Proverbs & World Wisdom: Native American Sayings Quotes

Explore a thoughtful selection of Native American sayings that honor respect for the land, kinship, humility, and balance across diverse nations and traditions. These concise teachings invite reflection and encourage mindful choices rooted in community and gratitude. Presented with simple themes, the quotes highlight enduring wisdom about listening, patience, courage, and living in harmony with nature. Find timeless insights that can guide everyday life and inspire a deeper sense of connection and responsibility.

Similar topics:African Proverbs Chinese Proverbs Japanese Proverbs Latin Phrases Norse & Viking Sayings

"It is not necessary for eagles to be crows"

Sitting Bull, Statesman

Small: Sitting Bull

"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

"Each man is good in His sight. It is not necessary for eagles to be crows"

Sitting Bull, Statesman

Small: Sitting Bull

"The Mohawks have on all occasions shown their zeal and loyalty to the Great King; yet they have been very badly treated by his people"

Joseph Brant, Soldier

"A single twig breaks, but the bundle of twigs is strong"

Tecumseh, Leader

"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"

Sitting Bull, Statesman

Small: Sitting Bull

"Strangely enough, they have a mind to till the soil, and the love of possessions is a disease in them"

Sitting Bull, Statesman

Small: Sitting Bull

"A chief called Lawyer, because he was a great talker, took the lead in the council, and sold nearly all the Nez Perce country"

Chief Joseph, Leader

"He put in your heart certain wishes and plans; in my heart, he put other different desires"

Sitting Bull, Statesman

Small: Sitting Bull

"All men were made by the Great Spirit Chief. They are all brothers"

Chief Joseph, Leader

"The most common trait of all primitive peoples is a reverence for the life-giving earth, and the Native American shared this elemental ethic: The land was alive to his loving touch, and he, its son, was brother to all creatures"

Stewart Udall, Politician

"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

"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 all things in the spirit, and the shape of all shapes as they must live together like one being"

Black Elk, Leader

"And I say the sacred hoop of my people was one of the many hoops that made one circle, wide as daylight and as starlight, and in the center grew one mighty flowering tree to shelter all the children of one mother and one father"

Black Elk, Leader

"Although the troops have struck us, we throw it all behind and are glad to meet you in peace and friendship"

Black Kettle, Leader

Small: Black Kettle

"Instead of kids just hearing about beads and baskets and fringe, and about what 'was' and 'were,' we present Native American culture as a living contemporary culture"

Buffy Sainte-Marie

"What white man can say I never stole his land or a penny of his money? Yet they say that I am a thief"

Sitting Bull, Statesman

Small: Sitting Bull

"You think I am a fool, but you are a greater fool than I am"

Sitting Bull, Statesman

Small: Sitting Bull

"It is through this mysterious power that we too have our being, and we therefore yield to our neighbors, even to our animal neighbors, the same right as ourselves to inhabit this vast land"

Sitting Bull, Statesman

Small: Sitting Bull

"If the Great Spirit had desired me to be a white man, he would have made me so in the first place"

Sitting Bull, Statesman

Small: Sitting Bull

"If I agree to dispose of any part of our land to the white people I would feel guilty of taking food away from our children's mouths, and I do not wish to be that mean"

Sitting Bull, Statesman

Small: Sitting Bull

"I want to tell you that if the Great Spirit had chosen anyone to be the chief of this country, it is myself"

Sitting Bull, Statesman

Small: Sitting Bull

"I am here by the will of the Great Spirit, and by his will I am chief"

Sitting Bull, Statesman

Small: Sitting Bull

"God made me an Indian"

Sitting Bull, Statesman

Small: Sitting Bull

"Every seed is awakened, and all animal life"

Sitting Bull, Statesman

Small: Sitting Bull

"This nation is like a spring freshet; it overruns its banks and destroys all who are in its path"

Sitting Bull, Statesman

Small: Sitting Bull

"The earth has received the embrace of the sun and we shall see the results of that love"

Sitting Bull, Statesman

Small: Sitting Bull

"When once an Indian sees that his food is secure, he does not care what the chief or any one else says"

George Crook, Soldier

"Always give a word or sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, or even a stranger, if in a lonely place"

Tecumseh, Leader

"I was warmed by the sun, rocked by the winds and sheltered by the trees as other Indian babes. I was living peaceably when people began to speak bad of me. Now I can eat well, sleep well and be glad. I can go everywhere with a good feeling"

Geronimo, Statesman

"In more recent years, I've become more and more fascinated with the indigenous folklore of this land, Native American folklore, and also Hispanic folklore now that I live in the Southwest"

Terri Windling, Artist

"Our people could not talk with these white-faced men, but they used signs which all people understand"

Chief Joseph, Leader

"Good words will not give me back my children"

Chief Joseph, Leader

"For a short time we lived quietly. But this could not last. White men had found gold in the mountains around the land of winding water"

Chief Joseph, Leader

"An Indian respects a brave man, but he despises a coward"

Chief Joseph, Leader

"We did not know there were other people besides the Indian until about one hundred winters ago, when some men with white faces came to our country"

Chief Joseph, Leader

"We damaged all the big guns we could, and carried away the powder and the lead"

Chief Joseph, Leader

"The Indian race are waiting and praying"

Chief Joseph, Leader

"The first white men of your people who came to our country were named Lewis and Clark. They brought many things that our people had never seen. They talked straight. These men were very kind"

Chief Joseph, Leader

"I thought I was benefiting the Indians as well as the government, by taking them all over the United States, and giving them a correct idea of the customs, life, etc., of the pale faces, so that when they returned to their people they could make known all they had seen"

Buffalo Bill, Celebrity

Small: Buffalo Bill

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