29 Quotes by Sioux authors

Rooted in the homelands of the Plains, Sioux, Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota, voices speak with spare clarity and grounded grace. Their sayings turn to the circle of kinship, the enduring breath of the prairies, and the quiet strength found in patience, generosity, and courage. They honor memory and responsibility, listening before speaking, and moving in balance with buffalo, seasons, and wind. Plain speech carries long distances, reminding that every choice touches relatives seen and unseen, and that a good heart travels farther than loud words.

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"They made us many promises, more than I can remember, but they never kept but one; they promised to take our land, and they took it"

Red Cloud, Statesman

"The American Indian was an individualist in religion as in war. He had neither a national army nor an organized church"

Charles Eastman, Author

Small: Charles Eastman

"It has been said that the position of woman is the test of civilization, and that of our women was secure. In them was vested our standard of morals and the purity of our blood"

Charles Eastman, Author

Small: Charles Eastman

"More than this, even in those white men who professed religion we found much inconsistency of conduct. They spoke much of spiritual things, while seeking only the material"

Charles Eastman, Author

Small: Charles Eastman

"We do not want riches, we want peace and love"

Red Cloud, Statesman

"I am poor and naked, but I am the chief of the nation. We do not want riches but we do want to train our children right. Riches would do us no good. We could not take them with us to the other world. We do not want riches. We want peace and love"

Red Cloud, Statesman

"The logical man must either deny all miracles or none, and our American Indian myths and hero stories are perhaps, in themselves, quite as credible as those of the Hebrews of old"

Charles Eastman, Author

Small: Charles Eastman

"The Indian was a religious man from his mother's womb"

Charles Eastman, Author

Small: Charles Eastman

"The family was not only the social unit, but also the unit of government"

Charles Eastman, Author

Small: Charles Eastman

"That is, we believed, the supreme duty of the parent, who only was permitted to claim in some degree the priestly office and function, since it is his creative and protecting power which alone approaches the solemn function of Deity"

Charles Eastman, Author

Small: Charles Eastman

"No one who is at all acquainted with the Indian in his home can deny that we are a polite people"

Charles Eastman, Author

Small: Charles Eastman

"The native American has been generally despised by his white conquerors for his poverty and simplicity"

Charles Eastman, Author

Small: Charles Eastman

"In every religion there is an element of the supernatural, varying with the influence of pure reason over its devotees"

Charles Eastman, Author

Small: Charles Eastman

"There was no religious ceremony connected with marriage among us, while on the other hand the relation between man and woman was regarded as in itself mysterious and holy"

Charles Eastman, Author

Small: Charles Eastman

"At the age of about eight years, if he is a boy, she turns him over to his father for more Spartan training"

Charles Eastman, Author

Small: Charles Eastman

"Among us all men were created sons of God and stood erect, as conscious of their divinity"

Charles Eastman, Author

Small: Charles Eastman

"Indian names were either characteristic nicknames given in a playful spirit, deed names, birth names, or such as have a religious and symbolic meaning"

Charles Eastman, Author

Small: Charles Eastman

"There were no temples or shrines among us save those of nature"

Charles Eastman, Author

Small: Charles Eastman

"The red man divided mind into two parts, - the spiritual mind and the physical mind"

Charles Eastman, Author

Small: Charles Eastman

"The hospitality of the wigwam is only limited by the institution of war"

Charles Eastman, Author

Small: Charles Eastman

"Friendship is held to be the severest test of character"

Charles Eastman, Author

Small: Charles Eastman

"The religion of the Indian is the last thing about him that the man of another race will ever understand"

Charles Eastman, Author

Small: Charles Eastman

"The elements and majestic forces in nature, Lightning, Wind, Water, Fire, and Frost, were regarded with awe as spiritual powers, but always secondary and intermediate in character"

Charles Eastman, Author

Small: Charles Eastman

"Our people, though capable of strong and durable feeling, were not demonstrative in their affection at any time, least of all in the presence of guests or strangers"

Charles Eastman, Author

Small: Charles Eastman

"He sees no need for setting apart one day in seven as a holy day, since to him all days are God's"

Charles Eastman, Author

Small: Charles Eastman

"The clan is nothing more than a larger family, with its patriarchal chief as the natural head, and the union of several clans by intermarriage and voluntary connection constitutes the tribe"

Charles Eastman, Author

Small: Charles Eastman

"Our old age was in some respects the happiest period of life"

Charles Eastman, Author

Small: Charles Eastman

"Every act of his life is, in a very real sense, a religious act"

Charles Eastman, Author

Small: Charles Eastman

"But to have a friend, and to be true under any and all trials, is the mark of a man!"

Charles Eastman, Author

Small: Charles Eastman