Before our white brothers arrived to make us civilized men, we didn't have any kind of prison.

Because of this, we had no delinquents. Without a prison, there can be no delinquents. We had no locks nor keys and therefore among us there were no thieves. When someone was so poor that he couldn't afford a horse, a tent or a blanket, he would, in that case, receive it all as a gift. We were too uncivilized to give great importance to private property. We didn't know any kind of money and consequently, the value of a human being was not determined by his wealth. We had no written laws laid down, no lawyers, no politicians, therefore we were not able to cheat and swindle one another. We were really in bad shape before the white men arrived and I don't know how to explain how we were able to manage without these fundamental things that (so they tell us) are so necessary for a civilized society. John (Fire) Lame Deer Sioux Lakota - 1903-1976 O' GREAT SPIRIT Help me always to speak the truth quietly, to listen with an open mind when others speak, and to remember the peace that may be found in silence. Cherokee Prayer

Navajo Prayer
"Beauty is before me, And beauty is behind me. Above and below me hovers the beautiful. I am surrounded by it. I am immersed in it. In my youth I am aware of it, And in old age I shall walk quietly The beautiful trail."
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. - Tribe Unknown Everything the power does, it does in a circle. Seek wisdom, not knowledge. Knowledge is of the past, Wisdom is of the future. - Lumbee A man or woman with many children has many homes. - Lakota Sioux A good chief gives, he does not take. - Mohawk Listening to a liar is like drinking warm water. - Tribe Unknown Ask questions from you heart and you will be answered from the heart. - Omaha

Cherish youth, but trust old age. - Pueblo Sharing and giving are the ways of God. - Sauk Each person is his own judge. - Shawnee It is no longer good enough to cry peace, we must act peace, live peace and live in peace. - Shenandoah The one who tells the stories rules the world. - Hopi 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 Tell me and I'll forget. Show me, and I may not remember. Involve me, and I'll understand. - Tribe Unknown White men have too many chiefs. - Nez Perce Take only what you need and leave the land as you found it. - Arapaho Don't let yesterday use up too much of today. - Cherokee Listen, or your tongue will make you deaf. - Tribe Unknown Each bird loves to hear himself sing. - Arapaho The way of the troublemaker is thorny. - Umpqua A man must make his own arrows. - Winnebago

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. Where no one intrudes, many can live in harmony. 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 mans business to divide it. . . . I see the white all over the country gaining wealth and see their desire to give us lands which are worthless. . . .The earth and my self are of one mind. The measure of land and the measure of our bodies are the same. Say it us if you can say it, that you were sent by Creative Power to talk to us. Perhaps you think the creator sent you here to destroy us as you see fit. If I thought you were sent by the creator I might be I might be induced to think you had a right to dispose of me. Do not misunderstand me, but understand me fully with reference to my affection to the land. I never said the land was mine do do with as I chose. The one who has a right to dispose of it is the one who has created it. I claim a right to live on my land, and accord you the privilage to live on yours. "If the white man wants to live in peace with the Indian, he can live in peace.....Treat all men alike. Give them all the same law. Give them all an even chance to live and grow. All men were made by the same Great Spirit Chief. They are all brothers. The Earth is the mother of all people, and all people should have equal rights upon it.......Let me be a free man, free to travel, free to stop, free to work, free to trade....where I choose my own teachers, free to follow the religion of my fathers, free to think and talk and act for myself, and I will obey every law, or submit to the penalty." -Heinmot Tooyalaket (Chief Joseph), Nez Perce Suppose a white man should come to me and say, Joseph, I like your horses. I want to buy them. I say to him, No, my horses suit me; I will not sell them. Then he goes to my neighbor and says, Pay me money, and I will sell you Joseph's horses. The white man returns to me and says, Joseph, I have bought your horses and you must let me have them. If we sold our lands to the government, this is the way they bought them. It does not require many words to speak the truth.

... I have seen that in any great undertaking it is not enough for a man to depend simply upon himself Praise, flattery, exaggerated manners and find high-sounding words were not part of Lakota politeness. Excessive manners were put down as insincere, and the constant talker was considered rude and thoughtless. Conversation was never begun at once, or in a hurried manner. No one was quick with a question, 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. --Chief Luther Standing Bear (Ota Kte, Mochunozhin) , 1868-1939 As a child I understood how to give, I have forgotten this grace since I have become civilized. -Luther Standing Bear, Oglala "Once I was in Victoria, and I saw a very large house. They told me it was a bank and that the white men place their money there to be taken care of, and that by and by they got it back with interest. "We are Indians and we have no such bank; but when we have plenty of money or blankets, we give them away to other chiefs and people, and by and by they return them with interest, and our hearts feel good. Our way of giving is our bank." Chief Maquinna, Nootka "I am poor and naked, but I am the chief of a nation. We do not want riches but we do want to train our children right. Riches would do us no good. We could not take them with us to the other world. We do not want riches. We want peace and love." "We also have a religion which was given to our forefathers, and has been handed down to us their children. It teaches us to be thankful, to be united, and to love one another! We never quarrel about religion." Sogoyewapha, (Red Jacket), Seneca 1752-1830 "This we know: 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. "One thing we know: our god is also your god. The earth is precious to him and to harm the earth is to heap contempt on its creator. It matters little where we pass the remnant of our days. They will not be many. The Indian's night promises to be dark. Not a single star of hope hovers above his horizon. Sad-voiced winds moan in the distance. Grim fate seems to be on the Red Man's trail, and wherever he will hear the approaching footsteps of his fell destroyer and prepare stolidly to meet his doom, as does the wounded doe that hears the approaching footsteps of the hunter. A few more moons, a few more winters, and not one of the descendants of the mighty hosts that once moved over this broad land or lived in happy homes, protected by the Great Spirit, will remain to mourn over the graves of a people once more powerful and hopeful than yours. But why should I mourn at the untimely fate of my people? Tribe follows tribe, and nation follows nation, like the waves of the sea. It is the order of nature, and regret is useless. Your time of decay may be distant, but it will surely come, for even the White Man whose God walked and talked with him as friend to friend, cannot be exempt from the common destiny. We may be brothers after all. We will see.

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. Love your life, perfect your life, Beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and Its purpose in the service of your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide. Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, Even a stranger, when in a lonely place. Show respect to all people and Bow to none. When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the food and For the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, The fault lies only in yourself. Abuse no one and nothing, For abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision. When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts Are filled with fear of death, so that when their time comes They weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again In a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home."