Echoing through the ages to this present moment, the voices of Native American people and Native American quotes resonate with timeless knowledge and insight. From the revered elders of the past to the rising generation of today, these quotes serve as a bridge across generations, inviting everyone to connect with a shared human experience rooted in respect, resilience, and unity. As an educator with Native American heritage, I share these Native American quotes to honor and bring forward the wisdom and strength of our ancestors for all to learn from and be inspired by. These Native American quotes remind us of our responsibility to honor this legacy as we face today’s challenges and move forward together toward a more just, equitable, and compassionate world.
Native American Quotes Honoring Mother Earth
Humanity is forgetting that everything has a right to exist on this Mother Earth! —Steven Blue Horse, Sicangu Lakota, personal communication with the author
We must protect the forests for our children, grandchildren and children yet to be born. We must protect the forests for those who can’t speak for themselves such as the birds, animals, fish and trees. —Qwatsinas (Hereditary Chief Edward Moody), Nuxalk Nation
The elders were wise. They know that man’s heart, away from nature, becomes hard; they knew that lack of respect for growing, living things soon led to a lack of respect for humans too. —Chief Luther Standing Bear, Lakota Sioux
The ground on which we stand is sacred ground. It is the blood of our ancestors. —Chief Plenty Coups, Crow Nation
Our connection to the natural world is a reflection of our inner selves. Let us cultivate love and respect for both. —Sacheen Littlefeather, Apache
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. … That which we put into the ground she returns to us. —Big Thunder Wabanaki, Algonquin
I don’t know how to save the world. I don’t have the answers or The Answer. I hold no secret knowledge as to how to fix the mistakes of generations past and present. I only know that without compassion and respect for all of Earth’s inhabitants, none of us will survive—nor will we deserve to. —Leonard Peltier, Lakota / Dakota / Anishinaabe
We must go beyond the arrogance of human rights. We must go beyond the ignorance of civil rights. We must step into the reality of natural rights because all of the natural world has a right to existence and we are only a small part of it. There can be no trade-off. —John Trudell, Santee Dakota
Everybody is so distracted by things for the self. They don’t care about their relatives anymore. The SUV shows how we feel about the environment. To turn this around, we need to go back to the earth and live with the earth spiritually. —Floyd Red Crow Westerman, Sisseton Dakota
The American Indian is of the soil, whether it be the region of forests, plains, pueblos, or mesas. He fits into the landscape, for the hand that fashioned the continent also fashioned the man for his surroundings. He once grew as naturally as the wild sunflowers; he belongs just as the buffalo belonged. —Luther Standing Bear, Oglala Sioux Chief
We were created to take care of, steward the land. That is mankind’s purpose on earth, to steward and take care of the land as it feeds off of it. —Wes Studi, Cherokee Nation
I was warmed by the sun, rocked by the winds and sheltered by the trees as other Indian babes. I can go everywhere with a good feeling. —Geronimo, Chiricahua Apache
Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect. —Chief Seattle, Duwamish
If you talk to the animals, they will talk with you and you will know each other. If you do not talk to them, you will not know them, and what you do not know, you will fear. What one fears, one destroys. —Chief Dan George, Tsleil-Waututh Nation
The land is sacred. These words are at the core of our being. The land is our mother, the rivers our blood. Take our land away and we die. That is, the Indian in us dies. —Mary Brave Bird, Lakota
Our land is everything to us. … I will tell you one of the things we remember on our land. We remember that our grandfathers paid for it—with their lives. —John Wooden Leg, Cheyenne
The old Indian teaching was that it is wrong to tear loose from its place on the earth anything that may be growing there. It may be cut off, but it should not be uprooted. The trees and the grass have spirits. Whatever one of such growth may be destroyed by some good Indian, his act is done in sadness and with a prayer for forgiveness because of his necessities. —Wooden Leg, (late 19th century) Cheyenne
Native Americans have been stewards of the land and water since time immemorial. We care for these valuable resources to sustain life now and in the future. —Darnella Melancon, Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe (AZ/CA), personal communication with the author
The Holy Land is everywhere. —Black Elk, Oglala Sioux
Mother Earth, upon your body I walk in beauty, and everywhere I go, happiness will be with me. —Michael Bercier, Anishinaabe, personal communication with the author
My grandpa always reminded me to “look at the mountains to know ‘here you are, so you’ll never be lost.’” His way of saying that people and signs may change over time, but generally the mountains stay put! I follow this today. His name was Manuel Enis. My name is Dwayne Pierce and I’m Tohono O’odham/Cayuse. —Personal communication with the author
Introspective Native American Quotes
When you just be yourself, you put something beautiful in the world that wasn’t there before. —“Edwin Elliot” Mario Sanchez, Tejon Tribe, Yowlumne Yokuts, personal communication with the author
Warrior up! —LyDall Yazzie, WarDance Live, Diné
All thunder of the mouth, no lighting in the hand. —Craig Hackett, Lakota & Coahuiltecan, personal communication with the author
You must speak straight so that your words may go as sunlight into our hearts. —Cochise, Apache
When you are in doubt, be still, and wait; when doubt no longer exists for you, then go forward with courage. So long as mists envelop you, be still; be still until the sunlight pours through and dispels the mists as it surely will. Then act with courage. —Chief White Eagle, Ponca
We must remember that our actions today will shape the world that our children inherit tomorrow. —Sacheen Littlefeather, Apache
True strength lies in the ability to embrace vulnerability and learn from our mistakes. —Sacheen Littlefeather, Apache
No voice is too small to make a difference. Speak up, speak out, and be heard. —Sacheen Littlefeather, Apache
Children were encouraged to develop strict discipline and a high regard for sharing. When a girl picked her first berries and dug her first roots, they were given away to an elder so she would share her future success. When a child carried water for the home, an elder would give compliments, pretending to taste meat in water carried by a boy or berries in that of a girl. The child was encouraged not to be lazy and to grow straight like a sapling. —Mourning Dove (Christine Quintasket, 1888-1936), Salish
This is for every little rez kid, every little urban kid, every little Native kid out there who has a dream. —Lily Gladstone, Piegan Blackfeet, Nez Perce
Life is dangerous. Living is hard. It doesn’t get easier. In fact, it gets harder. But it gets more worth it. That’s a difficult lesson to learn, but hopefully, you will also learn to appreciate the good when you find it. —Jordan Kai Kor Eleccion, Wapetonwon Tarahumara, personal communication with the author
The lessons we learn daily are a gift to us humans and give us the knowledge of what can be enjoyed or the knowledge of what we should never teach to anyone we meet in life. —Martan Martinez, Wappo / Pomo, personal communication with the author
The beauty in life is, each day is a new day to try again and be a better version of myself than yesterday. —Aurora Mamea, Blackfeet, personal communication with the author
Never be ashamed for being you (Native American) because you were the prayer and hope your ancestors had. —Trevor S. Foster, spiritual leader, Diné / Blackfeet / Cree
Hold on to what is good. Even if it’s a handful of earth. Hold on to what you believe. Even if it’s a tree that stands by itself. Hold on to what you must do. Even if it’s a long way from here. Hold on to your life. Even if it’s easier to let go. Hold on to my hand. Even if someday I’ll be gone away from you. —Crowfoot, Blackfeet warrior and orator, 1830-1890
We’re not Indians and we’re not Native Americans. We’re older than both concepts. We’re the people, we’re the human beings. —John Trudell, Santee Dakota
You have to look deeper, way below the anger, the hurt, the hate, the jealousy, the self-pity, way down deeper where the dreams lie, son. Find your dream. It’s the pursuit of the dream that heals you. —Billy Mills, Oglala Lakota
The ultimate is not to win, but to reach within the depths of your capabilities and to compete against yourself to the greatest extent possible. When you do that, you have dignity. You have the pride. You can walk about with character and pride no matter in what place you happen to finish. —Billy Mills, Oglala Lakota
People make a big mistake when they say, “I need to be motivated.” You motivate yourself. I might inspire somebody, but that person has to be motivated within themselves first. Look inside yourself, believe in yourself, put in the hard work, and your dreams will unfold. —Billy Mills, Oglala Lakota
God has given me the ability. The rest is up to me. Believe. Believe. Believe. —Billy Mills, Oglala Lakota
It does not require many words to speak the truth. —Chief Joseph, Nez Perce
Native American Quotes About the Movement
We are not victims. We come from a living culture that is thriving as we heal, rebuild connections, and help one another to rise up! —Dan Nanamkin, Colville / Nez Perce, personal communication with the author
If we don’t teach our native language and customs to our children, there’s an expiration date on our very existence. —Charles Larrabee, Cheyenne River Sioux, personal communication with the author
Getting old doesn’t make you wise. Sometimes you’re just old LOL. —James BearChild, Blackfeet & Navajo, personal communication with the author
Honoring our heritage is essential not only for celebrating the rich history and our culture and communities but also for the well-being of future generations. By understanding and respecting the traditions, we pave the way for healing, resilience, and a better future for all of our people. —James BearChild, Blackfeet & Navajo, personal communication with the author
We come in all colors and shades, so don’t make assumptions. Ask me about my story. —Dr. Kenneth Wallace Jr., African American, Choctaw, Pawnee, personal communication with the author
Practicing our culture, being with family and community, is what keeps us connected—to our ancestors, to the earth, to all creatures, and to our Creator. This is the foundation of who we are. —Orena Flores, Quechan / Mohave / Maricopa, personal communication with the author
This is our land. It isn’t a piece of pemmican to be cut off and given in little pieces back to us. It is ours and we will take what we want. —Chief Poundmaker, Cree
Only one thing’s sadder than remembering you were once free, and that’s forgetting you were once free. —Leonard Peltier, Dakota / Lakota / Anishinaabe
All I try to do is portray Indians as we are, in creative ways. With imagination and poetry. I think a lot of Native American literature is stuck in one idea: sort of spiritual, environmentalist Indians. And I want to portray everyday lives. I think by doing that, by portraying the ordinary lives of Indians, perhaps people learn something new. —Sherman Alexie, Spokane & Coeur d’Alene
Humor is widely used by Indians to deal with life. Indian gatherings are marked by laughter and jokes, many directed at the horrors of history, at the continuing impact of colonization. … Certainly the time frame we presently inhabit has much that is shabby and tricky to offer; and much that needs to be treated with laughter and ironic humor. —Dennis Banks, Anishinaabe
Our culture is our strength and reclaiming it is a powerful act of resistance. —Dennis Banks, Anishinaabe
When we speak with love, truth, and respect, we can make a difference in the world. —Dennis Banks, Anishinaabe
It takes a strong effort on the part of each American Indian not to become Europeanized. The strength for this effort can only come from the traditional ways, the traditional values that our elders retain. —Russell Means, Oglala Lakota
Being is a spiritual proposition. Gaining is a material act. Traditionally, American Indians have always attempted to be the best people they could. Part of that spiritual process was and is to give away wealth, to discard wealth in order not to gain. —Russell Means, Oglala Lakota
Young people and Indian people need to know that we existed in the 20th century. We need to know who our heroes are and to know what we have done and accomplished in this century other than what Olympic athletes Jim Thorpe and Billy Mills have done. —Russell Means, Oglala Lakota
I got into acting through my political involvement, through a sense of justice. I wanted to see things change, to offset some of the lies that have been told about us throughout history. —Tantoo Cardinal, Cree & Métis
“Dances With Wolves” really started the movement, using subtitles for Lakota Sioux and showing Indians as interesting, complex people—not just the enemy—and giving a lot of unknown Indian actors work. —Wes Studi, Cherokee Nation
Every human being is a raindrop. And when enough of the raindrops become clear and coherent, they then become the power of the storm. —John Trudell, Santee Dakota
We the people need to work together instead of acting like the colonizers that took our lands and tried to strip us of our spiritual beliefs. The colonizers did their best to create genocide. Instead of helping one another, people have allowed greed to take over and all they see is $$$ for themselves instead of seeing how we can help each other as our people once did. No one went hungry, not one tribal member went without. We need to work together again and stop all this hatred. No one is better than anyone else. We are all Creators’ children. —Carmen Saldivar aka Eagle Heart Woman, Mescalero Apache, personal communication with the author
Respect your elders, take care of them and pay attention when they speak. They have lived a life you will never experience, but the wisdom they have applies to your life now. —Carol Pipiu Sullivan, Alaska Native, Yup’ik & Inupiaq Inuit, personal communication with the author
We are still here because our ancestors secured a way for our future. Who am I to not secure the way for our children’s futures? —Amber Dawn Cantu, Colville Confederated Tribes 6th-generation direct descendant, personal communication with the author
I do not think the measure of a civilization is how tall its buildings of concrete are, but rather how well its people have learned to relate to their environment and fellow man. —Sun Bear, Chippewa
I should never have surrendered. I should have fought until I was the last man alive. —Geronimo, Chiricahua Apache
I have been in a great many councils, but I am no wiser. We are all sprung from a woman, although we are unlike in many things. We can not be made over again. You are as you were made, and as you were made you can remain. We are just as we were made by the Great Spirit, and you can not change us; then why should children of one mother and one father quarrel?—why should one try to cheat the other? I do not believe that the Great Spirit Chief gave one kind of men the right to tell another kind of men what they must do. —Chief Joseph, Nez Perce
Someone needs to explain to me why wanting clean drinking water makes you an activist, and why proposing to destroy water with chemical warfare doesn’t make a corporation a terrorist. —Winona LaDuke, Ojibwe
A single twig breaks, but the bundle of twigs is strong. —Tecumseh, Shawnee
Native American Historical Quotes
He had told the people when they were being offered money to relocate, “Hold money in one hand and dirt in the other. Which one will last longer?” This was a reminder that our people have survived on this land since time immemorial and that we can’t just sell the land to the highest bidder. We are connected to the land through our songs, language, and ceremonies. —Albert Cornelius Nelson remembering the words of his grandfather John Williams, Yavapai, as communicated to the author
I have heard you intend to settle us on a reservation near the mountains. I don’t want to settle. I love to roam over the prairies. There I feel free and happy, but when we settle down we grow pale and die. —Chief Satanta, Kiowa
This war did not spring up on our land; this war was brought upon us by the children of the Great Father who came to take our land without a price, and who, in our land, do a great many evil things. … This war has come from robbery—from the stealing of our land. —Brule Sioux Chief Spotted Tail
There is a mistaken belief that the word Indian refers somehow to the country, India. When Columbus washed up on the beach in the Caribbean, he was not looking for a country called India. Europeans were calling that country Hindustan in 1492. … Columbus called the tribal people he met “Indio,” from the Italian in dio, meaning “in God.” —Russell Means, Oglala Lakota
How smooth must be the language of the whites, when they can make right look like wrong and wrong like right. —Black Hawk, Sauk
Captain Cook came to rape and pillage our people. We whooped him and his crew. Then we ate him. —Jason Tobosa, Hawaiian, personal communication with the author
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. —Sitting Bull, Hunkpapa Sioux
These were the words given to my great-grandfather by the Master of Life: “At some time, there shall come among you a stranger, speaking a language you do not understand. He will try to buy the land from you, but do not sell it; keep it for an inheritance to your children. —Aseenewub, Red Lake Ojibwa
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. —Chief Red Cloud (Makhipiya-Luta), Sioux Chief
Once I was in Victoria, and I saw a very large house. They told me it was a bank and that the white men place their money there to be taken care of, and that by and by they got it back with interest. We are Indians, and we have no such bank; but when we have plenty of money or blankets, we give them away to other chiefs and people, and by and by they return them with interest, and our hearts feel good. Our way of giving is our bank. —Chief Maquinna, Nootka
When a white army battles Indians and wins, it is called a great victory, but if they lose, it is called a massacre. —Chiksika, Shawnee
Before America can heal, it needs to accept its past. With regards to history, the TRUTH will change everything. —Floyd Red Crow Westerman, Sisseton Dakota
Will we let ourselves be destroyed in our turn without a struggle, give up our homes, our country bequeathed to us by the Great Spirit, the graves of our dead, and everything that is dear and sacred to us? I know you will cry with me, ‘Never! Never!’ —Chief Tecumseh, Shawnee
The school system needs to start teaching the history of our people from our story and stop teaching his-story. —Gabriel Ayala, Yoeme multidimensional artist, personal communication with the author
As Hopi people, we migrated from the Mexico City area over 1,000 years ago. We were all different clans looking for a peaceful way of life. You will find some of our ruins near Winslow and Flagstaff, Arizona. —Moontee Sinquah, Hopi – Texas / Choctaw, personal communication with the author
If the white man wants to live in peace with the Indian, he can live in peace. … Treat all men alike. Give them all the same law. Give them all an even chance to live and grow. All men were made by the same Great Spirit Chief. They are all brothers. The Earth is the mother of all people, and all people should have equal rights upon it. —Heinmot Tooyalakekt (Chief Joseph), Nez Perce leader
Let me be a free man, free to travel, free to stop, free to work, free to trade where I choose my own teachers, free to follow the religion of my fathers, free to think and talk and act for myself, and I will obey every law or submit to the penalty. —Heinmot Tooyalakekt (Chief Joseph), Nez Perce leader
As Native people, our families have been plagued with intergenerational trauma stemming from colonization, boarding schools, and MMIP. Our people have suffered and our ancestors sacrificed for the hope of having happy and safe families. When we forget their sacrifices, we forget that we also have generational wisdom to heal ourselves, our families, and our communities. Remember where you come from and take action to honor those that came before you. —Cheryl Bearchild, Choctaw Nation, personal communication with the author
I was born on the prairies where the wind blew free and there was nothing to break the light of the sun. I was born where there were no enclosures. —Geronimo, Chiricahua Apache
Native American Quotes About Spirit and Truth
In Lakota culture, there is no such thing as the devil or hell when we make our journey to the spirit world. Some say we have that option to come back. —Wayne Waters, Oglala Lakota, personal communication with the author
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. … That which we put into the ground she returns to us. —Big Thunder Wabanaki, Algonquin
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 things in the spirit, and the shape of all shapes as they must live together like one being. —Black Elk, Oglala Lakota Sioux
Your life is a gift from the Creator. Your gift back to the Creator is what you do with your life. —Billy Mills, Oglala Lakota
When a man does a piece of work which is admired by all, we say that it is wonderful; but when we see the changes of day and night, the sun, the moon, and the stars in the sky, and the changing seasons upon the earth, with their ripening fruits, anyone must realize that it is the work of someone more powerful than man. —Chased-by-Bears, Santee-Yanktonai Sioux
Each and every Indian, man or woman, child or Elder, is a spirit-warrior. —Leonard Peltier, Dakota / Lakota / Anishinaabe
Great Spirit, Great Spirit, my Grandfather, all over the earth the faces of living things are all alike. … Look upon these faces of children without number and with children in their arms, that they may face the winds and walk the good road to the day of quiet. —Black Elk, Oglala Sioux Holy Man
There is no death. Only a change of worlds. —Chief Seattle, Suquamish Chief
It’s like there is this predator energy on this planet, and this predator energy feeds on the essence of the spirit. —John Trudell, Santee Dakota
Protect your spirit, because you are in the place where spirits get eaten. —John Trudell, Santee Dakota
What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is a breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset. —Crowfoot, Blackfeet warrior and orator
A long time ago, this land belonged to our fathers, but when I go up to the river, I see camps of soldiers on its banks. These soldiers cut down my timber, they kill my buffalo, and when I see that, my heart feels like bursting. —Satanta, Kiowa Chief
When we dance, every step is a prayer, prayer in motion and movement. We dance for those who danced before us, those who can no longer dance, and those who are coming into this world. When we sing, our breath and life are a prayer, singing with those who carried the songs into this generation, the song is a lifeline connecting us all to where we come from and where we are going. Sacredness is not a religion, it is a way of life. This is why we sing and pray together. We are alive and we are thriving. —Paul Flores IV, Apache
