SECTION SEVEN) Voices Of The Fathers

ILLUSTRATION -  Public Domain Images -  Cherokee indian medicine wheel. Native American Medicine Wheel Legends and Traditions. 2022-10-06

childhealthpolicy.vumc.org

>Medicine Wheel

MEDICINE WHEEL - Native American Circle of Life - African Burial Ground National Monument (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) 

The Medicine Wheel, also known as “the sacred hoop,” is used by many Native American tribes as a symbol of healing and health. 

The medicine wheel comes in many different forms; it appears in different art forms such as in paintings or artifacts, and also as actual constructions on land, such as the construction at the Bighorn National Forest in Lovell, Wyoming. 

It is divided by a cross to indicate the four directions, North, South, East, and West, and indicates the cyclic nature of our world. 

It is believed that the medicine wheel acts as a guideline to Native Americans via living their life through the morals of hard work and self-improvement. 

It is suspected that the medicine wheel may have also been used for ceremonial or ritual purposes, being that there was evidence of the presence of dancing within the constructed wheels. 

However its purpose is still extremely mysterious being that there are no written records pertaining to the purpose of the medicine wheel. 

Although the medicine wheel is practiced/used among Native Americans today, its purpose and meaning is not shared with Non-Native peoples. 

Many of the beliefs included in the medicine wheel were shared by African-Americans ...in New York, which allowed both ethnicities to create communities. 

Not only that, but the area in which the African Burial Ground is located was also significant to Native Americans, and by placing this symbol on the monument acknowledges and cements the link between the culture and history of Native Americans and African-Americans. 

>Medicine Ways: Traditional Healers and Healing

The Medicine Wheel and the Four Directions

The Medicine Wheel, sometimes known as the Sacred Hoop, has been used by generations of various Native American tribes for health and healing. It embodies the Four Directions, as well as Father Sky, Mother Earth, and Spirit Tree—all of which symbolize dimensions of health and the cycles of life.

The Medicine Wheel can take many different forms. It can be an artwork such as artifact or painting, or it can be a physical construction on the land. Hundreds or even thousands of Medicine Wheels have been built on Native lands in North America over the last several centuries.

Movement in the Medicine Wheel and in Native American ceremonies is circular, and typically in a clockwise, or “sun-wise” direction. This helps to align with the forces of Nature, such as gravity and the rising and setting of the Sun.

>Meanings of the Four Directions

Different tribes interpret the Medicine Wheel differently. Each of the Four Directions (East, South, West, and North) is typically represented by a distinctive color, such as black, red, yellow, and white, which for some stands for the human races. The Directions can also represent:

• Stages of life: birth, youth, adult (or elder), death
• Seasons of the year: spring, summer, winter, fall
• Aspects of life: spiritual, emotional, intellectual, physical
• Elements of nature: fire (or sun), air, water, and earth
• Animals: Eagle, Bear, Wolf, Buffalo and many others
• Ceremonial plants: tobacco, sweet grass, sage, cedar

Tribes - Native Voices (nih.gov) 

National Institue Of Health

National Library of Medicine

ILLUSTRATION -   Native American Navajo Sand Painting 4" -Monuments (sp57) - Mission Del Rey Southwest 

>SOURCE

Native American Sandpainting

Navajo sandpainting, photogravure by Byline Edward S. Curtis, 1907, Library of Congress  Sandpainting - Wikipedia 

Sandpainting is the art of pouring colored sands, and powdered pigments from minerals or crystals, or pigments from other natural or synthetic sources onto a surface to make a fixed or unfixed sand painting. 

Unfixed sand paintings have a long established cultural history in numerous social groupings around the globe, and are often temporary, ritual paintings prepared for religious or healing ceremonies. This form of art is also referred to as drypainting.

Drypainting is practiced by Native Americans in the Southwestern United States, by Tibetan and Buddhist monks, as well as Indigenous Australians, and also by Latin Americans on certain Christian holy days.

In the sandpainting of southwestern Native Americans (the most famous of which are the Navajo [known as the Diné]), the Medicine Man (or Hatałii) paints loosely upon the ground of a hogan, where the ceremony takes place, or on a buckskin or cloth tarpaulin, by letting the colored sands flow through his fingers with control and skill. 

There are 600 to 1,000 different traditional designs for sand paintings known to the Navajo. They do not view the paintings as static objects, but as spiritual, living beings to be treated with great respect. More than 30 different sand paintings may be associated with one ceremony.

The colors for the painting are usually accomplished with naturally coloured sand, crushed gypsum (white), yellow ochre, red sandstone, charcoal and a mixture of charcoal and gypsum (blue). Brown can be made by mixing red and black; red and white make pink. Other coloring agents include corn meal, flower pollen, or powdered roots and bark.

The paintings are for healing purposes only. Many of them contain images of Yeibicheii (the Holy People). While creating the painting, the medicine man will chant, asking the yeibicheii to come into the painting and help heal the patient.

When the medicine man finishes painting, he checks its accuracy. The order and symmetry of the painting symbolize the harmony which a patient wishes to reestablish in his or her life. 

The accuracy of a sandpainting is believed to determine its efficacy as a sacred tool. The patient will be asked to sit on the sandpainting as the medicine man proceeds with the healing chant. It is claimed the sandpainting acts as a portal to attract the spirits and allow them to come and go. 

Practitioners believe sitting on the sandpainting helps the patient to absorb spiritual power, while in turn the Holy People will absorb the illness and take it away. Afterward, when the sandpainting has served its purpose, it is considered to be toxic, since it has absorbed the illness. For this reason, the painting is destroyed. Because of the sacred nature of the ceremonies, the sand paintings are begun, finished, used and destroyed within 12 hours.

ILLUSTRATION -  totem poles, British Columbia Totem poles from various peoples indigenous to British Columbia, Canada, in Stanley Park, Vancouver. 

Totem pole | Purpose, Animal Meanings, & Facts | Britannica 

Totem pole, carved and painted log, mounted vertically, constructed by the Native Americans of the Northwest Coast of the United States and Canada. 

There are seven principal kinds of totem poles: 

1) memorial, or heraldic, poles, erected when a house changes hands to commemorate the past owner and to identify the present one; 

2) grave markers (tombstones); 

3) house posts, which support the roof;    

4)  portal poles, which have a hole through which a person enters the house; 

5) welcoming poles, placed at the edge of a body of water to identify the owner of the waterfront; 

6) mortuary poles, in which the remains of the deceased are placed; 

7) and ridicule poles, on which an important individual who had failed in some way had his likeness carved upside down.

The carving on totem poles separates and emphasizes the flat, painted surfaces of the symbolic animals and spirits depicted on them. 

Each pole generally has from one (as with a grave marker) to many (as with a family legend) animal images on it, all following standardized forms which are familiar to all Native Americans of the Northwest Coast; beavers, for example, always include cross-hatched tails, and eagles show downward curved beaks.

The word totem refers to a guardian or ancestral being, usually supernatural, that is revered and respected, but not always worshipped. 

The significance of the real or mythological animal carved on a totem pole is its identification with the lineage of the head of the household. 

The animal is displayed as a type of family crest, much as an Englishman might have a lion on his crest, or a rancher a bull on his brand. More widely known, but in fact far less common, are the elaborately carved tall totem poles that relate an entire family legend in the form of a pictograph. 

This legend is not something that can be read in the usual sense of the word; only with an understanding of what the symbols mean to the Native Americans and a knowledge of the history and customs of the clan involved can the pole be interpreted. 

Each animal or spirit carved on the pole has meaning, and when combined on the pole in sequence, each figure is an important symbol constituent of a story or myth. 

An exact interpretation of any set of symbols, however, would be almost impossible without the help of a knowledgeable narrator from the family.

The totem pole was also a sign of the owner’s affluence, for hiring an artist to make a pole was an expensive proposition. 

The carving of totem poles reached its peak in the early and middle 19th century, when the introduction of good metal tools and the wealth gained from the fur trade made it possible for many chiefs to afford these displays. 

Few examples of this period remain, however, as the moist coastal atmosphere causes the cedar poles to rot and fall in about 60 to 70 years. 

 Native Alaskan Totem Pole Totem Bight State Historical Park, Ketchikan   american indian totem poles - Search (bing.com) 

Power Animal Song

Come to us: Eagle, Wolf, Bear And Cougar. Dance we now The Power Dances.

Eagle soaring above the Peaks,
Share with us freedom, majesty and fighting skills. Teach us lessons we need to Learn. Dance with us The Power Dances.

Wolf, cunning tracker, by day or night.
Share with us endurance, Courage and adaptability. Teach us lessons we need
To learn. Dance with us The Power Dances.

Bear, trampling along earthen Paths,
Share with us mighty strength and sense of smell. Teach us lessons we need To learn Dance with us The Power Dances.

Cougar, lonely tracker of terrains,
Share with us agility, Stamina and endless curiosity. Teach us lessons we need to learn. Dance with us The Power dances. Movements slow, movements rapid. Frenzied swaying, upward, downward.

Dipping, turning round and round.

Dance we now The Power dances.

Dancing partners, You and I. With me,
In me I am you, You are me. Together as one, Yet separate, too.

Dance we now The Power Dances.

Awaken now  All Spirit beings. To Dance the dances with your human kin. Dance the cycles of life and death, hope and fear, good and evil.

Dance the cycles, now and again.

Lower world, Upper world, journeying 

now and forever more, of time and space. All is once, there is none.  

Dance the dances. Again and again.

— Author Unknown

1st Nation – Ute

Earth teach me stillness as the grasses are stilled with light.

Earth teach me suffering as old stones suffer with memory.

Earth teach me humility as blossoms are humble with beginning.

Earth teach me caring as the mother who secures her young.

Earth teach me courage as the tree which stands all alone.

Earth teach me limitation as the ant which crawls on the ground.

Earth teach me freedom as the eagle which soars in the sky.

Earth teach me resignation as the leaves which die in the fall.

Earth teach me regeneration as the seed which rises in the spiring.

Earth teach me to forget myself as melted snow forgets its life.

Earth teach me to remember kindness as dry fields weep with rain.

— "Earth Teach Me to Remember," John Yellow Lark https://healingbrave.com/blogs/all/native-american-prayers-for-peace

 

ILLUSTRATION - jcoope12  (76 year old disabled veteran love doing mystical   

jcoope12 -Pixabaycom)

Chippewa/Ojibwe – 

Myth of Creation #1

http://www.crystalinks.com/nativeamcreation.html

In  the beginning before there were people, before there were animals a lone   woman lived in a cave. She lived on the roots and berries of the plants. One night a magical dog crept into her cave and stretched out on the bed beside her. As the night grew long the dog began to change. His body became smooth and almost hairless. His limbs grew long and straight. His features changed   into those of a handsome warrior. Nine months later the woman birthed a  child. He was the first Chippewa male and through him came the Chippewa  peoples.

Chippewa/Ojibwe 

Myth of Creation #2

http://www.crystalinks.com/nativeamcreation.html

When  the Earth was young it had a family. The moon, or Grandmother and the sun, called Grandfather. The Earth was a woman - Mother Earth - because from her  came all living things. Mother Earth was given four directions - East, South,  West, and North, each with physical and spiritual powers. When Mother Earth   was young Creator, or Gichi-Manidoo as Ojibwe people call him, filled her  with beauty. He sent singers in the form of birds and swimmers in the water.  He placed plants, trees, insects, crawlers and four-legged animals on the   land. Gichi-Manidoo then blew into four parts of Mother Earth using the  sacred megis shell. From the union of these four and his breath, two-leggeds  or man, was born. Thus, man was the last form of life to be put on Earth.  From this original man came the Anishinaabe - or The Original People.

Creek – Myth of Creation

http://www.crystalinks.com/nativeamcreation.html

The  Creek believe that the world was originally entirely underwater. The only   land was a hill, called Nunne Chaha, and on the hill was a house, wherein   lived Esaugetuh Emissee ("mastr of breath"). He created humanity   from the clay on the hill.

1stNation - Cheyenne

When you lose the rhythm of the drumbeat of spirit you are lost from the peace and rhythm of life.

-unknown

https://www.google.com/search?q=native+american+love+quotes&biw=

1stNation – Oglala Sioux

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. 

-Luther Standing Bear

http://www.inspirationforthespirit.com/native-american-wisdom/

1st Nation – Dakota 

We will be known forever by the tracks we leave. 

https://www.legendsofamerica.com/na-proverbs/

https://pixabay.com/photos/totem-pole-bird-wings-native-881315/

1st Nation - Yamparika Comanche

I was born upon a prairie where the wind blew free and there was nothing to break the light of the sun. I was born where there were no enclosures and where everything drew a free breath. 

I want to die there, and not within walls. -Ten Bears http://www.emcp.com/product_catalog/school/litLink/Grade08/U11-03buffalosheep/selection.php
 

 Native Alaskan Totem Pole Totem Bight State Historical Park, Ketchikan   american indian totem poles - Search (bing.com) 

Abenaki – Myth Of Creation And Longevity

http://www.childstoryhour.com/storiesnative5.htm

The natural cosmos of the Indians was born of catastrophe. The heavens literally crumbled to pieces. The Earth mother fell and was fertilized, while her children were torn apart by fratricide and then scattered and disjointed throughout the universe. Cloud sent the rain and the storm. The water rose higher and higher, but the two boys were not harmed. The water could not drown them. Then Cloud took them to his home and there they stayed a long, long time.

Coyote began the creation of the earth, but Eagle completed it. Coyote scratched it up with his paws out of nothingness, but Eagle complained there were no mountains for him to perch on.

Coyote made hills, but they were not high enough. Therefore, Eagle scratched up great ridges. When Eagle flew over them, his feathers dropped down, took root, and became trees. The pin feathers became bushes and plants. Coyote and Fox together created man. They quarreled as to whether they should let men live always or not. Coyote said, "If they want to die, let them die."

Fox said, "If they want to come back, let them come back."

But Coyote's medicine was stronger, and nobody ever came back. Coyote also brought fire into the world, for the Indians were freezing. He journeyed far to the west, to a place where there was fire, stole some of it, and brought it home in his ears. He kindled a fire in the mountains, and the Indians saw the smoke of it, and went up and got fire.
Then the community powwow came and by chance a young dancer, the son of an Elder, lost his Eagle Feather in the Circle of dancers, and the cry went out for Veterans to come to return the Spirit of the Eagle to the People with honor.
In full Regalia as he was told to wear, he stepped forward and took his place in the East with the other Vets. When it came time to be questioned as to who would pick up the feather and give it away again, it was found that he was the only Veteran that was also wounded in battle. So the honor was his, and his alone.

The assembled monsters of the deep rushed headlong after the slayer of their king. The prophet fled in consternation before the outraged creatures that hurled after him mountains of water, which swept down the forests like grass before the whirlwind. He continued to flee before the raging flood, but could find no dry land. In sore despair he then called upon the God of Heaven to save him, when there appeared before him a great canoe, in which were pairs of all kinds of land-beasts and birds, being rowed by a most beautiful maiden, who let down a rope and drew him up into the boat.

1st Nation – Ojibwe

I was born in nature's wide domain. The trees were all that sheltered my infant limbs, the blue heavens all that covered me. I am one of nature's children. I have always admired her. She shall be my glory; her feathers, her robes, and the wreath above her, the seasons, her stately oaks, and the ever green- her hair, ringlets over the earth contributions to my enduring love for her. And when I see her, emotions of pleasure roll and swell and burst like waves on the shore of the ocean.-unknown http://www.jordangrimes.com/#!portfolio/cb56 http://www.legendsofamerica.com/na-quotes.html 

1st Nation – CherokeeWe are now about to take our leave and kind farewell to our native land, the country  that the Great Spirit gave our Fathers, we are on the eve of leaving that country that gave us birth...it is with sorrow we are forced by the white man to quit the scenes of our childhood... we bid farewell to it and all we hold dear.-Charles Hicks, Tsalagi, Vice Chief on the Trail of Tears, August 4, 1838https://www.aaanativearts.com/cherokee/cherokee-quotes.htm
 

ILLUSTRATION - Native American totem pole in Vancouver, Canada 

Native American totem pole in Vancouver, Canada  (Pixabaycom)

Native American Proverb

Treat the earth well.  We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.
 

From The Great Law of The Iroquois Confederacy

In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.

Oglala Sioux

There can never be peace between nations until it is first known that true peace is within the souls of men. 

Hopi Prophecy

We are all flowers in the Great Spirit's garden.  We share a common root, and the root is Mother Earth.       

When we Indians kill meat, we eat it all up.... When we build houses, we make little holes.  When we burn grass for grasshoppers, we don't ruin things.  We shake down acorns and pinenuts.  We don't chop down the trees.
-Wintu Indian, quoted in Julian Burger, The Gaia Atlas of First Peoples, 1990

Red Deer

Follow your dreams, to the fields unknown, to where wild flowers sink into the sun. I will meet you there, and we shall dance until the sun rises once again.

Grandfather Rolling Thunder, Cherokee Medicine Elder

This is the Earth, healed again, growing green and blue. I want you to remember this exactly as it is, and then go and tell the people that if enough of us hold this image in their minds, we can heal the Earth and make it like it was a long time ago.

Chief Seattle

You must teach your children that the ground beneath their feet is the ashes of our grandfathers. So that they will respect the land, tell your children that the earth is rich with the lives of our kin. Teach your children what we have taught our children, that the earth is our mother. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. If men spit upon the ground they spit upon themselves. This we know. The earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth. This we know. All things are connected like the blood which unites one family. All things are connected.
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. 
-Chief Seattle, 1854 treaty oration

Black Elk 

Sunset. Then I was standing on the highest mountain of them all, and round about beneath me was the whole hoop of the world. And while I stood there I saw more than I can tell and I understood more than I saw; for I was seeing in a sacred manner the shapes of all things in the spirit, and the shape of all shapes as they must live together like one being. And I say the sacred hoop of my people was one of the many hoops that made one circle, wide as daylight and as starlight, and in the center grew one mighty flowering tree to shelter all the children of one mother and one father. And I saw that it was holy...But anywhere is the center of the world.

1st Nation – Cherokee Prayer  

Sky our grandfather. Moon our grandmother. Earth our Mother.  I am thankful. We love each other. We are grateful.-unknownhttp://www.manataka.org/page1451.html  

 ILLUSTRATION -  kristiangallagher 

(pixabay.com)

1st Nation – A Prayer For Healing

Native American Prayers and Blessings (praywithme.com) 

Mother, sing me a song that will ease my pain, mend broken bones, bring wholeness again. Catch my babies
When they are born, sing my death song, teach me how to mourn. Show me the Medicine of the healing herbs,
the value of spirit, the way I can serve.

Mother, heal my heart so that I can see
the gifts of yours that can live through me.

1st Nation – Sioux Indian Prayer

Native American Prayers and Blessings (praywithme.com) 

Hear me, four quarters of the world– a relative I am! 

Give me the strength to walk the soft earth. 

Give me the eyes to see and the strength to understand, that I may be like you. 

With your power only can I face the winds. Great Spirit…all over the earth the faces of living things are all alike. 

With tenderness have these come up out of the ground. Look upon these faces of children without number and with children in their arms, that they may face the winds and walk the good road to the day of quiet. This is my prayer’ hear me!

1st Nation – Sioux Earth Prayer

Hey! Learn to hear my feeble voice.
At the center of the sacred hoop
You have said that I should make the tree to bloom.

With tears running, O Great Spirit, my Grandfather, with running eyes I must say the tree has never bloomed.

Here I stand, and the tree is withered.
Again, I recall the great vision you gave me.

It may be that some little root of the sacred tree still lives. Nourish it then
That it may leaf and bloom and fill with singing birds!

Hear me, that the people may once again find the good road and the shielding tree.
- Black Elk

 Native American Prayers (xavier.edu) 

1st Nation – Cherokee Prayer

Peace and happiness are available in every moment. Peace is every step. We shall walk hand in hand. There are no political solutions to spiritual problems.
Remember: If the Creator put it there, it is in the right place. The soul would have no rainbow if the eyes had no tears. Tell your people that, since we were promised we should never be moved, we have been moved five times.

Native American Prayers (xavier.edu) 

Found on: https://www.sapphyr.net/natam/quotes-nativeamerican.htm

1st Nation – Lakota Prayer

Wakan Tanka, Great Mystery,
teach me how to trust my heart,
my mind, my intuition, my inner knowing, the senses of my body,
the blessings of my spirit. Teach me to trust these things so that I may enter my Sacred Space and love beyond my fear,
and thus Walk in Balance with the passing of each glorious Sun.
Native American Prayers (xavier.edu) 

Found on: https://www.sapphyr.net/natam/quotes-nativeamerican.htm

1st Nation – Chinook Prayer

May all I say and all I think be in harmony with thee, God within me,
God beyond me, maker of the trees.

- Chinook prayer, Pacific Northwest Coast

Native American Prayers (xavier.edu) 

 ILLUSTRATION - 700+ Free Indigenous & Mexico Images - Pixabay 

1st Nation Myths & Legends http://www.indians.org/welker/orig.buff.html

Long ago, a tribe of Cheyenne hunters lived at the head of a rushing stream, which eventually emptied into a large cave. Because of the great need for a new food supply for his people, the Chief called a council meeting."We should explore the large cave," he told his people.

"How many brave hunters will offer to go on this venture? Of course, it may be very dangerous, but we have brave hunters."

No one responded to the Chief's request.

Finally, one young brave painted himself for hunting and stepped forth, replying to the Chief, "I will go and sacrifice myself for our people."

He arrived at the cave, and to his surprise, First Brave found two other Cheyenne hunters near the opening, where the stream rushed underground.

"Are they here to taunt me," First Brave wondered? "Will they only pretend to jump when I do?"

But the other two braves assured him they would go.

"No, you are mistaken about us. We really do want to enter the cave with you," they said.

First Brave then joined hands with them and together they jumped into the huge opening of the cave. Because of the darkness, it took some time for their eyes to adjust. They then discovered what looked like a door. First Brave knocked, but there was no response.

He knocked again, louder.

"What do you want, my brave ones?" asked an old Indian grandmother as she opened her door.

"Grandmother, we are searching for a new food supply for our tribe," First Brave replied.  "Our people never seem to have enough food to eat."

"Are you hungry now?" she asked.

"Oh, yes, kind Grandmother, we are very hungry," all three braves answered.

The old grandmother opened her door wide, inviting the young braves to enter.

"Look out there!" she pointed for them to look through her window.

A beautiful wide prairie stretched before their eyes. Great herds of buffalo were grazing contentedly. The young hunters could hardly believe what they saw!

The old grandmother brought each of them a stone pan full of buffalo meat. How good it tasted, as they ate and ate until they were filled. To their surprise, more buffalo meat remained in their stone pans!

"I want you to take your stone pans of buffalo meat back to your people at your camp," said the old grandmother.
"Tell them that soon I will send some live buffalo."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, kind Grandmother," said the three young Cheyenne braves.

When the young hunters returned to their tribe with the gifts of buffalo meat, their people rejoiced over the new, good food. Their entire tribe ate heartily from the old grandmother's three magic pans, and were grateful. When the Cheyennes waked at dawn the next day, herds of buffalo had mysteriously appeared, surrounding their village! They were truly thankful to the old Indian grandmother and to the Sky Spirits for their good fortune.

Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada

Totem poles near the Sunwapta Falls turnoff | Totem pole art, Native american totem, Totem pole (pinterest.com) 

1st Nation – Oglala Sioux

Grandfather Great Spirit – All over the world the faces of living ones are alike. With tenderness they have come up out of the ground. Look upon your children that they may face the winds And walk the good road to the Day of Quiet. Great Spirit, Fill us with the Light. Give us the strength to understand and the eyes to see. Teach us to walk the soft Earth as relatives to all that live.-unknownhttp://www.legendsofamerica.com/na-proverbs.htmlhttp://www.quoteland.com/author/American-Indian-Proverb-Quotes/http://www.sapphyr.net/natam/quotes-nativeamerican.htm

1st Nation – Ponca

When you are in doubt, be still and wait. When doubt no longer exists for you, then go forward with courage. So long as mists envelop you, be still. Be still until the sunlight pours through and dispels the mists, as it surely will. Then act with courage. -White Chief Eaglehttp://www.sapphyr.net/natam/quotes-nativeamerican.htmhttp://www.inspirationforthespirit.com/native-american-wisdom/

1st  Nation – Shawnee

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.-Tecumsehhttp://www.inspirationforthespirit.com/native-american-wisdom/http://www.inspirationforthespirit.com/native-american-wisdom/

1st Nation – Nez Perce

The release that my family is finding from alcoholism is going back to the spiritual ways.

-Nez Perce Elder http://thrivalinternational.com/2011/06/04/useful-quotes-from-walkabouts/  

1st Nation – Nez Perce 

I love that land of winding waters more than all the rest of the world. A man who would not love his father's grave is worse than a wild animal.-Chief Joseph https://www.legendsofamerica.com/na-proverbs/

1st Nation – Blackfoot

What is life? It is   the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.-Crowfoot, Blackfoot warrior and orator (1830 – 1890)http://www.sapphyr.net/natam/quotes-nativeamerican.htmhttp://www.inspirationforthespirit.com/native-american-wisdom.

1st Nation -   AlgonquinThe Great Spirit is in all things, is in the air we breathe. The Great Spirit is our Father, but the Earth is our Mother. She nourishes us; that which we put into the   ground, She returns to us.-Big Thunder (Bedagi)http://www.indians.org/welker/greatspi.htm#01http://indigenouspeople.net/greatspi.htm

1stNation – Sioux

A people without a history is like the wind over buffalo grass. https://www.legendsofamerica.com/na-proverbs/ 

1stNation - Oglala Lakota Sioux

Out of the Indian approach to life there came a great freedom, an intense and absorbing respect for life, enriching faith in a Supreme Power, and principles of truth, honesty, generosity, equity, and brotherhood as a guide to mundane relations.-Black Elk (1863-1950) http://www.legendsofamerica.com/na-quotes.html

1st Nation 

There is but one secret to success: never give up.― Ben Nighthorse Campbell

1stNation – Oglala Sioux

Grandfather Great SpiritAll over the world the faces of living ones are alike. With tenderness they have come up out of the ground. Look upon your children that they may face the winds And walk the good road to the Day of Quiet.Great Spirit, Fill us with the Light. Give us the strength to understand and the eyes to see.Teach us to walk the soft Earth as relatives to all that live.-unknownhttp://www.legendsofamerica.com/na-proverbs.html

1st Nation – Pawnee

We must protect the forests for our children, grandchildren and children yet to be born. We must protect the forests for those who can’t speak for themselves such as the birds, animals, fish and trees. -Chief Edward Moody http://www.inspirationforthespirit.com/native-american-wisdom/http://www.legendsofamerica.com/na-proverbs.html

1st Nation – Oglala Lakota SiouxOut of the Indian approach to life there came a great freedom, an intense and absorbing respect for life, enriching faith in a Supreme Power, and principles of truth, honesty, generosity, equity, and brotherhood as a guide to mundane relations.– Chief Luther Standing Bearhttps://www.legendsofamerica.com/

 

Oakland, California  native american tribe totem poles - Search Images (bing.com) 

Abenaki – Myth Of Creation And Longevityhttp://www.childstoryhour.com/storiesnative5.htm

The natural cosmos of the Indians was born of catastrophe. The heavens literally crumbled to pieces. The Earth mother fell and was fertilized, while her children were torn apart by fratricide and then scattered and disjointed throughout the universe. Cloud sent the rain and the storm. The water rose higher and higher, but the two boys were not harmed. The water could not drown them. Then Cloud took them to his home and there they stayed a long, long time.

Coyote began the creation of the earth, but Eagle completed it. Coyote scratched it up with his paws out of nothingness, but Eagle complained there were no mountains for him to perch on.

Coyote made hills, but they were not high enough. Therefore, Eagle scratched up great ridges. When Eagle flew over them, his feathers dropped down, took root, and became trees. The pin feathers became bushes and plants. 

Coyote and Fox together created man. They quarreled as to whether they should let men live always or not. Coyote said, "If they want to die, let them die."

Fox said, "If they want to come back, let them come back."

But Coyote's medicine was stronger, and nobody ever came back. Coyote also brought fire into the world, for the Indians were freezing. He journeyed far to the west, to a place where there was fire, stole some of it, and brought it home in his ears. He kindled a fire in the mountains, and the Indians saw the smoke of it, and went up and got fire.

Then the community powwow came and by chance a young dancer, the son of an Elder, lost his Eagle Feather in the Circle of dancers, and the cry went out for Veterans to come to return the Spirit of the Eagle to the People with honor.

In full Regalia as he was told to wear, he stepped forward and took his place in the East with the other Vets. When it came time to be questioned as to who would pick up the feather and give it away again, it was found that he was the only Veteran that was also wounded in battle. So the honor was his, and his alone.

The assembled monsters of the deep rushed headlong after the slayer of their king. The prophet fled in consternation before the outraged creatures that hurled after him mountains of water, which swept down the forests like grass before the whirlwind. He continued to flee before the raging flood, but could find no dry land. In sore despair he then called upon the God of Heaven to save him, when there appeared before him a great canoe, in which were pairs of all kinds of land-beasts and birds, being rowed by a most beautiful maiden, who let down a rope and drew him up into the boat.

1st Nation – Ojibwe

I was born in nature's wide domain. The trees were all that sheltered my infant limbs, the blue heavens all that covered me. I am one of nature's children. I have always admired her. She shall be my glory; her feathers, her robes, and the wreath above her, the seasons, her stately oaks, and the ever green- her hair, ringlets over the earth contributions to my enduring love for her. And when I see her, emotions of pleasure roll and swell and burst like waves on the shore of the ocean.-unknown http://www.jordangrimes.com/#!portfolio/cb56 http://www.legendsofamerica.com/na-quotes.html 

1st Nation - Yamparika ComancheI was born upon a prairie where the wind blew free and there was nothing to break the light of the sun. I was born where there were no enclosures and where everything drew a free breath. I want to die there, and not within walls. -Ten Bears http://www.emcp.com/product_catalog/school/litLink/Grade08/U11-03buffalosheep/selection.php

1st Nation – Cherokee Prayer  

Sky our grandfather. Moon our grandmother. Earth our Mother.  I am thankful. We love each other. We are grateful.

-unknown

http://www.manataka.org/page1451.html  

1st Nation – Cherokee

We are now about to take our leave and kind farewell to our native land, the country that the Great Spirit gave our Fathers, we are on the eve of leaving that country that gave us birth...it is with sorrow we are forced by the white man to quit the scenes of our childhood... we bid farewell to it and all we hold dear.-Charles Hicks, Tsalagi, Vice Chief on the Trail of Tears, August 4, 1838https://www.aaanativearts.com/cherokee/cherokee-quotes.htm





 

ILLUSTRATION - RebeccasPictures

(pixabay.com)

Ute Legend - Horses

http://www.native-languages.org/ute-legends.htm

The Utes were not always so strong and feared by others. In the years before the introduction of the horse, they were nomadic bands who roamed the mountain and valleys of the west. 

The horse allowed them to become proud people feared by other Indian tribes. If their own harvests weren't large enough to feed their people, the Utes would often raid other Indian villages taking their goods and horses.  When the Spanish came to America, they brought the horse with them and introduced it to the native people who had never seen a horse. The Utes quickly learned how the horses could be very useful to them. 

When they moved from camp to camp, the horses could carry their load. With horses, they could ride out on the plains to hunt buffalo. Then the people would have plenty to eat. When the enemies came to find them in the mountains, the Utes could either stand and fight or get away quickly with fast horses. This was very important as their enemies would soon have horses, too. 

How did the Utes get horses? The Spanish and the other Indians would not give their horses away. And the Utes did not have gold or silver to buy horses. The Utes saw that they had to trade things in order to get what they wanted from the Spanish. But the Utes were poor Indians and often had only enough meat and hides for their own needs. When they could, they traded these items for the valuable horses. The Spanish needed people to care for their horses and sheep on their huge ranches. 

Sometimes the Spanish captured Ute children and sometimes the children voluntarily worked on the ranched so they could learn how to ride and to take care of the horses. And, sometimes these Utes stole the horses and took them back to their families. 

Chief Ouray, one of the most famous Ute chiefs, was one of these children who worked on the Spanish ranches. While he worked on theses ranches, he learned to speak four languages and later in his life became a statesman for his people in the treaty negotiations in Washington, D.C

The Horse Nation Lives On | A Song for the Horse Nation - October 29, 2011 through January 7, 2013 - The National Museum of the American Indian - Washington, D.C. (si.edu) 

The story of the relationship of Native peoples and horses is one of the great sagas of human contact with the animal world. Native peoples have traditionally regarded the animals in our lives as fellow creatures with which a common destiny is shared. When American Indians encountered horses—which some tribes call the Horse Nation—they found an ally, inspiring and useful in times of peace, and intrepid in times of war. Horses transformed Native life and became a central part of many tribal cultures.

By the 1800s, American Indian horsemanship was legendary, and the survival of many Native peoples, especially on the Great Plains, depended on horses. Native peoples paid homage to horses by incorporating them into their cultural and spiritual lives, and by creating art that honored the bravery and grace of the horse.

The glory days of the horse culture were brilliant but brief, lasting just over a century. The bond between American Indians and the Horse Nation, however, has remained strong through the generations. 

Decline & Revival (1875–present)

As the Indian Wars came to an end, American Indians struggled to settle and preserve the small territories that the U.S. government called reservations. Horses, which had become so central to our culture, were largely forbidden. The big herds were destroyed.

The government tried to sever our bonds to each other, to the land, even to the horse. These policies cost us dearly, but they did not succeed. Our tribes survive. We hold on to our reservation lands. Among many of our people horses still hold a prominent place in our world.

He means too much to us, our ‘holy dog’; the spirit that binds us could not be fully broken. The Horse Nation is our ally, now and forever.

—Emil Her Many Horses (Oglala Lakota), NMAI, 2009

ILLUSTRATIONS  (Kachina House - Sedona, Arizona 

>TALKING  STICK

Byline - Kachina House, Sedona, Arizona

The talking stick is used as a means for just and impartial hearing. Primarily used in council circles, the stick would designate who had the right to speak (whoever holds the stick speaks and all others listen). 

When the stick is passed to the next person, that person must repeat the essence of what the previous speaker said before speaking. 

The stick carries with it respect for free speech and the practice of true conversation. 

The words that are spoken should come from the heart and be soft and warm (fur) and courageous and wise (feather). The beads are reminders that the Great Spirit hears the message of the heart as well as the spoken word.  

>ILLUSTRATION  (Top Rigt)  Native American Talking Stick - Coup Stick - Powwow Dance Stick - Coyote Tail - Buffalo Horn Eagle Talon - Regalia - Medicine Stick - Sioux Native (whisperingwindsshop.com) 

Authentic Native American talking stick. Made with oak branch , buckskin , turquoise, red coral, quartz crystal, feathers, hand carved buffalo horn eagle talon, and is hand painted.

This item has been sage blessed and is ready for use and/or decoration. Native American talking sticks have been used tribal council and talking circles. The stick is passed from person to person and the person who holds the stick is the only one who is allowed to speak. Dreams, visions, and other important topics are discussed during this time. This type of talking stick/coup stick can also be used as a dance stick and has a strong grip handle wrapped in buckskin.
Handmade by a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe 

 >Talking Stick a sacred symbol of free speech. These traditional talking sticks are made with natural driftwood or debarked branches, thanks to the beavers! The sticks are collected along the lake shores and local bush areas. Some sticks even show the beavers bite marks on the ends. These handmade talking sticks are adorned with beads, leather and feathers. Each one is individually made and no two are alike. A MADE IN CANADA product. Average size is 10″ long.

The talking stick has been used during important discussions where only the person holding the talking stick is allowed to speak openly without interruptions. The talking stick is then passed from one to another until each has had their turn to speak.

 Home - The Silver Moccasin 

ILLUSTRATION  - Native American Talking Stick - Coup Stick - Powwow Dance Stick - Coyote Tail - Buffalo Horn Eagle Talon - Regalia - Medicine Stick - Sioux Native (whisperingwindsshop.com) 

Spirit Feathers 

Byline - Chaplain Michael L. Benedict

Spirit Feathers are woven together, giving wing to my tender soul as it reaches ever outward.

My soul ascends, ever upward. I am lifted ever heavenward.

My heart is touched ever inward. I am taken ever onward.

With total trust, in total innocence, I gaze upon Creation, as if to gaze into the very face of  THE GREAT FATHER, who watches over me.

I am accepted without condition.

I am given Treasures of Divine Love –  

-Empowerment Through Discovery Of Life Needs

-Reflection upon strengths that have been attained as well as gifts that have been given.-Empowerment Through Understanding & Acceptance Of Struggles & Challenges As Opportunities For Personal Growth & Self Awareness

-Finding Peace Through Spiritual Awareness -Emerging From The Darkness Of Confusion, Chaos & Despair 

-Achieving Empowerment Through Self Reliance -Acquiring A Moral Compass of Integrity

THE GREAT FATHER –-

abides 

-accepts

-admonishes

-assures

-answers

-awaits

-awakens

-befriends

-beseeches

-beautifies

-binds

-blesses

-calls

-calms

-challenges

Seeking & Accepting The Influence Of A Guiding Presence From THE GREAT FATHER lifts and raises me onward, toward an end of bitterness towards persons and events that have been a source of pain.  

I Discover my Life Needs as I Understand & Accept Struggles & Challenges As Opportunities For Personal Growth & Self Awareness.

I feel and see a reflection of HIS image in mine. I come to know that I have been and am created in the image of someone, something that HE would have me become.  

So it is, on My Spiritual Journey, that I will be lifted, as if upon Spirit Feathers to-

-do one positive thing each day that will help me to find inner peace for myself.

-do one positive thing each day that will enable me to become a better person.

-turn aside the gratification of a moment for fulfillment that has no end or limit.

-have the Spirituality to gain strength from my challenges.

-learn that Spirituality is not only to avoid those things that might not be for my own good. 

-learn that Spirituality is also to accept those things that might be for my best benefit.

-have the Spirituality to turn my weaknesses into strengths.

-overcome the despair of pain through the HIS gentleness to my soul.

-find joy in discovering for the 1st time, what gives me the most fulfillment and happiness. 

ILLUSTRATION -   Native American Talking Stick 13" -White (47bc2) - Mission Del Rey Southwest 

Spirit Feathers

Byline - Chaplain Michael L. Benedict

Better it is to be able to share those precious moments with someone who is important to me. I set aside frustration about the things that have held me back, that I may move on toward a new and exciting adventure, one that will take me to newly discovered peaks and possibilities.

I receive positive encouragement and suggestions from those who care about me. 

I have the Spirituality to use that guidance as a source of inspiration and motivation to do things in a better way than how I first started.

I have many positive talents/qualities/ characteristics, that give me the Spirituality to pursue goals and dreams that are worthwhile and fulfilling.

Each day, I walk upon the path of My Spiritual Journey. Each day, I walk upon a new Pathway to Self-Discovery.

I find a definition of Spirituality that motivates me to do the right things, for the right reason, while expecting the right results – for myself and for the important persons in my life.

I have the Moral Compass to show respect for myself, for others, for Creation and for THE GREAT FATHER.

I place aside pursuits and recognition for the wealth that really matters, that Discovery of Life Needs is a source of Empowerment on The Spiritual Journey.

I find Empowerment through my Spiritual Beliefs.

I find Empowerment as I Seek & Accept The Influence Of A Guiding Presence From THE GREAT FATHER.

I rejoice in the peace that lasts beyond a moment in which conflict ends.The Guiding Presence of THE GREAT FATHER remains with me as I walk upon each Pathway to Self-Discovery.

I find comfort in knowing that my challenges are not always of my own choosing. Sometimes, things just happen.

I am Empowered to make the Right Choices regarding my reaction or my response to a situation.

I Reflect upon what the most beautiful part of The Spiritual Journey has been so far.

I Reflect upon what I have come to value the most, at this point on The Spiritual Journey.

I feel gratitude for knowing that The Spiritual Journey is more than a series of challenges and struggles that are meant to be overcome, endured, and withstood. It is an adventure to be celebrated, cherished and enjoyed.

The hardness of my heart is softened by the tenderness of HIS devotion.

The darkness and hardness of my own bad decisions and choices is lightened and softened by the meekness and completeness of HIS forgiveness and mercy. that motivates me to do the right things, for the right reason, while expecting the right results – for myself and for the important persons in my life.

I have the Empowerment to show respect for myself, for others, for Creation and for THE GREAT FATHER.   

 ILLUSTRATION - Talking Stick - The Silver Moccasin  

Spirit Feathers

Byline - Chaplain Michael L. Benedict

I place aside pursuits and recognition for the wealth that really matters. 

Discovery of Life Needs is a source of Empowerment on The Spiritual Journey.  I find Empowerment through my Spiritual Beliefs.

I find Empowerment as I Seek & Accept The Influence Of A Guiding Presence From THE GREAT FATHER.   

I rejoice in the peace that lasts beyond a moment in which conflict ends.

The Guiding Presence of THE GREAT FATHER remains with me as I walk upon each Pathway to Self-Discovery.

I find comfort in knowing that my challenges are not always of my own choosing. Sometimes, things just happen.

I am  Empowered to make the Right Choices regarding my reaction or my response to a situation.

I Reflect upon what the most beautiful part of The Spiritual Journey has been so far.

I Reflect upon what I have come to value the most, at this point on The Spiritual Journey.

I feel gratitude for knowing that The Spiritual Journey is more than a series of challenges and struggles that are meant to be overcome, endured, and withstood. It is an adventure to be celebrated, cherished and enjoyed.

The hardness of my heart is softened by the tenderness of HIS devotion.

The darkness and hardness of my bad decisions and choices is lightened and softened by the meekness and completeness of HIS forgiveness and mercy.

I use my adversity to learn of the blessing of becoming dependent upon A Guiding Presence From THE GREAT FATHER.   There is a Love that is equal to my need.
There is a Forgiveness that is beyond what I feel I deserve.   

It is THE GREAT FATHER who has given me the gift, that I may come at any time, at any place, for any reason.  

I look upon Creation and my relationship with THE GREAT FATHER as my real source of fulfillment and contentment.   

I am lifted through an assurance that no separation needs to be permanent. The spirit of presence and the presence of spirit may always remain.  

I feel gratitude that the shattered pieces of my broken life have been restored to a vessel that is once more complete.   

I reflect upon guilt as a feeling or attitude toward the mistakes that I have made, especially regarding my relationships.   

I reflect upon shame as an expression of how I feel toward myself for having made those mistakes. Both are an expression of the Empowerment that I give to myself in regard to my mistakes as well as those who may have been affected by them.