A collection of native Americans’ thought
What the people believe is true.
Anishinabe
Each bird loves to hear himself sing.
Arapaho
It is better to have less thunder in the mouth and more lightning in the hand.
Apache
All plants are our brothers and sisters. They talk to us and if we listen, we can hear them.
Arapaho
Take only what you need and leave the land as you found it.
Arapaho
Before eating, always take time to thank the food.
Arapaho
When we show our respect for other living things, they respond with respect for us.
Arapaho
If we wonder often, the gift of knowledge will come.
Arapaho
Most of us do not look as handsome to others as we do to ourselves.
Assiniboine
Those that lie down with dogs, get up with fleas.
Blackfoot
Life is not separate from death. It only looks that way.
Blackfoot
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…
Blackfoot
When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, he world cries and you rejoice.
Cherokee
Don’t let yesterday use up too much of today.
Cherokee
The weakness of the enemy makes our strength.
Cherokee
A good soldier is a poor scout.
Cheyenne
If a man is as wise as a serpent, he can afford to be as harmless as a dove.
Cheyenne
Our first teacher is our own heart.
Cheyenne
All who have died are equal.
Comanche
One rain does not make a crop.
Creole
Man’s law changes with his understanding of man. Only the laws of the spirit remain always the same.
Crow
Old age is not as honorable as death, but most people want it.
Crow
You already possess everything necessary to become great.
Crow
We will be known forever by the tracks we leave.
Dakota
There is no death, only a change of worlds.
Duwamish
Day and night cannot dwell together.
Duwamish
The one who tells the stories rules the world.
Hopi
Don’t be afraid to cry. It will free your mind of sorrowful thoughts.
Hopi
Wisdom comes only when you stop looking for it and start living the life the Creator intended for you.
Hopi
The rainbow is a sign from Him who is in all things.
Hopi
Walk lightly in the spring; Mother Earth is pregnant.
Kiowa
When a man moves away from nature his heart becomes hard.
Lakota
Force, no matter how concealed, begets resistance.
Lakota
If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies in yourself.
Minquass
A good chief gives, he does not take.
Mohawk
Remember that your children are not your own, but are lent to you by the Creator.
Mohawk
Regard Heaven as your father, Earth as your Mother and all things as your Brothers and Sisters.
Native American
The soul would have no rainbow if the eye had no tears.
Native American
You can’t wake a person who is pretending to be asleep.
Navajo
A rocky vinyard does not need a prayer, but a pick ax.
Navajo
Every animal knows more than you do.
Nez Perce
White men have too many chiefs.
Nez Perce
To touch the earth is to have harmony with nature.
Oglala Sioux
When a fox walks lame, the old rabbit jumps.
Oklahoma
A starving man will eat with the wolf.
Oklahoma
Ask questions from you heart and you will be answered from the heart.
Omaha
A hungry stomach makes a short prayer.
Paiute
Do not wrong or hate your neighbor for it is not he that you wrong but yourself.
Pima
Make my enemy brave and strong, so that if defeated, I will not be ashamed.
Plains
Cherish youth, but trust old age.
Pueblo
Sharing and giving are the ways of God.
Sauk
Each person is his own judge.
Shawnee
Sing your death song and die like a hero going home.
Shawnee
We are made from Mother Earth and we go back to Mother Earth.
Shenandoah
It is no longer good enough to cry peace, we must act peace, live peace and live in peace.
Shenandoah
There are many good moccasin tracks along the trail of a straight arrow.
Sioux
With all things and in all things, we are relatives.
Sioux
The frog does not drink up the pond in which he lives.
Sioux
A people without a history is like the wind over buffalo grass.
Sioux
The moon is not shamed by the barking of dogs.
Southwest
Tell me and I’ll forget. Show me, and I may not remember. Involve me, and I’ll understand.
tribe unknown
Listening to a liar is like drinking warm water.
tribe unknown
Listen or your tongue will keep you deaf.
tribe unknown
If a man is to do something more than human, he must have more than human powers.
tribe unknown
Even a small mouse has anger.
tribe unknown
Not every sweet root give birth to sweet grass.
tribe unknown
Man has responsiblity, not power.
Tuscarora
Take only memories, leave nothing but footprints.
Chief Seattle
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
So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view and demand that they respect yours.
Chief Tecumseh
Peace comes within the souls of men, when they realize their oneness with the Universe, when they realize it is really everywhere… it is within each one of us.
A very great vision is needed, and the man who has it must follow it as the eagle seeks the deepest blue of the sky.
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