100 Native American Quotes About The Indian Way of Life

There is so much we can learn from the traditional knowledge of Native American peoples.

With the modern civilization racing toward its own destruction at an ever increasing pace, it would be wise to consider the traditional wisdom and spirituality of the indigenous cultures of the world that have survived for thousands of years by being rooted in the land, community and self-sufficiency.

If you would like to learn more about Native American ways of thinking and being in the world, a good place to start is with some of the best quotes from Native American leaders, artists and authors over the last few centuries.

I’ll also include a list of some of the best books about Native American history, culture and traditions at the end for those who want to go deeper and I’ve also written a post about animism as a spiritual ecology.

Here are some of my favourite profound and inspiring quotes from Native Americans:

1. “The elders were wise. They know that man’s heart, away from nature, becomes hard; they knew that lack of respect for growing, living things soon led to a lack of respect for humans too.

― Chief Luther Standing Bear from the Lakota Sioux

2. Ask questions from you heart and you will be answered from the heart.

― Omaha

3. “We do not want churches because they will teach us to quarrel with God, as the Catholic and Protestants do. We do not want to learn that.”

― Chief Joseph, Nez Perce

4. The ground on which we stand is sacred ground. It is the blood of our ancestors.

― Chief Plenty Coups, Crow Nation

5. Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.

― Chief Seattle

6. I am going to venture that the man who sat on the ground in his tipi meditating on life and its meaning, accepting the kinship of all creatures, and acknowledging unity with the universe of things, was infusing into his being the true essence of civilization.”

― Chief Luther Standing Bear from the Lakota Sioux

7. “All life is a circle. The atom is a circle, orbits are circles, the earth, moon, and sun are circles. The seasons are circles. The cycle of life is a circle: baby, youth, adult, elder. The sun gives life to the earth who feeds life to the trees whose seeds fall to the earth to grow new trees. We need to practice seeing the cycles that the Great Spirit gave us because this will help us more in our understanding of how things operate. We need to respect these cycles and live in harmony with them.”

― Rolling Thunder

8. “The Red Nation shall rise again and it shall be a blessing for a sick world; a world filled with broken promises, selfishness and separations; a world longing for light again.

I see a time of Seven Generations when all the colors of mankind will gather under the Sacred Tree of Life and the whole Earth will become one circle again.

In that day, there will be those among the Lakota who will carry knowledge and understanding of unity among all living things and the young white ones will come to those of my people and ask for this wisdom.

I salute the light within your eyes where the whole Universe dwells. For when you are at that center within you and I am that place within me, we shall be one.”

― Crazy Horse, Oglala Lakota Sioux

9. “Hold on to what is good, Even if it’s a handful of earth. Hold on to what you believe, Even if it’s a tree that stands by itself. Hold on to what you must do, Even if it’s a long way from here. Hold on to your life, Even if it’s easier to let go. Hold on to my hand, Even if someday I’ll be gone away from you.”

― Chief Crowfoot, Blackfoot

10. “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 things in the spirit, and the shape of all shapes as they must live together like one being.”

― Black Elk, Oglala Lakota Sioux

11. When all the trees have been cut down, when all the animals have been hunted, when all the waters are polluted, when all the air is unsafe to breathe, only then will you discover you cannot eat money.

― Cree Prophecy

12. There is a mistaken belief that the word Indian refers somehow to the country, India. When Columbus washed up on the beach in the Caribbean, he was not looking for a country called India. Europeans were calling that country Hindustan in 1492…. Columbus called the tribal people he met “Indio,” from the Italian in dio, meaning “in God.”

― Russel Means

13. When you know who you are; when your mission is clear and you burn with the inner fire of unbreakable will; no cold can touch your heart; no deluge can dampen your purpose. You know that you are alive.

― Chief Seattle

14. Only to the white man was nature a wilderness and only to him was the land ‘infested’ with ‘wild’ animals and ‘savage’ people. To us it was tame, Earth was bountiful and we were surrounded with the blessings of the Great Mystery.

― Black Elk, Oglala Lakota Sioux

15. One thing to remember is to talk to the animals. If you do, they will talk back to you. But if you don’t talk to the animals, they won’t talk back to you, then you won’t understand, and when you don’t understand you will fear, and when you fear you will destroy the animals, and if you destroy the animals, you will destroy yourself.

― Chief Dan George, Tsleil-Waututh

16. Everything on the earth has a purpose, every disease an herb to cure it, and every person a mission. This is the Indian theory of existence.

― Mourning Dove Salish

17. “A very great vision is needed, and the man who has it must follow it as the eagle seeks the deepest blue of the sky.”

– Crazy Horse, Sioux Chief

18. You have to look deeper, way below the anger, the hurt, the hate, the jealousy, the self-pity, way down deeper where the dreams lie, son. Find your dream. It’s the pursuit of the dream that heals you.

― Billy Mills

19. We Indians do not teach that there is only one god. We know that everything has power, including the most inanimate, inconsequential things. Stones have power. A blade of grass has power. Trees and clouds and all our relatives in the insect and animal world have power. We believe we must respect that power by acknowledging its presence. By honoring the power of the spirits in that way, it becomes our power as well. It protects us.

― Russel Means

20. Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children.

― Native American Proverb

21. “We must go beyond the arrogance of human rights. We must go beyond the ignorance of civil rights. We must step into the reality of natural rights because all of the natural world has a right to existence and we are only a small part of it. There can be no trade-off.”

― John Trudell, Santee Dakota

22. “Someone needs to explain to me why wanting clean drinking water makes you an activist, and why proposing to destroy water with chemical warfare doesn’t make a corporation a terrorist.”

― Winona LaDuke, Ojibwe

23. Native American Ten Commandments

1. Treat the Earth and all that dwell therein with respect
2. Remain close to the Great Spirit
3. Show great respect for your fellow beings
4. Work together for the benefit of all Mankind
5. Give assistance and kindness wherever needed
6. Do what you know to be right
7. Look after the well-being of Mind and Body
8. Dedicate a share of your efforts to the greater Good
9. Be truthful and honest at all times
10. Take full responsibility for your actions

24. “Wherever forests have not been mowed down, wherever the animal is recessed in their quiet protection, wherever the earth is not bereft of four-footed life – that to the white man is an ‘unbroken wilderness.’

But for us there was no wilderness, nature was not dangerous but hospitable, not forbidding but friendly. Our faith sought the harmony of man with his surroundings; the other sought the dominance of surroundings.

For us, the world was full of beauty; for the other, it was a place to be endured until he went to another world.

25. Kinship with all creatures of the earth, sky, and water was a real and active principle. In the animal and bird world there existed a brotherly feeling that kept us safe among them… The animals had rights – the right of man’s protection, the right to live, the right to multiply, the right to freedom, and the right to man’s indebtedness. This concept of life and its relations filled us with the joy and mystery of living; it gave us reverence for all life; it made a place for all things in the scheme of existence with equal importance to all.”

― Chief Luther Standing Bear

26. “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. The True Peace. The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people 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-Taka (the Great Spirit), and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us. This is the real peace, and the others are but reflections of this. The second peace is that which is made between two individuals, and the third is that which is made between two nations. But above all you should understand that there can never be peace between nations until there is known that true peace, which, as I have often said, is within the souls of men.”

― Black Elk, Oglala Sioux

27. “May the stars carry your sadness away, May the flowers fill your heart with beauty, May hope forever wipe away your tears, And, above all, may silence make you strong.”

― Chief Dan George, Tsleil-Waututh Nation

28. “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.”

― Qwatsinas, Nuxalk Nation

29. “I have seen that in any great undertaking it is not enough for a man to depend simply upon himself.”

― Lone Man (Isna-la-wica), Teton Sioux

30. “I do not think the measure of a civilization is how tall its buildings of concrete are, but rather how well its people have learned to relate to their environment and fellow man.”

― Sun Bear, Chippewa

31. “White men have too many chiefs.”

― Sitting Bull

32. “The love of possessions is a disease with them (Americans). They take tithes from the poor and weak to support the rich who rule. They claim this mother of ours, the Earth, for their own and fence the neighbors away.

If America had been twice the size it is, there still would not have been enough.”

― Sitting Bull

33. “Kinship with all creatures of the earth, sky, and water was a real and active principle. In the animal and bird world there existed a brotherly feeling that kept us safe among them… The animals had rights – the right of man’s protection, the right to live, the right to multiply, the right to freedom, and the right to man’s indebtedness. This concept of life and its relations filled us with the joy and mystery of living; it gave us reverence for all life; it made a place for all things in the scheme of existence with equal importance to all.”

― Chief Luther Standing Bear

34. “Humans are vulnerable and rely on the kindnesses of the earth and the sun; we exist together in a sacred field of meaning.”

– Joy Harjo

35. “Wisdom and peace come when you start living the life the creator intended for you.”

– Geronimo

36. “Sometimes dreams are wiser than waking.”

– Black Elk

37. “A single twig breaks, but the bundle of twigs is strong.”

– Tecumseh

38. “You must speak straight so that your words may go as sunlight into our hearts.”

– Cochise

39. “It does not require many words to speak the truth.”

– Chief Joseph

40. “There can never be peace between nations until there is first known that true peace which is within the souls of men.”

– Black Elk, Oglala Sioux

41. Amazing the things you find when you bother to search for them.”

– Sacagawea

42. “The path to glory is rough, and many gloomy hours obscure it.”

– Black Hawk

43. “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.”

– Chief White Eagle, Ponca

44. “The Great Spirit is in all things. He 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 Wabanaki, Algonquin

45. “Honor the sacred. Honor the Earth, our Mother. Honor the Elders. Honor all with whom we share the Earth:-Four-leggeds, two-leggeds, winged ones, Swimmers, crawlers, plant and rock people. Walk in balance and beauty.”

– Native American Elder

46. “Friend do it this way-that is, whatever you do in life, do the very best you can with both your heart and minds. And if you do it that way, the Power of the Universe will come to your assistance, if you heart and mind are in Unity. When one sits in the Hoop Of The People, one must be responsible because All of Creation ins related. And the Hurt of one is the hurt of all. And the honor of one is the honor of all. And whatever we do effects everything in the universe. If you do it that way-that is, if you truly join your heart and mind as One-whatever you ask for, that the Way it’s Going to be.”

– Lakota Instructions for Living passed down from White Buffalo Calf Woman

47. “The Holy Land is everywhere.”

– Black Elk, Oglala Sioux

48. “Go forward with courage. 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.”

– Chief White Eagle, Ponca Chief

49. “When a white army battles Indians and wins, it is called a great victory, but if they lose, it is called a massacre.”

– Chiksika, Shawnee

50. “You have noticed that everything an Indian does in a circle,
and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles,
and everything and everything tries to be round.

In the old days all our power came to us from the sacred hoop
of the nation and so long as the hoop was unbroken the people
flourished. The flowering tree was the living center of the hoop,
and the circle of the four quarters nourished it. The east gave peace
and light, the south gave warmth, the west gave rain and the north
with its cold and mighty wind gave strength and endurance. This
knowledge came to us from the outer world with our religion.

Everything the power of the world does is done in a circle.
The sky is round and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball
and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power, whirls.
Birds make their nests in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours.
The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle. The moon
does the same and both are round. Even the seasons form a great
circle in their changing and always come back again to where they were.

The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is
in everything where power moves. Our teepees were round like the
nests of birds, and these were always set in a circle, the nation’s hoop,
a nest of many nests, where the Great Spirit meant for us to hatch our children.

Black Elk, Oglala Sioux

51. “Before our white brothers arrived to make us civilized men,
we didn’t have any kind of prison. Because of this, we had no delinquents.
Without a prison, there can be no delinquents.
We had no locks nor keys and therefore among us there were no thieves.
When someone was so poor that he couldn’t afford a horse, a tent or a blanket,
he would, in that case, receive it all as a gift.
We were too uncivilized to give great importance to private property.
We didn’t know any kind of money and consequently, the value of a human being
was not determined by his wealth.
We had no written laws laid down, no lawyers, no politicians,
therefore we were not able to cheat and swindle one another.
We were really in bad shape before the white men arrived and I don’t know
how to explain how we were able to manage without these fundamental things
that (so they tell us) are so necessary for a civilized society.

John (Fire) Lame Deer, Sioux Lakota

52. 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.

53. “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.

Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people.
Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide.
Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend,
even a stranger, when in a lonely place.
Show respect to all people and grovel to none.

When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of living.
If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself.

Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools
and robs the spirit of its vision.

When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled
with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep
and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way.
Sing your death song and die like a hero going home.”

Chief Tecumseh (Crouching Tiger), Shawnee Nation

54. “There is a road in the hearts of all of us, hidden and seldom traveled,
which leads to an unkown, secret place.
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.
Their teepees were built upon the earth
and their altars were made of earth.
The soul was soothing, strengthening, cleansing and healing.
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.

– Chief Luther Standing Bear

55. “Once I was in Victoria, and I saw a very large house. They told me it was a bank and that the white men place their money there to be taken care of, and that by and by they got it back with interest. We are Indians, and we have no such bank; but when we have plenty of money or blankets, we give them away to other chiefs and people, and by and by they return them with interest, and our hearts feel good. Our way of giving is our bank.”

– Chief Maquinna, Nootka

56. “Brother, you say there is but one way to worship and serve the Great Spirit. If there is but one religion, why do you white people differ so much about it? Why not all agreed, as you can all read the Book?”

– Sogoyewapha, “Red Jacket,” Seneca

57. “I do not see a delegation for the Four-Footed. I see no seat for the Eagles. We forget, and we consider ourselves superior. But we are, after all, a mere part of Creation. And we must consider to understand where we are. And we stand somewhere between the mountain and the Ant. Somewhere and only there as part and parcel of the Creation.”

– Chief Oren Lyons, Oneida in an address to the Non-Governmental Organizations of the United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, 1977

58. “The old Indian teaching was that it is wrong to tear loose from its place on the earth anything that may be growing there. It may be cut off, but it should not be uprooted. The trees and the grass have spirits. Whatever one of such growth may be destroyed by some good Indian, his act is done in sadness and with a prayer for forgiveness because of his necessities…”

– Wooden Leg, Cheyenne.

59. “Children were encouraged to develop strict discipline and a high regard for sharing. When a girl picked her first berries and dug her first roots, they were given away to an elder so she would share her future success. When a child carried water for the home, an elder would give compliments, pretending to taste meat in water carried by a boy or berries in that of a girl. The child was encouraged not to be lazy and to grow straight like a sapling.”

– Mourning Dove Christine Quintasket Salish

60. “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.”

– Luther Standing Bear, Oglala Sioux Chief

61. “The life of an Indian is like the wings of the air. That is why you notice the hawk knows how to get his prey. The Indian is like that. The hawk swoops down on its prey; so does the Indian. In his lament, he is like an animal. For instance, the coyote is sly; so is the Indian. The eagle is the same. That is why the Indian is always feathered up; he is a relative to the wings of the air.”

– Black Elk, Oglala Sioux

62. “From Wakan-Tanka, the Great Mystery, comes all power. It is from Wakan-Tanka that the holy man has wisdom and the power to heal and make holy charms. Man knows that all healing plants are given by Wakan-Tanka, therefore they are holy. So too is the buffalo holy because it is the gift of Wakan-Tanka.”

– Flat-Iron Maza Blaska, Oglala Sioux Chief

63. “Will we let ourselves be destroyed in our turn without a struggle, give up our homes, our country bequeathed to us by the Great Spirit, the graves of our dead, and everything that is dear and sacred to us? I know you will cry with me, ‘Never! Never!’”

– Chief Tecumseh, Shawnee

64. “Traditional people of Indian nations have interpreted the two roads that face the light-skinned race as the road to technology and the road to spirituality. We feel that the road to technology… has led modern society to a damaged and seared earth. Could it be that the road to technology represents a rush to destruction and that the road to spirituality represents the slower path that the traditional native people have traveled and are now seeking again? The earth is not scorched on this trail. The grass is still growing there.”

– William Commanda, Mamiwinini

65. “I hope the Great Heavenly Father, who will look down upon us, will give all the tribes His blessing, that we may go forth in peace, and live in peace all our days, and that He will look down upon our children and finally lift us far above the earth; and that our Heavenly Father will look upon our children as His children, that all the tribes may be His children, and as we shake hands to-day upon this broad plain, we may forever live in peace.”

– Chief Red Cloud (Makhipiya-Luta) Sioux Chief

66. “The American Indian is of the soil, whether it be the region of forests, plains, pueblos, or mesas. He fits into the landscape, for the hand that fashioned the continent also fashioned the man for his surroundings. He once grew as naturally as the wild sunflowers, he belongs just as the buffalo belonged….”

– Luther Standing Bear, Oglala Sioux Chief

67. “Religion is for people who’re afraid of going to hell. Spirituality is for those who’ve already been there.”
― Vine Deloria Jr.

68. “Owning land is like owning the ocean, or the air. no one owns land.”

― Tamanend

69. “Earth breathes in us.”

― Matthew Edward Hall

70. “Never has America lost a war … But name, if you can, the last peace the United States won. Victory yes, but this country has never made a successful peace because peace requires exchanging ideas, concepts, thoughts, and recognizing the fact that two distinct systems of life can exist together without conflict. Consider how quickly America seems to be facing its allies of one war as new enemies.”

― Vine Deloria Jr.

71. “Children, language, lands: almost everything was stripped away, stolen when you weren’t looking because you were trying to stay alive. In the face of such loss, one thing our people could not surrender was the meaning of land. In the settler mind, land was property, real estate, capital, or natural resources. But to our people, it was everything: identity, the connection to our ancestors, the home of our nonhuman kinfolk, our pharmacy, our library, the source of all that sustained us. Our lands were where our responsibility to the world was enacted, sacred ground. It belonged to itself; it was a gift, not a commodity, so it could never be bought or sold. These are the meanings people took with them when they were forced from their ancient homelands to new places.”

― Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass

72. “It was our belief that the love of possessions is a weakness to be overcome. . . . Children must early learn the beauty of generosity. They are taught to give what they prize most, that they may taste the happiness of giving. . . . The Indians in their simplicity literally give away all that they have—to relatives, to guests of other tribes or clans, but above all to the poor and the aged, from whom they can hope for no return.”
― Charles Alexander Eastman, Ohiyesa

73. “Before our white brothers arrived to make us civilized men,we didn’t have any kind of prison. Because of this, we had no delinquents. We had no locks nor keys and therefore among us there were no thieves. When someone was so poor that he couldn’t afford a horse, a tent or a blanket, he would, in that case, receive it all as a gift. We were too uncivilized to give great importance to private property. We didn’t know any kind of money and consequently, the value of a human being was not determined by his wealth. We had no written laws laid down, no lawyers, no politicians, therefore we were not able to cheat and swindle one another. We were really in bad shape before the white men arrived and I don’t know how to explain how we were able to manage without these fundamental things that (so they tell us) are so necessary for a civilized society.”

― “Listen to the air. You can hear it, feel it, smell it, taste it. Woniya wakan—the holy air—which renews all by its breath. Woniya, woniya wakan—spirit, life, breath, renewal—it means all that. Woniya—we sit together, don’t touch,
but something is there; we feel it between us, as a presence. A good way to start thinking about nature, talk about it. Rather talk to it, talk to the rivers, to the lakes, to the winds as to our relatives.”

― John (Fire) Lame Deer, Lame Deer, Seeker of Visions

74. “To encounter the sacred is to be alive at the deepest center of human existence. Sacred places are the truest definitions of the earth; they stand for the earth immediately and forever; they are its flags and shields. If you would know the earth for what it really is, learn it through its sacred places. At Devil’s Tower or Canyon de Chelly or the Cahokia Mounds, you touch the pulse of the living planet; you feel its breath upon you. You become one with a spirit that pervades geologic time and space.”

― N. Scott Momaday

75. “Listen to the air. You can hear it, feel it, smell it, taste it. Woniya wakan—the holy air—which renews all by its breath. Woniya, woniya wakan—spirit, life, breath, renewal—it means all that. Woniya—we sit together, don’t touch, but something is there; we feel it between us, as a presence. A good way to start thinking about nature, talk about it. Rather talk to it, talk to the rivers, to the lakes, to the winds as to our relatives.”

― John (Fire) Lame Deer, Lame Deer

You can learn a lot about a cultural outlook from proverbs, here are some of my favourite Native American Proverbs (wherever possible referring to the specific tribe or cultural group):

76. They are not dead who live in the hearts they leave behind.

― Tuscarora Proverb

77. All dreams spin out from the same web.

― Hopi Proverb

78. Life is not separate from death. It only looks that way.

— Blackfoot Proverb

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

― Iroquois Proverb

80. “The one who tells the stories rules the world.”

― Hopi Proverb

81. “Seek wisdom, not knowledge. Knowledge is of the past, wisdom is of the future.”

― Lumbee Proverb

82. Remember that your children are not your own, but are lent to you by the Creator.

― Mohawk

83. A man or woman with many children has many homes.

― Lakota Sioux

84. The heart is your center, being from your center outward.

— Anishinaabe Proverb

85. “A people without a history is like the wind over buffalo grass.”

― Sioux Proverb

86. “If we wonder often, the gift of knowledge will come. If we never wonder, knowledge will never find us.”

― Arapaho Proverb

87. “It is better to have less thunder in the mouth and more lightning in the hand.”

― Apache Proverb

88. When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice.

89. Don’t let yesterday use up too much of today.

– Cherokee Proverb

90. “A brave man dies only once, a coward dies many times”.

― Iowa Proverb

91. When we show our respect for other living things, they respond with respect for us.

― Arapaho Proverb

92. Ask questions from your heart and you will be answered from the heart.

– Omaha Tribe

93. Don’t be afraid to cry. It will free your mind of sorrowful thoughts.

― Hopi Proverb

94. Before eating, always take time to thank the food.

― Arapaho Proverb

95. Poverty is a noose that strangles humility and breeds disrespect for God and man.

― Sioux Proverb

96. Don’t walk behind me;
I may not lead.
Don’t walk in front of me;
I may not follow.
Walk beside me
that we may be as one.

— Native American Proverb

97. Listen to the wind, it talks.
Listen to the silence, it speaks.
Listen to your heart, it knows.

— Native American Proverb

98. Do not pray when it is raining if you do not pray when the sun is shining.

— Native American Proverb

99. Do not change horses in the middle of the river.

— Native American Proverb

100. You can’t wake a person who is pretending to be asleep.

― Navajo Proverb

Going Deeper By Reading Books:

If you enjoyed these Native American quotes and you’d like to go deeper into learning about their culture, history and traditions, here are some excellent books that I would highly recommend reading:

1. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants (Robin Wall Kimmerer, Potawatomi Nation)

2. Embers: One Ojibway’s Meditations (Richard Wagamese, Ojibwe)

3. Black Elk Speaks: The Complete Edition (John G. Neihardt and Nicholas Black Elk,  Oglala Lakota)

4. Think Indigenous: Native American Spirituality for a Modern World (Doug Good Feather, Standing Rock Lakota)

5. The Lakota Way: Stories and Lessons for Living (Joseph M. Marshall, Rosebud Sioux, Lakota)

6. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West (Dee Brown)

7. An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States (Roxanne Dubar-Ortiz)

8. Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto (Vine Deloria, Standing Rock Lakota)

9. In the Hands of the Great Spirit: The 20,000-Year History of American Indians (Jake Page)

10. Exiled in the Land of the Free: Democracy, Indian Nations & the U.S. Constitution (Oren Lyons, Seneca)

11. Indian Givers: How the Indians of the Americas Transformed the World (Jack Weatherford)

12. Where White Men Fear to Tread: The Autobiography of Russell Means (Russell Means, Oglala Lakota)

13. It’s All about the Land: Collected Talks and Interviews on Indigenous Resurgence (Taiaiake Alfred, Mohawk)

14. Spirits of the Earth: A Guide to Native American Nature Symbols, Stories, and Ceremonies (Bobby Lake-Thom, Karuk and Seneca)

15. The Wisdom of the Native Americans (Kent Nerburn)

If you have any suggestions for more books or quotes please leave them in the comments.

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Kyle Pearce

Kyle is a mindful hiking guide, learning experience designer and sensory immersion meditation teacher.

He started Mindful Ecotourism in 2016 leading forest meditation workshops in Stanley Park near his home in Vancouver and today he leads hiking adventures in the mountains of Western Canada in the summer and South America in the winter.

Browse his upcoming workshops, hiking adventures or download one of his free educational guides.

Latest posts by Kyle Pearce (see all)

• Reconnect To Your Original Nature Through Awe And Wonder - April 17, 2024
• Pasqueflower: A Spring Wildflower That Symbolizes Rebirth - April 5, 2024
• Deep Embodiment And The Flow of Embodied Awareness - April 1, 2024