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Often spoken at the end of a prayer, a well-known Sioux phrase ( mitakuye oyasin) affirms that “we are all related.” Similarly, the Sioux medicine man, Brave Buffalo, came to realize when he was still a boy that “the maker of all was Wakan Tanka (the Great Spirit), and … in order to honor him I must honor his works in nature.” The interconnectedness of all things, and the respect all things are due, are among the most prominent — and most welcome — themes in this collection of Indian voices on nature.Within the book are carefully authenticated quotations from men and women of nearly fifty North American tribes. The illustrations include historical photographs of American Indians, as well as a wide selection of contemporary photographs showing the diversity of the North American natural world. Together, these quotations and photographs beautifully present something of nature’s timeless message.
Awards
- Winner in the “Multicultural Non-Fiction” category of the 2018 Best Book Awards
- Finalist in the “Best Interior Design” category of the 2018 Best Book Awards
- Finalist in the “Spirituality: Inspirational” category of the 2018 Best Book Awards
- Silver Medal in the 2017 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards in the category “Body, Mind & Spirit”
- Finalist in the 2017 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards in the category “Nature”
- Silver Medal winner in the “Gift Book” category of the 2017 Benjamin Franklin Book of the Year Awards
- Gold Medal in the 2018 Midwest Book Awards in the category “Religion/Philosophy/Spirituality”
About the Author(s)
Michael Fitzgerald
Michael Fitzgerald is an author, editor, and publisher of books on world religions, sacred art, tradition, culture, and philosophy. He has written and edited many publications on American Indian spirituality, including Yellowtail: Crow Medicine Man and Sun Dance Chief, and was adopted into Yellowtail's tribe and family. Fitzgerald has also taught university classes on religious traditions of North American Indians and lectured widely.
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Joseph A. Fitzgerald
Joseph Fitzgerald has authored or edited several books on diverse world religions and philosophy that have won more than ten awards, including the prestigious Benjamin Franklin Award. The subjects include Buddhism, Hinduism, the American Indians, Christianity, the ecological crisis and the Perennial Philosophy. Fitzgerald studied Comparative Religion at Indiana University, where he also earned a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree. He is an adopted grandson of Thomas Yellowtail, one of the most honored American Indian spiritual leaders of the last century. For more than thirty years, Joseph has traveled extensively throughout the American Indian, Oriental and Islamic worlds. He has edited the following books for World Wisdom:
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Joseph Bruchac
Joseph Bruchac is a well-known Native author and storyteller who has written more than 120 books for both children and adults. His work is heavily influenced by his Abenaki ancestry, and he has worked extensively with other family members on projects involving the preservation of Abenaki culture and language. (The Abenaki are a tribe of traditionally Algonquian-speaking peoples of northeastern North America.) Dr. Joseph Bruchac has contributed two children’s books to our Wisdom Tales Press imprint: A Peacemaker for Warring Nations: The Founding of the Iroquois League (April 2021), illustrated by David Kanietakeron Fadden, and The Hunter’s Promise: An Abenaki Tale (September 2015), which was illustrated by Bill Farnsworth. Dr. Bruchac also contributed “Forewords” to the books Spirit of the Earth: Indian Voices on Nature, edited by Michael and Joseph A. Fitzgerald, and Horse Raid: The Making of a Warrior, told and illustrated by Paul Goble.
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Reviews
- This volume provides readers with a powerful glimpse into the traditional world of the indigenous peoples of North America, bringing together diverse voices from North American tribes complemented with a stunning series of photographs. The timeless wisdom and beauty contained in this small book provides an antidote to the nihilism and confusion by returning the human being to a spiritual frame of reference that is inseparable from the sacredness of the earth. We are reminded of the Sioux medicine man, Tatanka-ohitika (Brave Buffalo), who had an important realization when he was a boy that ‘the maker of all was Wakan Tanka [the Great Spirit], and … in order to honor him I must honor his works in nature.’
Parabola
- Native American Spirituality is such a treasure trove of wisdom that there is no end to its helpfulness to those on a path of wholeness and flourishing. Michael Oren Fitzgerald is the author and editor of more than 15 books; Joseph A. Fitzgerald has edited ten books on diverse themes in world religion, culture, and philosophy.
As the editors of this paperback, they have gathered a top-drawer collection of quotations from nearly 50 tribal nations. Their goal is ‘to present in beauty something of nature’s message as described through Indian voices.’Spirituality and Practice
- Spirit of the Earth: Indian Voices on Nature presents the philosophical ideals by which Indians valued animate and inanimate forms that shared their lives, and belongs on the shelves of Native American history and new age readers alike. It chooses quotes from various Native Americans and pairs them with colorful images that reinforce different notions of how spirit is reflected in human and natural worlds, and the power of nature translates to a sense of honoring self and environment. With its powerful combination of image and written word, this is a beautiful celebration of life, philosophy, and Native American worldviews.
Midwest Book Review
- Spirit of the Earth memorializes ancestral concepts of oneness and respect to honor all creatures and nature … [with] apt quotations and splendid photo images.… This valuable book uniquely presents the philosophical foundation from which Indians valued and upheld the dignity of animate and inanimate forms that shared their lives.
Viviane Arviso Deloria, President of the Navajo Nation Women’s Commission and former Executive Director of Education for the Navajo Nation
- [T]he quotations … [are] so well chosen, so well paired with the images, and so beautifully centered on our appreciation, understanding, and lasting reliance on the natural world, they do what our traditional stories have always done — engage and teach.
Joseph Bruchac , author of Keepers of the Earth, Code Talker: A Book About the Navajo Marines, and Crazy Horse’s Vision, from the Foreword
- Spirit of the Earth is best read at sunrise — one quotation at a time. There are contemplative words and images that invite the quiet mind to walk alongside the wisdom of the ancient ones.
Lauren Waukau-Villagomez , co-author of Teaching Native America Across the Curriculum
- Page after page I found insightful words interspersed with photos of breathtaking sacred sites and unique animal portraits. No other description fits, … what I was holding is a prayer book!
Rosemary Lonewolf, former Ceramic Instructor and Artist-in-Residence, Harvard University
