My Great Uncle

General Ely S. Parker: Military secretary to Union General Ulysses S. Grant
 
In an interesting twist of history, General Ely S. Parker, a member of the Seneca Tribe, wrote the "articles of surrender" which General Robert E. Lee signed at Appomattox

Court House on April 9, 1865. General Parker, who served as Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's military secretary and was an attorney, was once rejected for Union military service

because of his race. At Appomattox, General Lee supposedly remarked to Parker," I am glad to see one real American here," to which Parker replied, "We are all Americans."
Ely Parker: Chief, Lawyer, Engineer, and Brigadier General

Silence

“We Indians know about silence. We aren’t afraid of it. In fact, to us it is more powerful than words. Our elders were schooled in the ways of silence, and they passed that along to us. Watch, listen, and then act, they told us. This is the way to live. Watch the animals to see how they care for their young. Watch the elders to see how they behave. Watch the white man to see what he wants. Always watch first, with a still heart and mind, then you will learn. When you have watched enough, then you can act.”
Silence

Red Road to Peace

“We must try to use the pipe for humankind, which is on the road to self-destruction. We must try to get back on the red road of the sacred peace pipe, the road of life. We must try to save the white man from himself.

This can only be done if all of us, Indians and non-Indians, alike, can see ourselves a part of this earth, not as an enemy from the outside who tries to impose its will on it. Because we, who know the meaning of the pipe, also know that, being a living part of the earth, we cannot harm any part of her without hurting ourselves. Maybe through this sacred pipe we can teach each other to see through that cloud of pollution which politicians and corporate power hold up to us as “reality”. Through this pipe, maybe we can make peace with our greatest enemy who dwells deep within ourselves. With this sacred pipe we could all form, once again, the circle without end.”Source

The enemy is blindness to each other’s ways. Put your anger away, the
spirits said. Our earth is crying now, and we need to remove her tears.

Human Purpose

 

Regarding the meaning of our lives, Lame Deer tells us, in Lame Deer Seeks a Vision: “All creatures exist for a purpose. Even an ant knows what the 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. They don’t use their brains and they have forgotten the secret knowledge of their bodies, their senses, or their dreams. They don’t use the knowledge the spirit has put into every one of them; they are not even aware of this, so they stumble along blindly on the road to nowhere--a paved highway which they, themselves, bulldoze and make smooth so that they can get faster to the big, empty hole which they'll find at the end...”

Native History

Lakota Elder speaking - in Neither Wolf Nor Dog: “Tobacco is like our church. It goes up to God. When we offer it, we are telling our God that we are speaking the truth. Wherever there’s tobacco offered, everything is wakan - sacred, or filled with power. We make a promise to speak the truth. That’s why we Indians got into trouble with the white man’s ways early on. When we make a promise, it’s a promise to the Great Spirit, Wakan Tanka. Nothing is going to change that promise. We made all these promises with the white man, and we thought the white man was making promises to us. But he wasn’t-he was making deals. We could never figure out how the white man could break every promise, especially when all the priests and holy men were involved. We can’t break promises.

Leaders or Rulers

 “I’d like to talk to you about the difference between leaders and rulers. We Indians are used to leaders. When our leaders don't lead, we walk away from them. When they lead well, we stay with them. White people don’t seem to understand this. Your system makes people rulers by law, even if they are not leaders! Shields served as the pipe carrier, healer, or medicine man for the Crow Creek Reservation. We have to accept your way because you made us make constitutions and form governments. But we don’t like it and we don’t think it’s right. For example, how can a calendar tell us how long a person is a leader? That’s crazy! A leader is a leader as long as the people believe in him and as long as he is the best person to lead.

“In our past when we needed a warrior we made a warrior our leader. When we needed a healer when the war was over, a healer became our leader. Or maybe we needed a great speaker or a deep thinker. The warrior knew when his time had passed and he didn’t pretend to be our leader beyond the time he was needed. He was proud to serve his people and he knew when it was time to step aside. If he won’t step aside, people will just walk away from him. He cannot make himself a leader except by leading people in the way they want to be led. Selfish men and fools put themselves first and keep their power until someone throws them out.”

We see this clearly, today, in our U.S. government-there is no need to confirm with any second voice.

Eagle Chief Pawnee

In the beginning of all things, wisdom and knowledge were with the animals, for Tirawa, the One Above, did not speak directly to man. He sent certain animals to tell men that he showed himself through the beast, and that from them, and from the stars and the sun and moon should man learn.. all things tell of Tirawa. All things in the world are two. In our mind we are two -- good and evil. With our eyes we see two things -- things that are fair and things that are ugly ... We have the right hand that strikes and makes for evil, and the left hand full of kindness, near the heart. One foot may lead us to an evil way, the other foot may lead us to a good. So are all things two, all two.
- Eagle Chief (Letakots-Lesa) Pawnee

Remember What I Have Told You

 And now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember what I have told you." Matthew 28:7 NLT

Christians and Wise Men

"Our wise men are called Fathers, and they truly sustain that character. Do you call yourselves Christians? Does the religion of Him who you call your Savior inspire your spirit, and guide your practices? Surely not. It is recorded of him that a bruised reed he never broke. Cease then to call yourselves Christians, lest you declare to the world your hypocrisy. Cease too to call other nations savage, when you are tenfold more the children of cruelty than they. No person among us desires any other reward for performing a brave and worthwhile action, but the consciousness of having served his nation. I bow to no man for I am considered a prince among my own people. But I will gladly shake your hand."
Joseph Brant to King George III
Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea), Mohawk - 1742-1807

Don't Forget Your Dreams

"My lands are where my people lie buried."

- Tushunka Witko, Crazy Horse

Crazy Horse Memorial 

Welcome Ghost Dancers

"You ask me to plow the ground. Shall I take a knife and tear my mother's bosom? Then when I die she will not take me to her bosom to rest. "You ask me to dig for stones! Shall I dig under her skin for bones? Then when I die I cannot enter her body to be born again. "You ask me to cut grass and make hay and sell it and be rich like white men, but how dare I cut my mother's hair? "I want my people to stay with me here. All the dead men will come to life again. Their spirits will come to their bodies again. We must wait here in the homes of our fathers and be ready to meet them in the bosom of our mother."

Wovoka, Paiute

Circle of Life

You have noticed that everything as Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round..... The Sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power, whirls. Birds make their nest in circles, for theirs is the same religion as   ours... Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves. -Black Elk, Oglala

Soup

Just One Ecosystem Wrecker of a Multitude

Planet in Peril:

Shark Fin Soup

White Cloud, Ioway Chief

 Man has a poor understanding of life.
He mistakes knowledge for wisdom.
He tries to unveil the holy secrets of our Father, the Great Spirit.
He attempts his laws and way on Mother Earth.
Even though he, himself, is part of nature, he chooses to disregard and ignore it.
For the sake of his own immediate gain.

But the laws of nature are far stronger than those of mankind.
Man must awake at last, and learn to understand how little time there remains.
Before he will become the cause of his own downfall.

And he has so much to learn.
To learn to see with the heart.
He must learn to respect Mother Earth - she who has given life to everything.

To our brother's and sister's, the animals and plants;
To the rivers, lakes, the oceans and the winds.
He must realise that this planet does not belong to him.

But that he has to care for and maintain the delicate balance of nature.
For the sake of the well being of our children and of all future generations.
It is the duty of man to preserve the Earth and the Creation of the Great Spirit.
Mankind being but a grain of sand in the Holy Circle, which encloses all of Life.

- Mahaskah or White Cloud, Ioway Chief

The River

I come from down in the valley
where mister when you're young
They bring you up to do like your daddy done
Me and Mary we met in high school
when she was just seventeen
We'd ride out of this valley down to where the fields were green

We'd go down to the river
And into the river we'd dive
Oh down to the river we'd ride

Then I got Mary pregnant
and man that was all she wrote
And for my nineteenth birthday I got a union card and a wedding coat
We went down to the courthouse
and the judge put it all to rest
No wedding day smiles no walk down the aisle
No flowers no wedding dress

That night we went down to the river
And into the river we'd dive
Oh down to the river we did ride

I got a job working construction for the Johnstown Company
But lately there ain't been much work on account of the economy
Now all them things that seemed so important
Well mister they vanished right into the air
Now I just act like I don't remember
Mary acts like she don't care

But I remember us riding in my brother's car
Her body tan and wet down at the reservoir
At night on them banks I'd lie awake
And pull her close just to feel each breath she'd take
Now those memories come back to haunt me
they haunt me like a curse
 

Is a dream a lie if it don't come true
Or is it something worse
that sends me down to the river
though I know the river is dry
That sends me down to the river tonight
Down to the river
my baby and I
Oh down to the river we ride

- BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

The Dream

When the white eagle of the North is flying overhead
The browns, reds and golds of autumn lie in the gutter, dead.
Remember then, that summer birds with wings of fire flaying
Came to witness springs new hope, born of leaves decaying.
Just as new life will come from death, love will come at leisure.
Love of love, love of life and giving without measure
Gives in return a wonderous yearn of a promise almost seen.
Live hand-in-hand and together we'll stand on the threshold 

of a dream.

 - GRAEME EDGE, MOODY BLUES 

I Love this Land

  I love this land and the buffalo and will not part with it. I want you to understand well what I say. Write it on paper...I hear a great deal of good talk from the gentlemen the Great Father sends us, but they never do what they say. I don't want any of the medicine lodges (schools and churches) within the country. I want the children raised as I was.
  I have heard you intend to settle us on a reservation near the mountains. I don't want to settle. I love to roam over the prairies. There I feel free and happy, but when we settle down we grow pale and die.
A long time ago this land belonged to our fathers, but when I go up to the river I see camps of soldiers on its banks. These soldiers cut down my timber, they kill my buffalo and when I see that, my heart feels like bursting.
- Satanta - Kiowa Chief

Healing

  "First of all, the healer must be one with the Earth. He has had to find the time to understand himself through the eyes of nature, learning who he is and where he fits in. He has had to break down the barriers that keep him separated from the natural world so that there is no inner or outer dimension. His prime source of understanding and knowledge must come to him from the Earth, and he must realize that he is nothing more than a hollow vessel that the Earth uses to heal. He listens with his heart not with his head, and he truly cares for people. He loves his enemies, for he believes that no matter what you send out, so too will you get in return. His care toward the land and his brothers and sisters is a powerful driving force. He is not only a healer of people but a healer of animals, plants, and Earth. His power can be felt in the love he has for his patient and the faith he has in the Creator."

- Field Guide to Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants, Tom Brown

21 Actions to Happiness

ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully

TWO. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.

THREE. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.

FOUR. When you say, 'I love you ,' mean it.

FIVE. When you say, 'I'm sorry,' look the person in the eye

SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.

SEVEN. Believe in love at first sight.

EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone's dream. People who don't have dreams don't have much.

NINE. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.

TEN.. In disagreements, fight fairly.. No name calling.

ELEVEN. Don't judge people by their relatives.

TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly.

THIRTEEN. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, 'Why do you want to know?'

FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

FIFTEEN. Say 'bless you' when you hear someone sneeze.

SIXTEEN. When you lose, don't lose the lesson !

SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and responsibility for all your actions.

EIGHTEEN.. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship...

NINETEEN. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

TWENTY.... Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.

TWENTY-ONE. Spend some time alone.

- ANTHONY ROBBINS

War & Theft

 This war did not spring up on our land, this war was brought upon us by the children of the Great Father who came to take our land without a price, and who, in our land, do a great many evil things... This war has come from robbery - from the stealing of our land.
Spotted Tail (Sinte-galeshka) - Chief of the Brule Teton Indians