The Spiritual Sanctuary on Native American Traditions

another very art intense page, please read and then scroll back up to see what you missed !

Jerome Bushyhead, Morning Prayer

Beauty is before me, and

Beauty behind me,

above me and below me

hovers the beautiful.

I am surrounded by it,

I am immersed in it.

In my youth, I am aware of it,

and, in old age,

I shall walk quietly the beautiful

trail.

In beauty it is begun.

In beauty it is ended.

---- Navajo

Native by Karl Bang

Earth Teach Me

Earth teach me stillness

as the grasses are stilled with light.

Earth teach me suffering

as old stones suffer with memory.

Earth teach me caring

as parents who secure their young.

Earth teach me courage

as the tree which stands all alone.

Earth teach me limitation

as the ant which crawls on the ground.

Earth teach me freedom

as the eagle which soars in the sky.

Earth teach me resignation

as the leaves which die in the fall.

Earth teach me regeneration

as the seed which rises in the spring.

Earth teach me to forget myself

as melted snow forgets its life.

Earth teach me to remember

kindness as dry fields weep

with rain.

----- Ute Indians of
North America

This was sent to me without credits, the only thing I know is that it was called Gathering.

A site of interest containing information on the Native Calendar, and many other

interesting bits of information.

Native American Entrance

another one sent to me with no credits

Hear me, four quarters of the

world,

A relative I am !

Give me the strength to walk the

soft earth. Give me the eyes to see and the strength to

understand.

Look upon these faces of children

without number,

That they may face the winds and

walk the good road to the day of quiet.

This is my prayer; hear me.

---- Black Elk

Dana Tiger's Ritual Traditions of the Human Woman

Wow... An AMAZING site of links to information on SO MANY Native American tribes,

issues, arts, etc.. my site can be just a tiny window into the world of

Native American Websites...

This one came with no credits, but my mom loves it... :)

The Sacred Hoop

Then I was standing

on the hightest mountain

of them all,

And the round beneath me

was the whole hoop

of the world.

And while I stood there

I saw more than I can tell

And I understood

more than I saw.

For I was seeing

in the sacred manner

the shape of all things

of the spirit

And the shapes

as they must live

together like one being.

And I saw that the sacred hoop

of my people

was one of many hoops

that make one circle,

wide as daylight and starlight,

And in the center grew one

mightly flowering tree

To shelter all the children

of one mother

and one father.

And I saw that it was holy.

-----Black Elk

Margaret Tindell's Window to the Sacred World

We Belong To The Earth

This we know. The earth does not

belong to us; we belong to the earth.

This we know. All things are connected

like the blood which unites one family.

All things are connected.

Whatever befalls the earth befalls

the sons and daughters of

the earth.

We did not weave the web of life;

We are merely a strand in it.

Whatever we do to the web,

we do to ourselves.

----- Attributed to

Chief Noah Sealth

Jerome Bushyhead, New Beginings

A honored artist and leader wrongfully accused

One of the most popular of Leonard Peltier's works, the original oil painting is owned by Jane Fonda. The warrior represents fortitude, respect for all living things, and strength. His use of color intensifies the power evident in his subject's eyes, expression, and presence. Leonard Peltier was a Native American working for the social benefit of other Native Americans when he was wrongfully imprisoned for murdering FBI agents. To this day even the FBI does not know who committed the murder, and many people all over the world including Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama, Amnesty International, among many many other individuals and groups have worked for this honored man's freedom. To learn more...