NATIVE AMERICAN QUOTES

"All Apache are born with built-in BS radar."  Dolores Pompa (Lozana), Lipan Apache

**"Civic involvement is a fertile earth from which leadership grows. But also know who you are — your family, your culture, your values, goals and purpose. You can't look forward unless you know where you came from."  Peggy Flanagan, White Earth Band of Ojibwe

"If you're blaming people, they're holding you captive — and you're never going to change." Pershlie "Perci" Ami, Hopi

**"Our struggle is not about us, it's about our children who are the present and the future."  Dolores Pompa (Lozana), Lipan Apache
 
"When the grandmothers speak, the world will begin to heal.” Hopi Proverb

“Remember that I am just a woman who is living a very abundant life.  Every step I take forward is on a path paved by strong Indian women before me.”  Wilma Mankiller, Cherokee

"[The Old People] would gather words as they walked a sacred path across the Earth, leaving nothing behind but prayers and offerings." Cleon Thunder, Northern Arapahoe

**"For a subject worked and reworked so often in novels, motion pictures, and television, American Indians remain probably the least understood and most misunderstood Americans of us all." John F. Kennedy, President of the United States

**"Mother Earth is not a resource, she is an heirloom."  David Ipinia, Yurok

**"What our Seventh Generation will have is a consequence of our actions today." Winona LaDuke, Annishnabe

"For the N'de (Lipan Apache) honor and respect is something that is done." Dolores Pompa (Lozana), Lipan Apache

 **"Respect should be given those indigenous nations who still carry on their ceremonies; still following the ancient laws of nature with songs and ceremonies."  Oren R. Lyons, Spokesman, Traditional Circle of Elders

“I think you’re fighting for something that is so important. If you don’t have language, the culture disappears.” Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M.

**"The greater the faith, the greater the result."   Fools Crow, LAKOTA

**"The devastated earth, the air, water, the extinct species of mankind, animalkind, and plantkind, the drugs, suicides, family separations - these are all the result of false ceremonies."   Barney Bush, SHAWNEE

"One of the first things Seneca children learned was that they might create their own world, their own environment, by visualizing actions and desires in prayer. The Senecas believed that everything that made life important came from within. Prayer assisted in developing a guideline toward discipline and self control."  --Twylah Nitcsh, SENECA

"Being a Native American is not about the color of your skin ... it's a birthright and we need to take care of the land we call ours and take care of the people around us."  Keith Bear, Mandan-Hidatsa


**"We should remember to keep an eye on our own government -- our American Indians didn't, and you see what happened.” Jerry Davis

**"Touch not the poisonous firewater that makes wise men turn to fools and robs the spirit of its vision." Tecumseh, Shawnee

 
"I think that's what unity is - knowing one another and coming together and working with no conflict." Chief Alan Wilson, HAIDA

"There is one God looking down on us all. We are children of the one God. God is listening to me. The sun, the darkness, the winds are all listening to what we now say." -- Geronimo, APACHE

"The teachings are for all, not just for Indians... The white people never wanted to learn before. They thought we were savages. Now they have a different understanding, and they do want to learn. We are all children of God. The tradition is open to anyone who wants to learn." --Don Jose Matusuwa, HUICHOL

"I like to work with kids and they like me. Everywhere I go, no matter whose kids, in town, anywhere, I hear 'Grandpa, Grandpa.'  They come around to me, hug me, they make me feel good so they are just like my grandkids." David Patterson, Navajo Elder

"The Internet is the modern smoke signal.  Being able to use the web for networking has proven invaluable." Johnny Flynn, Potawatomi

“I was taught that whenever I do something, it’s not because of me. We do it for the greater society and for the community, for our people, our brothers, our sisters, our cousins.”  Corey Still, Cherokee

"Potawatomi people lived off the land for over 9,000 years, but you'd need someone with a doctorate in Anthropology to find traces of them. If you did the same ... today,  our traces would be obvious for millions of years. " Johnny Flynn, Potawatomi

"Going green isn't just about recycling plastic and driving a Prius. It's about respecting the planet and managing resources." Johnny Flynn, Potawatomi

“I’m excited to see our women stand beside our men, knowing they stand not for themselves, but for all those voices who may lack to be heard. Indian women leaders speak from their hearts and lead with their minds. I hope to provide the same influence to other young leaders – my voice is merely an echo of all those who came before me.”  Paulette Jordan, Coeur d’Alene


“We have to work with each other. Our earth is crying. And it’s crying for help. In the everyday movement of our country, you can make a difference. You can make a difference.” Billy Frank Jr., Nisqually Tribe

"The resilience and spirit that carried our people to this day is what will carry us to our next great moment.  Our cultures are resolute and diverse.  We see every challenge as an opportunity." Jefferson Keel, President, National Congress of American Indians

"Unlike mass killings in Nazi Germany or Rwanda, the genocides of indigenous people are played out in hidden corners of the world, and escape public scrutiny and condemnation. Although their numbers are small, the result is just as final. Only when this persecution is seen as akin to slavery or apartheid will tribal peoples begin to be safe.’  Stephen Curry, Survivor International.


**"I want to become chairman of my reservation one day. Always remember who you are and keep your himdag— what we call culture — within you."  Dwayne Lopez, Tohono O'odham Nation

Words from the Circle p. 25Words from the Circle p. 27

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