Native American Spirituality

Because there were so many tribes and nations of American Indians in North and Latin America, we are going to use this section to list some contemplative quotes from famous American Indians or their leaders and Chiefs. [i]

1)   As John Mohawk most eloquently expressed:

The natural world is our bible. We don’t have chapters and verses; we have trees and fish and animals. The creation is the manifestation of energy through matter. Because the universe is made up of manifestations of energy, the options for that manifestation are infinite. But we have to admit that the way it has manifested itself is organized. In fact, it is the most intricate organization. We can’t know how we impact on its law; we can talk only about how its law impacts upon us. We can make no judgment about nature. The Indian sense of natural law is that nature informs us and it is our obligation to read nature as you would a book, to feel nature as you would a poem, to touch nature as you would yourself, to be a part of that and step into its cycles as much as you can.

2)   Big Thunder (Bedagi) Wabanaki Algonquin

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 and that which we put into the ground she returns to us....

3)   Black Elk Oglala Sioux Holy Man - 1863-1950

You have noticed that everything as Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round..... 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 nest in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours....

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.

4)   Lone Man (Isna-la-wica) Teton Sioux

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

5)   In his book, The Earth Shall Weep, James Wilson expands his thoughts on Native American Creation Myth.:

Yet for all their range and variety, these stories often have a similar feel to them. When you set them alongside the biblical Genesis, the common features suddenly appear in sharp relief; they seem to glow with the newness and immediacy of creation, offering vivid explanations for the behavior of an animal, the shape of a rock or a mountain, which you can still encounter in the here and now. Many tribes and nations call themselves, in their own languages, 'the first people', the 'original people', or the 'real people', and their stories place them firmly in a place of special power and significance…Far from telling them that they are locked out of Eden, the Indians' myths confirm that (unless they have been displaced by European contact and settlement) they still live in the place for which they were made; either the site of their own emergence or creation, or a 'Promised Land' which they have attained through long migration.

6)   Chief Aupumut, Mohican. 1725

"When it comes time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so 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."

7)   Sitting Bull Hunkpapa Sioux

"I am a red man. If the Great Spirit had desired me to be a white man he would have made me so in the first place. He put in your heart certain wishes and plans, in my heart he put other and different desires. Each man is good in his sight. It is not necessary for Eagles to be Crows. We are poor..but we are free. No white man controls our footsteps. If we must die...we die defending our rights."

Native American Spiritual Exercise:

The Seven Directions of the Medicine Wheel are:  North, South, East, West, Above/Heavens, Below/Earth, and within. Various American Tribes have believed that all is interconnected with spirit, nature, mental, and physical. The medicine reminds us to look each day at our sacred balance and to keep inner harmony. Colors were associated with the four nautical directions. This can be done by yourself or in a circle with others. This is typically done outside and in nature. The exercise suggests that we enter the wheel from the East (face the East) which is the direction of renewal and birth. Focus on the East and think of cleansing and oxygenating energy and take a few deep breaths:

1)   We ask for the blessings of the direction of the East, the direction of new beginnings, inspiration, and the rising sun.

2)   Then to the South, the direction of passion, heat, and enthusiasm

3)   Then to West, the place of intuition and inner knowing

4)   Then to the North, the place of communication and community

5)   Then look below and we send loving energy deep into Mother Earth

6)   Then to above and remember that we are connected to all there in the universe and beyond

7)   Then within and petition the Great Spirit by asking for THE presence here with us now in this place

Descriptions of the Directions:

North: This is the direction of the Element Earth and the Power of Body. The color is Blue and represents turmoil, challenge, and opportunity. South: This is the direction of the Element Fire and the Power of Action. The color is White and it represents Peace and Happiness. East: This is the direction of the Element Air and the Power of Mind. The color is RED and the East represents Success and Victory. West: This is the direction of the Element Water and the Power of Emotions. The color is Black and represents the death of part of our thinking or exit of the old. Above/Heavens: This is the direction of Sky and Cosmos. Represents the Zenith. Below: This is the direction of Earth, Planet and Sacred Place. Represents Nadir. Inside/Within: This is the direction of Spirit Connection. Represents the Soul within. [ii]