Native American Wisdom

September 29
If an innocent man doesn't get angry, he'll live a long while. A guilty man will get
sick because of bad thoughts, a bad conscience.
Traditional Hope teaching






A native to know :
Abenaki filmaker Alanis Obomsawin was born in 1932 and raised on the Odanak
Abenaki Reserve in Quebec. She first became a singer, and then an actress, and
then turned to documentary filmaking. Her film Kanehsatake : 270 Years of
Resistance, won several international awards.

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What tradition do we rely on? Well we are all connected to mother earth & the universe.
If we give positive energy or karma, we then are connecting to the Great Spirit, mother earth,
and are one with the universe or Tao.
Conversely, the reverse is true. If we go against universal harmony then we produce negative
energy, and feel the effects. A guilty conscious, and we ruminate over our misdeeds. We can
go over our wong & angry words and actions.

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I would think we effect each other both horizontally and vertically. We each are on an individual path/way/ladder,
this much is true. Our positive or negative actions affect our progress on the ladder. Our people who we meet
can affect our journey. When we meet a wise soul, they can trigger a growth or wisdom inside of us, thus vertical
affect. Conversely if we associate with lost one's, we ourselves can stay lost, thus a horizontal stage of
stagnation. What we put into the universe, we get back. People can lighten or make our day worse, based on
their positive or negative energy/output. They can keep us in a horizontal stagnation or propel us vertically.

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I am sorry it is, or can be painful. It is not my wisdom nor quotes. I don't necessarily agree with
every point. They are from a book of 365 days of native teachings. They all have a sliver of the
truth. Each of us must listen to our hearts and soul. This, for our individual journey. Also, they
are ideals to live up to. This so we can be future oriented and have hope. There are many problems
facing us. It tears my heart out what we are doing to the environment. It saddens me that our
children unnecessarily suffer due to ignorance and a perpetuation of a cycle of depression,
mental illness,crime, substance abuse, incest, rape, as well as domestic violence.
Something must be done if we are to save our children and environment, as well as world.
It starts with children and education.
Again these are not my teachings. I have my own.

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Each of us must walk our walk, and be aware of the illusions of the materialistic
world. Who walks the talk. I know of people who try their best. Supposedly members
of this forum are searching for the truth. Our any of us perfect? No, but we try
our best. In real life it is also hard to find those who walk the talk. It is hard to
find them, but they are there. As we walk our walk, we want to be surrounded
by positive people. They can give us strength to continue our journey. From the
negative people, we find out something about ourselves. So they to, are valuable.
Do not give hope. Surround yourself with positive people.

September 30
We were taught to believe that the Great Spirit sees and hears everything and
that he never forgets ; that hereafter he will give every man a spirit home according
to his deserts...This I believe, and all my people believe the same.
Chief Joseph (Hin-Mah-Too-Yah-Lat-Kekt) (1840-1904)
Nez Perce
A native to know :
He received a vision as a young boy and saw that the buffalo would be destroyed,
and so would the Crow way if life. He was an honored warrior and quickly rose to
the rank of chief. Chief Plenty Coups is considered the last chief to gain the status
of "chief" in the traditional Crow manner.

October 1
Peace...comes within the souls of men 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-Tanka, and that
this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us.
Black Elk (1863-1950)
Oglala Sioux



On this date in Native American history :
October 1, 1969 : Parents of American Indian children attempted to enroll their children in a desegregated school
in South Carolina. Federal marshals and school officials forced the families to exit the premises or be faced with
criminal charges.

lavender orchid wrote:

forgive, but i do keep asking: who is still able to walk our talk and not in the isolation learning and teaching and working has been leading us into?

today's "western" lifestyle knows only a materialistic collectiveness with a few fashionable individual variations. no real spirituality behind much productive output suggesting that. and growing isolation in the midst of forced "contacts" without a clue as to real "communion", "communications", and "communities".

you see, it took me a good while to realize that great spirit will bless me more for honesty than for compliance with any mainstream.

But resistance to what you call the materialistic collectiveness almost necessitates some degree of isolation, since one is constantly surrounded by others who embrace this mentality. I myself prefer this isolation to the alternative. The rare moments of true communion are thus offset by a clear, non-intrusive background, rather than being drowned out by the cacophony of materialistic superficiality.

I agree: I have yet to identify any mainstream, compliance with which brings any good end. This is not just honesty, but being true to yourself.

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October 2
God said he was the father and the earth was the mother of mankind, that nature was the law ;
that the animals and fish and plants obeyed nature and that man only was sinful. This is the old law.
Simowhala
Wanapaum




On this date in Native American history :
October 2, 1978 : The Federal Acknowledgment of Indian Tribes Act was passed through congress.
The purpose of the legislation is to acknowledge the actual existence of certain American Indian
tribes within the United States.

October 3
I wonder if the ground has anything to say? I wonder if the ground is listening to
what I said? I wonder if the ground would come alive and what is on it? Though
I hear what the ground says. The ground says, It is the Great Spirit that placed
me here. The Great Spirit tells me to take care of the Indians, to feel them aright.
The Great Spirit appointed the roots to feed the Indians on. The water says the
same thing. The Great Spirit directs me, feed the Indians well. The grass says the
sam thing, feed the Indians well. The ground, water, and grass say, the Great
Spirit has given us names. We have these names and hold these names. The
ground says, the Great Spirit has placed me here to produce all that grows on me,
trees and fruit. The same way the ground says, it was from me man was made.
The Great Spirit, in placing men on the earth, desired them to take good care of
the ground and to do each other no harm...
Chief Young
Cayuse, 1855

October 4
There is something that whispers to me it would be prudent to listen to offers of peace.
Little le Turtle
Miami, 1794




A Native to know :
Little Turtle was born in Indiana in 1752 but was raised in Ohio. He was a brave warrior and
became leader of the Miamis by 1790. He struggled with the whites and tried to secure his land
for his people, and even united with the Wyandots, Shawnees, and Delawares. But after the
Battle of Fallen Timbers, he opted to fight for peace, not war.

October 5
Too many have strayed from the path shown to us by the Great Spirit.
Sequichie grandfather

In remembrance :
Of Tecumseh, the great Shawnee tribal leader, who worked to forge an alliance among Native
Americans to fight for land and basic rights of their people. He died on October 5, 1813, in battle
with U.S. Forces.

October 6
It is better for us to die like warriors than to diminish away by inches. The cause of the red men
is just, and I hope that the (Creator) who governs everything will favor us.
Cornstalk
Shawnee, 1700's
Did you know?
"Connecticut" Is from the Mohican word meaning "long river place."

October 7
The chastisement of God is worse than any physical pain or sickness.
Rosalio Moises
Yaqui






Did you know?
Virginia Rosemyre, Gabrielino-Serrano, was an accomplished artist and produced several hundred
oil paintings in her lifetime. She lived from 1875-1921.

October 8
Do not speak of evil, for it creates curiosity in the minds of the young.
Lakota Sioux proverb



Did you know?
More than 8,000 Indians served in World War I, 25,000 in World War II, 41,000 in Vietnam,
and 24,000 in Operation Desert Storm.

October 9
Walk the good road...Be dutiful, respectful, gentle and modest...Be strong with the warm, strong
heart of the earth.
Anonymous male Sioux

On this date in Native American history :
October 9, 1813 : Major Thomas Rowland described the death of Tecumseh at the battle of the
Thames : "There was something so majestic, so dignified, and yet so mild, in his countenance as
he lay stretched on the ground, where a few minutes before he rallied his men to the fight, that
while gazing on him with admiration and...He had such a countenance as I shall never forget.
He had received a wound in the arm, and had it bound up, before he received the mortal wound.

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October 10
We must be united...We must smoke the same pipe...We must fight each other's battles...and
more than that, we must love the Great Spirit.
Tecumseh (1768-1813)
Shawnee




Did you know?
A Roadman is a peyote holy man of the Native American church.

October 11
It was supposed that lost spirits were roving about everywhere in the invisible air,
waiting for children to find them if they searched long and patiently enough. The
spirit sang its spiritual song for the child to memorize and use when calling upon
the spirit guardian as an adult.
Mourning Dove (Christine Quintasket) (1888-1936)
Salish

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