A Host of Ghosts

“And when the last Red Man shall have perished, and his MEMORY among white men shall have become a MYTH, these shores will swarm with the invisible dead of my tribe and when your children’s children shall think themselves alone in the field, the store, the shop, upon highway, or in the silence of the woods, they will not be alone. In all the earth there is no place dedicated to solitude.

At night when the streets of your cities and villages shall be silent and you think them deserted, they will throng with the returning hosts that once filled and still love this Beautiful land.

The White Man will never be alone. Let him be just and deal kindly with my people, for the dead are not powerless.” - Chief Seath'tl, 1854 address to Gov, Stevens

Majestic Cathedral

There were no temples or shrines among us save those of nature. Being a natural man, the Indian was intensely poetical. He would deem it sacrilege to build a house for Him who may be met face to face in the mysterious, shadowy aisles of the primeval forest, or on the sunlit bosom of virgin prairies, upon dizzy spires and pinnacles of naked rock, and yonder in the jeweled vault of the night sky! He who enrobes Himself in filmy veils of cloud, there on the rim of the visible world where our Great-Grandfather Sun kindles his evening camp-fire, He who rides upon the rigorous wind of the north, or breathes forth His spirit upon aromatic southern airs, whose war-canoe is launched upon majestic rivers and inland seas -- He needs no lesser cathedral! - Charles A. Eastman, Santee Sioux, 1911

Indigenous Spirituality

The Soul of the Indian

 I have attempted to paint the religious life of the typical American Indian as it was before he knew the white man. I have long wished to do this, because I cannot find that it has ever been seriously, adequately, and sincerely done. The religion of the Indian is the last thing about him that the man of another race will ever understand.- Charles A. Eastman, 1911

Indian Blues

Crazy Horse

Prayer of the Day

Dear Heavenly Father,I am thankful that You are an "all seeing" and "all hearing" God, as this brings me great comfort to know You are watching over me at all times, and that You hear every word and prayer that I pray. You are a wonderful Father who not only loves me, but You love the whole world. I thank You that You are concerned about all the little things that concern me, as well as the things that I perceive as big things. Lord, to You, my concerns are never too small to miss Your attention, nor are they too big that You can not take care of them because You are sizeless!!

YOU ARE GOD!! Lord, may this truth be planted strongly in my spirit and in those that I pray for. Lord, meet the needs  of people who ask us for prayer. Touch them and meet their needs according to Your will. Let each of them know how much You love and care for them. I know You will come and save them from pain and sorrow! I ask this in Your precious son's name. Amen.

Giving Thanks

Western mind has come to believe for centuries that 'civilized' humans are above nature-that nature and its forces are something to be dominated and exploited rather than revered and cared for. And, we do so, violently. Do we consider the Earth a sentient being? Consider, then, the violent act of mining--drilling deeply and forcefully into the body of the earth. Consider, also, the violence when the endless mine shafts collapse, taking the lives of countless workers and devastating family members left behind. Woodlands are demolished in service of providing fortunes for developers who pack countless homes into tidy parcels of land to profit from consumers. Do we think about the bulldozed trees that, for decades, and sometimes for centuries, cleaned our air and maintained our soil, providing habitat for the many birds and squirrels. Do we consider the impact on the animal life disturbed as a result of this so-called progress? Countless animals are killed in the slaughterhouses. Do we think to thank them for the sacrificing of their lives for our sustenance at our table?

Red Jacket's Speech

Red Jacket's Speech Communicated 1822

Wasichu

"my name is wasichu. i know thee, i have found thee, & i will not let thee go."
0949 est, october 11, 2004
barnard, vermont 
 Wasichu The first people who lived on the northern plains of what today is the United States called themselves "Lakota," meaning "the people," a word which provides the semantic basis for Dakota. The first European people to meet the Lakota called them "Sioux," a contraction of Nadowessioux, a now-archaic French-Canadian word meaning "snake" or enemy.
The Lakota also used the metaphor to describe the newcomers. It was Wasi'chu, which means "takes the fat," or "greedy person." Within the modern Indian movement, Wasi'chu has come to mean those corporations and individuals, with their governmental accomplices, which continue to covet Indian lives, land, and resources for private profit.
Wasi'chu does not describe a race; it describes a state of mind.
Wasi'chu is also a human condition based on inhumanity, racism, and exploitation. It is a sickness, a seemingly incurable and contagious disease which begot the ever advancing society of the West. If we do not control it, this disease will surely be the basis for what may be the last of the continuing wars against the Native American people.

...excerpt from Wasi'chu, The Continuing Indian Wars,
Bruce Johansen and Robert Maestas
with an introduction by John Redhouse

Are We Responsible?

The very nature of our Lord is to seek out the poor and help them. As God's children we are commanded to do likewise. When we give to the poor and help them with material assistance, it opens the door so that we might present the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord is interested in every soul. As we reach out to others with His love and compassion, we are able to lead them to salvation. The word salvation in the Greek, takes on a fuller meaning than someone being born again and going to heaven. The Greek word for salvation encompasses the meaning of deliverance from sin, sickness, harm, danger, lack and poverty. Therefore, Jesus came to not only save us from our sin; but to save us from sickness, harm, fear, poverty and every other curse. Poverty comes from the devil, as do the rest of these things. Jesus came to redeem us from our sin, sickness and poverty.

Lawrence Red Feathers sits on his porch at Pine Ridge Reservation, Rapid City, South Dakota, USA. Photograph: Jennifer Brown/Corbis

As God's children, we are promised the blessing of abundance. This does not mean just abundance in material things; but is speaking of spiritual blessings as well, which are really more valuable than all material blessings. The Lord wants to bless us so that we can bless others. If we are poor we are not able to help others. We must learn how to receive our blessings so that we can pass those blessings on. The Bible tells us that when we reach out to help any one who is needy, poor, sick or in prison, it is the same as giving to the Lord Himself and the Lord shall reward us for it. However, the opposite is also true. When we fail to minister to the poor, hungry and sick, we also fail to minister to the Lord and shall be rejected by Him.

Appoint A First Nation American to the Highest Court in the Land

   "Like the miner's canary, the Indian marks the shift from fresh air to poison gas in our political atmosphere; and our treatment of Indians, even more than our treatment of other minorities, reflects the rise and fall in our democratic faith," wrote Felix S. Cohen, an early expert in Indian legal affairs.
Political Poison

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

Sacred Ground

The ground on which we stand is sacred ground. It is the dust and blood of our ancestors. On these plains the Great White Father is Washington sent his soldiers armed with long knives and rifles to slay the Indian. Many of them sleep on yonder hill where Pahaska - White Chief of the Long Hair [General Custer] - so bravely fought and fell.

A few more passing suns will see us here no more, and our dust and bones will mingle with the same prairies. I see as in a vision the dying spark of our council fires, the ashes cold and white. I see no longer the curling smoke rising from our lodge poles. I hear no longer the songs of the women as they prepare the meal.

The antelope have gone; the buffalo wallows are empty. Only the wail of the coyote is heard. The white man's medicine is stronger than ours; his iron horse [the railroad] rushes over the buffalo trail. He talks to us through his "whispering spirit" [the telephone].

We are like birds with a broken wing. My heart is cold within me. My eyes are growing dim - I am old.

Chief Plenty Coups - Crow

Chinook Lords Prayer

Nesika papa klaksta mitlite kopa saghalie
(Our Father Who dwells on High)

Kloshe kopa nesika tumtum mika nem.
(Good for our hearts Your Name.)

Kloshe mika tyee kopa konaway tillikum;
(Good you Chief of all people;)

Kloshe mika tumtum kopa illahee kahkwa kopa saghalie;
(Good Your heart to make our country such as Yours up above;)

Potlatch konaway sun nesika muckamuck,
(Give us all days our food,)

Pee kopet-kumtux donaway nesika mesachie,
(And stop remembering all our sins we make to them,)

Kahkwa nesilka mamook kopa klasksta spose mamook
mesachie kopa nesia;
(As we suppose not their sin against us;)

Mahah siah kopa nesika konaway mesachie.
(Throw far away from us all evil)

Kloshe kahkwa.
(Amen.)

Starry Night(Vincent)

Starry starry night, paint your palette blue and grey
Look out on a summer's day with eyes that know the darkness in my soul
Shadows on the hills, sketch the trees and the daffodils
Catch the breeze and the winter chills, in colors on the snowy linen land

Now I understand what you tried to say to me
How you suffered for you sanity How you tried to set them free
They would not listen they did not know how, perhaps they'll listen now

Starry starry night, flaming flowers that brightly blaze
Swirling clouds in violet haze reflect in Vincent's eyes of china blue
Colors changing hue, morning fields of amber grain
Weathered faces lined in pain are soothed beneath the artist's loving hand

Chorus:
For they could not love you, but still your love was true
And when no hope was left in sight, on that starry starry night
You took your life as lovers often do,
But I could have told you, Vincent,
This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you

Starry, starry night, portraits hung in empty halls
Frameless heads on nameless walls with eyes that watch the world and can't forget.
Like the stranger that you've met, the ragged man in ragged clothes
The silver thorn of bloody rose, lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow

Now I think I know what you tried to say to me
How you suffered for you sanity How you tried to set them free
They would not listen they're not listening still
Perhaps they never will.

 

- Don McLean

Dream Catchers

An ancient Chippewa tradition
The dream net has been made
For many generations
Where spirit dreams have played.

Hung above the cradle board,
Or in the lodge up high,
The dream net catches bad dreams,
While good dreams slip on by.

Bad dreams become entangled
Among the sinew thread.
Good dreams slip through the center hole,
While you dream upon your bed.

This is an ancient legend,
Since dreams will never cease,
Hang this dream net above your bed,
Dream on, and be at peace.

Wornout Fences

"

  "Wornout Fences" Sitting Bull and his comrades called the place where they went to trade with the Wasichus - the white men. Fort Pierre Chouteau had stood on the west bank of the Missouri River three miles above the mouth of the Bad River since 1832, and its rotting palisade and rundown log buildings did indeed resemble wornout fences.

  The fort could defend itself if necessary. A protective stockade surrounded the interior, and corner bastions mounted cannon. The treeless river bottom extended westward for a mile or more before broken by bluffs gently rising to the plains, so no Indians could approach without detection. Usually, however, clusters of tipis carpeted the valley floor, sheltering Sioux who had come to trade rather than fight.

  Fort Pierre afforded the Hunkpapas and their Lakota and Yanktonai neighbors their principal window on the white world. Originally an outpost of the American Fur Company, it now operated under the rubric of Pierre Chouteau and Company, a loose partnership that had brought out the Astor empire's Western Department in 1834. From the first, the fort had served as the company's chief trading outlet for the Missouri River Lakotas.

There the Indians went to exchange buffalo robes for the trade goods that had become essential parts of the material aspect of their culture. - from The Lance and The Shield - The Life and Times of Sitting Bull by Robert M. Utley

If the Great Spirit has desired me to be a white man he would have made me so in the first place. He put in your heart certain wishes and plans; in my heart he put other and different desires.

Each man is good in the sight of the Great Spirit. It is not necessary for eagles to be crows. Now we are poor but we are free. No white man controls our footsteps. If we must die, we die defending our rights.

Sitting Bull - Teton Sioux

Dark is the Night

"The Indian's night promises to be dark. No bright star hovers about the horizon. Sad-voiced winds moan in the distance. Some grim Nemesis of our race is on the red man's trail, and wherever he goes he will still hear the sure approaching footsteps of the fell destroyer and prepare 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 all the mighty hosts that once filled this broad land or that now roam in fragmentary bands through these vast solitudes will remain to weep over the tombs of a people once as powerful and as hopeful as your own.
"But why should we repine? Why should I murmur at the fate of my people? Tribes are made up of individuals and are no better than they. Men come and go like the waves of the sea. A tear, a tamanawus, a dirge, and they are gone from our longing eyes forever. Even the white man, whose God walked and talked with him, as friend to friend, is not exempt from the common destiny. We may be brothers after all. We shall see. - Chief Seattle

The First Peace

The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness, with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells Wakan-Taka (the Great Spirit), and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us.
This is the real peace, and the others are but reflections of this. The second peace is that which is made between two individuals, and the third is that which is made between two nations. But above all you should understand that there can never be peace between nations until there is known that true peace, which, as I have often said, is within the souls of men.
Black Elk - Oglala Sioux

The Cost of Money

 

 

 

How much did your money cost you?
Was the ladder of wealth hard to climb?
Did you stage some attacks,
Perhaps stab a few backs ~
Did it take all your effort, your time?

How much did your money cost you?
Was your home full of peace or unrest?
At the close of the day
Could you honestly say
That you'd given your family your best?

Did you have a nice home?
Did you drive a fine car?
Now you're six feet below ~
Will it get you that far?

How much did your money cost you?
Was that paycheck your only reward?
All those hours pulling strings
Just to buy you more things ~
But no time for the things of the Lord?

How much did your money cost you?
Did you look in the mirror with pride?
Or did greed run amuck
For that Almighty Buck
Till you pushed your own conscience aside?

Did it cost you your soul?
Did you dawdle in sin?
Now you're outside of Heav'n ~
Can you bribe your way in?

 

Oh, Satan appears as an angel
In guise of supporting one's own ~
If your god becomes cash,
Your life's gone in a flash,
And your time on this planet has flown.

Have the fanciest stone in the graveyard,
Have the prettiest casket they sell ~
If you never asked Jesus to save you,
Then you purchased your ticket to Hell.
Just a sure one-way ticket to Hell.

by Connie Hinnen Cook

"Keep your lives free from the love of money
and be content with what you have,
because God has said, Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you." (Heb. 13:5, NIV)

Go Carefully

Aya-angwa-a'mizin is drawn from the Algonquian language. Translated literally, it is usually read as " to go carefully" or "to read carefully."

But beyond this superficial meaning is the idea that the actions of persons have consequences for a larger whole. The term is used in a context that assumes the meaninglessness of existence and action, that we do not live in a "neutral" universe that exists beyond and outside ourselves. We are part of the universe.

All things are connected. - AUTHOR UNKNOWN

One of my favorite movies depicts the consequences of one's life lived in a selfish vs a sharing way. It's A Wonderful Life by Frank Capra starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed, traditionally broadcast during the Christmas Holidays, reminds us of how one person's life can impact so many lives. As the angel Clarence says in the movie, "you've been given a wonderful gift".

Prayer for the Day

Prayer for the Day

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for the many things You have delivered me from. I am very grateful that I am free of those things that were destroying me. Father, help me to be patient with those around me that are struggling with their sins. Remind me to pray for them and help me not to talk about them in the wrong way. Lord, I do need Your counsel also, as I have many decisions to make and I do not want to make the wrong ones. Help me to recognize and appreciate godly advice that comes from others. I humble myself and ask that You lead me in all of Your ways. I pray for my brothers and sisters, as well. May we all submit to Your will in all things. I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

The Hunters

There were but two beneath the sky -
The thing I came to kill, and I.
I, under covert, quietly
Watched him sense eternity
From quivering brush to pointed nose
My gun to shoulder level rose.
And then I felt (I could not see)
Far off a hunter watching me.
I slowly put me rifle by,
For there were two who had to die -
The thing I wished to kill, and I.

- UNKNOWN

My Heart Soars

The beauty of the trees, the softness of the air,
the fragrance of the grass speaks to me.
The summit of the mountain, the thunder of the sky,
The rhythm of the sea, speaks to me.
The faintness of the stars, the freshness of the morning,
the dewdrop on the flower, speaks to me.
The strength of the fire, the taste of salmon, the trail of the sun,
and the life that never goes away, they speak to me
And my heart soars.

- CHIEF DAN GEORGE, Tsleil-Waututh Nation, Coast Salish Band

Grandfather, Do You Know Me?

                                                     
                                         Grandfather, do you know me?

I am your blood.
The son of your son. I come to ask you a question Grandfather.
Grandfather, don't you know me? Can I stop being Indian now

There are others that want to be Indian,
And if they can start from nothing,
I should be able to stop from something?
Grandfather, don't you know me?
Grandfather, I don't look like you.
I don't know what you know.
It would be easy for me to hide behind my paler skin.
No one would know the pain I feel,
Or see the tears I cry for your Great Grandchildren.
Grandfather, don't you know me?
Grandfather, look what I have done to our world.
Mother Earth is on her knees.
The Snake and Owl rule the day.
I don't understand the language you speak Grandfather.
Grandfather, don't you know me?
Grandfather, I want my Pepsi, Levi's and Porsche too.
I want to go where the others go,
And see the things they see too.
I don't have time to dance in the old way Grandfather.
Grandfather?
Grandfather, why are you crying?
Grandfather, why are you crying?
Grandfather, please stop crying.

Grandfather, don't you know me?

- CHARLES PHILLIP WHITE, Ojibway