Native American Wisdom

December 15
We sang songs that carried in their melodies all the sounds of nature..
Anonymous American Indian



On this date in Native American history :
December 15, 1970 : Blue Lake was returned to the Taos people many years after
the U.S. government seized it from them. Blue Lake was part of the Taos culture
for more than 700 years and is considered sacred land.

December 16
The Great Spirit does right. He knows what is best for HIS children.
Seneca teaching :


Did you know?
The First Totem Awards were presented in 1993 to Native Americans who made
outstanding contributions in television, theater, music, and film. Recipients include
Wes Studi, Graham Greene, John Trudell, and Shiela Tousey.

December 17
One never forgets to acknowledge a favor, no matter how small.
Moral teaching of the Omaha


Did you know?
Some tribes did not cut their unless they were in mourning.

December 18
Day and night cannot dwell together. Your religion was written on tables of stone,
ours was written on our hearts.
Chief Seattle (Seathl) (1785-1866)
Dwamish-Suquamish





A Native to know : Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, Sioix (Red Bird or Zitkala-Sa), was
born in 1876 (died 1938) at the Yankton Sioux Agency. She attended Earlham College,
and in 1916 was elected secretary of the Society of American Indians. She relocated
to Washington, D.C., lectured, edited a periodical, and co-wrote the Indian opera
Sun Dance.

December 19
The wildwood birds...sang in concert, without pride, without, envy, without jealousy...
Simon Pokagon (1830-1899)
Potawatomi


On this date in Native American history :
December 19, 2000 : The Navajo Code Talkers were recognized for their service in
World War II.

December 20
Can things go well in a land where freedom of worship is a lie, a hollow boast?
To each nation is given the light by which it knows God, and each funds its own
way to express the longing to serve Him...If a nation does not do what is right
according to its own understanding, its power is worthless.
Thunderchild (1849-1927)
Plains Cree

December 21
May the warm winds of heaven blow softly upon your house. May the Great Spirit bless all who
enter there. May your moccasins make happy tracks in many snows, And may the rainbow
always touch your shoulder.
Cherokee blessing

December 22
Youth is impulsive. When our young men grow angry at some real or imaginary wrong, and disfigure their faces with black paint, it denotes that their hearts are black, and that they are often cruel and relentless, and our old men and old women are
unable to restrain them...Revenge by young men is considered gain, even at the cost of their own lives, but the old men who
stay at home in times of war, and mothers who have sons to lose, know better.
Chief Seattle (Seathl) (1785-1866)
Duwamish-Suquamish

for what results in "the taking of one's life"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-I5IOnGY0A&feature=related


barry herem: cannibal bird

depicts one of the bird man dancers of the kwakiutl indians of british columbia
http://www.barryherem.com/

December 23
In anger the will power is charged with evil and the man becomes dangerous to
himself and to others.
Omaha adage

December 24
Treat the earth well : it was given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children.
We do not inherit the Earth from out Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children.
Ancient Indian Proverb




Did you know?
"Ohio" is the Iroquois word for "fine (or good) river.

December 25
We also ha e a religion which was given to our forefathers, and has been handed down to us, their children. It teaches us to be thankful, to be united, and to love one another! We never quarrel about religion.
Red Jacket (Sagoyewatha) (c.1752-1830)
Seneca


Did you know?
A Croatan (or a Cro) is a person of mixed Indian, white, and black ancestry.

December 26
Develop your body, but do not neglect your mind. It is the mind that leads a man to power, not strength of body.
Crow teaching

In remembrance :
The largest public execution was held in 1862 on this day in Mankato, Minnesota, where 38 Santee Sioux were hanged simultaneously for their alleged involvement in crimes committed during the Sioux Uprising. Originally, more than 300 men were condemned to death, but President Abraham Lincoln investigated the charges and allowed 38 of the sentences to stand.

on this day.

"x-mas tree traffic lights"

December 27
First you are too think always of God, of Wankan-Tanka . Second, you are to use all your powers
to care for your people and especially for the poor.
Black Moon
Hunkpapa Sioux


Did you know?
In traditional Cherokee culture, according to the book Voices of Our Ancestors by
Dhyani Ywahoo (Cherokee), a person does not reach adulthood until age 51.

December 28
A chief must not seek profit for himself.
Sweet Medicine
Cheyenne


In Remembrance :
Of the more than 300 Sioux Indians who crossed over on December 28, 1890, during the massacre at Wounded Knew

December 29
It is the office of man to kindle the fire, but the part of the woman to keep it burning.
Pima ethic



Did you know?
Montezuma lived in an elegant palace with buildings an aviary, lush gardens, and even a private zoo.,

lightsun wrote:

December 27
First you are too think always of God, of Wankan-Tanka . Second, you are to use all your powers
to care for your people and especially for the poor.
Black Moon
Hunkpapa Sioux


Did you know?
In traditional Cherokee culture, according to the book Voices of Our Ancestors by
Dhyani Ywahoo (Cherokee), a person does not reach adulthood until age 51.

it takes a good time...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VNErp4jz3s

December 30
It is always good to do good, it is said.
Sam Blowsnake
Winnebago

Did you know?
There are many stereotypes of American Indians that must be avoided. The truth
Is as follows :
Indians do not look alike.
Not all Indians know Native America history and culture, especially that which is not their own.
Indians observe the religion of their choice.
Not all Indians are alcoholics.
"Indian-ness" is not decided by the percentage of Indian blood in your body.
Indians do not always have an Indian name.
Indians were not uncivilized before the white man came to the Western Hemisphere.
Indians were not conquered.
There are many American Indian heroes.

December 31
Strength is not the only thing we must have in the world, and, in a man or a nation, it is of little use without wisdom.
Chacopee and the Wooden Man
Yankton Sioux

Lightsun: may i ask.
when were the native american indians introducing or introduced to a written form of record keeping?

i am asking because i find the words so stringent and compelling in their simplicity which has so much dignity to it that wisdom just is, no big intellectual brilliance and self-aggrandization needed, on the contrary, it puts them to shame.

no self-hatred on my part, however. just a kind of shyness to overcome the cultural barriers.

lavender orchid I an not quite sure. I will give my unscientific opinion. I believe it was the Cherokee in the 1800's. Prior to that was an oral tradition. I will give you a quote. "The Cherokee were among the most progressive Native peoples of their time. Many were educated as teachers, doctors, and lawyers. Most Cherokees could read and write their own language at a time when most of their white neighbors were illiterate. The Cherokee linguist, Sequoyah, developed a syllabary (a phonetic system, where each sound in speech is represented by a symbol) in 1809. In 1828, the Cherokee Phoenix, the oldest Indian newspaper in the country, began publication, using the Cherokee language."

lightsun: thanks, that's what i gathered so far as well.
i did some learning of the cherokee language not too long ago.
it was the first language outside the familiar european ones that outline a cultural context in which you live, normally unquestioned and, therefore, unaware.
it is a blessing to see one's own culture "against" that which one can glean from another. imho.
if this sounds awkward, forgive me, english isn't my first language either.


http://www.wehali.com/tsalagi/index.cfm?event=search

lightsun = e-ga-hi nv-do-i-ga-e-hi (?)
peace weaver = nv-wa-do-hi-ya-dv tsu-a-la

lavender orchid thank you kindly for translating my name. What a pleasant surprise. That is a
very nice present indeed.

January 01
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.
Crowfoot (1826-1890)
Blackfoot warrior and orator