2- “There is nothing as eloquent as a rattlesnakes tail.” – Navajo Proverb
3- “One rain does not make a crop.” – Creole Proverb
4- “When a man moves away from nature his heart becomes hard.” – Lakota Proverb
5- “Do not judge your neighbor until you walk two moons in his moccasins.” – Cheyenne Proverb
6- “We will be known forever by the tracks we leave.” – Dakota Proverb
7- “To touch the earth is to have harmony with nature.” – Oglala Sioux Proverb
8- “We are all one child spinning through Mother Sky.” – Shawnee Proverb
9- “The ground on which we stand is sacred ground. It is the dust and blood of our ancestors.” – Chief Plenty Coups, Crow Leader and Visionary (1848-1932)
10- “All things share the same breath – the beast, the tree, the man…the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports.” – Chief Seattle (c.1780-1866)
11- “When we show our respect for other living things, they respond with respect for us.” – Arapaho Proverb
12- “Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children.” – Oglala Sioux Proverb
13- “What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.” – Crowfoot, Blackfoot Warrior and Orator, Chief of the Siksika First Nation (c.1821-1890)
14- “I do not think the measure of a civilization 
is how tall its buildings of concrete are, 
But rather how well its people have learned to relate 
to their environment and fellow man.” – Sun Bear, Chippewa Medicine Man (1929-1992)
15- “Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught 
will we realize we cannot eat money. “ – Cree Proverb
16- “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.” – Chief Seattle
17- “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
18- “Honor the sacred. Honor the Earth, our Mother. Honor the Elders. Honor all with whom we share the Earth: Four-leggeds, two-leggeds, winged ones, Swimmers, crawlers, plant and rock people. Walk in balance and beauty.” – Anonymous Native American Elder
19- “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, Pen Name of Christine Quintasket, Salish Ethnographer and Writer (1884-1936)

MY FAVORITE:
20- “May the Warm Winds of Heaven,
Blow softly upon your house.
May the Great Spirit, Bless all who enter there.
May your Mocassins Make happy tracks in many snows,
and may the Rainbow Always touch your shoulder.” –
Cherokee Prayer Blessing

Note that some things are universal no matter the culture!

Compare this Cherokee Prayer Blessing with its European counterpart – this Old Irish Blessing:

“May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.”