How can we understand Native American traditions?
The World Wisdom book Indian Spirit is a collection of photos of Plains Indian chiefs along with quotations taken from chiefs and sages that reflect the traditional wisdom of these now departed leaders of a remarkable people. The book was edited by Michael Fitzgerald, a writer and researcher on the spirituality of the Plains Indians. Most of the photographs, some of which have never before been published, are from his collection.
The purpose of Indian Spirit is to communicate the “spirit” of the people of the Plains to us, in order that we might begin to enter their world that is now so distant from most of us in time and perspective. The photos communicate dignity, collectness, oneness with Nature, and many other characteristics, but at the root of all of these is a profound spirituality that pervaded every aspect of their thought and behavior. If anyone wishes to study the history, traditions, or thought of this great race, it is absolutely imperative that this all-encompassing spiritual outlook be recognized and understood.
This slideshow will present just a few excerpts from the book in the hope that viewers will be able to find that most important stepping-stone from which to embark on a path of true discovery of the timeless “Indian Spirit.”
“When a person is on a vision quest, he must have certain attitudes and intentions for his prayers to be sincere, and then he must carry these over into his daily life. It is easy to forget what you learned during this trial; unless you remember to carry on your prayer continually during every day of your life, you will not have learned one of the most important purposes of the vision quest. Each time we talk about one of our sacred rites, you will hear me talk about the spiritual attitudes which a person must possess as that person participates in any rite. It is possible to learn the outer steps that must be accomplished in a rite without learning the inner meanings that are the keys to the sacred traditions. Each seeker must therefore open his heart to the Great Mystery as he tries to follow the sacred way, because the perfect accomplishment of the outer steps of a rite will be worth nothing without the knowledge of the inner meanings.”
– Yellowtail, Absaroke
“I am blind and do not see the things of this world; but when the Light comes from Above, it enlightens my heart and I can see, for the Eye of my heart sees everything. The heart is a sanctuary at the center of which there is a little space, wherein the Great Spirit dwells, and this is the Eye. This is the Eye of the Great Spirit by which He sees all things and through which we see Him. If the heart is not pure, the Great Spirit cannot be seen, and if you should die in this ignorance, your soul cannot return immediately to the Great Spirit, but it must be purified by wandering about in the world. In order to know the center of the heart where the Great Spirit dwells you must be pure and good, and live in the manner that the Great Spirit has taught us. The man who is thus pure contains the Universe in the pocket of his heart.”
– Black Elk, Sioux
“It is good to have a reminder of death before us, for it helps us to understand the impermanence of life on this earth, and this understanding may aid us in preparing for our own death. He who is well prepared is he who knows that he is nothing compared with Wakan Tanka, who is everything; then he knows that world which is real.”
– Black Elk
“Sell a country! Why not sell the air, the clouds and the great sea, as well as the earth? Did not the Great Spirit make them all for the use of His children?”
– Tecumseh, Shawnee
“The Lakota loved the earth and all things of the earth, the attachment growing with age. The old people came literally to love the soil and they sat or reclined on the ground with a feeling of being close to a mothering power. It was good for the skin to touch the earth and the old people liked to remove their moccasins and walk with bare feet on the sacred earth. Their tipis were built upon the earth and their altars were made of earth…It was the final abiding place of all things that lived and grew. The soil was soothing, strengthening, cleansing and healing.
– Standing Bear, Sioux
“That is why the old Indian still sits upon the earth instead of propping himself up and away from its life-giving forces. For him, to sit or lie upon the ground is to be able to think more deeply and to feel more keenly; he can see more clearly into the mysteries of life and come closer in kinship to other lives about him.…
“The old Lakota was wise. He knew that man’s heart away from nature becomes hard; he knew that lack of respect for growing, living things soon led to lack of respect for humans too. So he kept his youth close to its softening influence.”
“It was our belief that the love of possessions is a weakness to be overcome. Its appeal is to the material part, and if allowed its way it will in time disturb the spiritual balance of the man.”
– Ohiyesa, Sioux
“The attitude of the Indian toward death, the test and background of life, is entirely consistent with his character and philosophy. Death has no terror for him; he meets it with simplicity and perfect calm, seeking only an honorable end as his last gift to his family and descendants.”
– Ohiyesa
“Naturally magnanimous and open-minded, the red man prefers to believe that the Spirit of God is not breathed into man alone, but that the whole created universe is a sharer in the immortal perfection of its Maker.”
– Ohiyesa
For more on Ohiyesa (Charles Eastman), see the book The Essential Charles Eastman (Ohiyesa): Light on The Indian World, and the slideshow
“Who was Charles Eastman?”
“Excessive manners were put down as insincere, and the constant talker was considered rude and thoughtless. Conversation was never begun at once, nor 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. Silence was meaningful with the Dakota. Also in the midst of sorrow, sickness, and death, or misfortune of any kind, and in the presence of the notable and great, silence was the mark of respect. More powerful than words was silence with the Lakota.”
– Standing Bear, Sioux
“We thank the Great Spirit for all the benefits He has conferred upon us. For myself, I never take a drink of water from a spring without being mindful of His goodness.”
– Black Hawk, Sauk
“The Nez Perce began his preparation for spiritual attainment almost in infancy. The child, either boy or girl, when less than ten years of age was told by the father or the mother that it was time to have tiwatitmas—spiritual power. ‘This afternoon you must go to yonder mountain and fast. When you reach the place of fasting, build a fire and do not let it die. As the Sun goes down, sit on the rocks facing him, watch while he goes from sight, and look in that direction all night. When the dawn comes, go to the east and watch the Sun return to his people. When he comes to noon, go to the south and sit there, and when he has travelled low again, go to the west where you sat first and watch until he is gone. Then start for your home.’ After some sacred object, such as a feather, had been tied to the child’s clothing, and a few parting words of instruction and encouragement had been given, the little suppliant was sent on its journey.”
– Rolling Thunder, Nez Perce
“Do not wrong or hate your neighbor, for it is not him that you wrong, you wrong yourself.”
– Thomas Wildcat Alford, Shawnee
“The pipe was first given to the Lakotas by the God…The spirit of the God is in the smoke of any pipe if the pipe is smoked in the proper manner…The filling of the pipe is an important part of the ceremony. One may pray or sing while filling it…If the pipe is not filled and lighted in this manner, the spirit of the God will not be in the smoke from the pipe. The pipe should be smoked until the contents are all consumed…The remains in the pipe thus smoked should be emptied into a fire, for if it is emptied on the ground it may be stepped on and this would offend the God. When a pipe is smoked in this manner, the spirit that is in the smoke goes with it into the mouth and body and then it comes out and goes upward. When this spirit is in the body, it soothes the spirit of the smoker. When it goes upward, it soothes the God. So the God and the spirit are as friends…The Lakota should smoke the pipe first when considering any matter of importance…The first rite in any ceremony of the Lakotas should be to smoke the pipe…When anyone performs a ceremony after he has smoked the pipe, he should please the God so that the God will give attention to the ceremony.”
– Sword, Sioux
“Their (white man’s) Wise Ones said we might have their religion, but when we tried to understand it we found that there were too many kinds of religion among white men for us to understand, and that scarcely any two white men agreed which was the right one to learn. This bothered us a good deal until we saw that the white man did not take his religion any more seriously than he did his laws, and that he kept both of them just behind him, like Helpers, to use when they might do him good in his dealings with strangers. These were not our ways. We kept the laws we made and lived our religion. We have never been able to understand the white man, who fools nobody but himself.”
– Plenty Coups, Absaroke
“The Ground on which we stand is sacred ground. It is the dust and blood of our ancestors.”
– Plenty Coups
“All the Indians pray to God for life, and try to find out a good road, and do nothing wrong in this life. This is what we want, and to pray to God. But you did not believe us.
– Sitting Bull, Sioux
“You should say nothing wrong against our religion, for we say nothing against yours. You pray to God. So do all of us Indians, as well as the Whites. We both pray to only one God, who made us all.”
“Regarding the ‘civilization’ that has been thrust upon me since the days of the reservation, it has not added one whit to my sense of justice; to my reverence for the rights of life; to my love for truth, honesty, and generosity; nor to my faith in Wakan Tanka—God of the Lakotas. For after all the great religions have been preached and expounded, or have been revealed by brilliant scholars, or have been written in books and embellished in fine language with finer covers, man—all man— is still confronted with the Great Mystery.
– Standing Bear, Sioux
“So if today I had a young mind to direct, to start on the journey of life, and I was faced with the duty of choosing between the natural way of my forefathers and that of the white man’s present way of civilization, I would, for its welfare, unhesitatingly set that child’s feet in the path of my forefathers. I would raise him to be an Indian!”
“The grandfathers and the grandmothers are in the children: teach them well.”
– Ojibwa proverb
