Nature's University

"Oh, yes, I went to the white man's schools. I learned to read from schoolbooks, newspapers, and the Bible. But in time I found that these were not enough. Civilized people depend too much on man-made printed pages. I turn to the Great Spirit's book, which is the whole of His creation. You can read a big part of that book if you study nature. You know, if you take all your books, lay them out under the sun, and let the snow and rain and insects work on them for a while, there will be nothing left. But the Great Spirit has provided you and me with an opportunity for study in nature's university: the forests, the rivers, the mountains, and the animals, which include us."

Walking Buffalo
Stoney Nation
(Alberta)

Photos: (Top) Indian Paintbrush and West Glacier Lake, Snowy Range, WY, August 22, 2015; (Middle) Subalpine Aster and Nokhu Crags, Never Summer Range, CO, August 29, 2015; (Bottom) Mountain Gentian and Medicine Bow Peak, Snowy Range, WY, August 23, 2015

Do not abuse your wife, for in doing so, you are abusing Grandmother Earth.

"Do not abuse your wife. If you make your wife suffer, you will die in a short time. Our grandmother, the earth, is a woman, and in mistreating your wife, you are abusing Her. Most certainly will you be abusing our grandmother if you act thus. Since it is She who takes care of us, by your action you will be practically killing yourself."

A Winnebago father's teachings to his son

Photos: (Top) Alpenglow on Grand Teton from my campsite; (Middle) Indian Paintbrush and The Grand; (Bottom) Moss Campion blooming on Paintbrush Divide; All three photos were taken in Grand Teton National Park, CO on July 3-4, 2015

I know I walk in and out of several worlds each day.

"I know I walk in and out of several worlds each day."

Joy Harjo
Muskogee 

 
Photos: Pictographs painted in red hematite by the Archaic Barrier Canyon People as early as 5,000 B.C.E. The Great Gallery, Canyonlands National Park, UT

"My grandfather told us that these images are not done by humans . . ."

"My grandfather told us that these images are not done by humans. They are not done by Indians. They are done by beings with spiritual powers and they tell us stories of all kinds - stories of their travels, their beliefs
. . .

"But (he cautioned): don't let anyone tell you they are done by humans because they are not. They are done by somebody greater than a human."

Mae Perry
Shoshoni

Photos: Pictographs painted in red hematite by the Archaic Barrier Canyon people (?), as early as 5,000 B.C.E.  (Top and Secon) The Great Gallery, Canyonlands National Park, UT;  (Third) Arches National Park, just outside Moab, UT;  (Bottom) Sego Canyon Panel near Thompson Springs, UT.

"Raven Steals the Light"

 

There was a time many years ago when the earth was covered in darkness. An inky pitch blanketed the world, making it very difficult for anyone to hunt or fish or gather berries for food. An old man lived along the banks of a stream with his daughter, who may have been very beautiful or possibly quite homely. But this didn't matter to the old man because, after all, it was dark, and who could tell?

The reason why the world was dark had to do with the old man, who had a box that contained a smaller box which in turn held many other boxes. In the very last and smallest box was all the light in the universe, and this was a treasure he selfishly kept to himself.

The mischievous Raven existed at that time because he always had. He was none too happy about the state of the world, for he blundered about in the dark, bumping into everything. His interfering nature got the best of him one day when he stumbled by the old man's hut and overheard him muttering about his boxes. He instantly decided to steal the light but first had to find a way to get inside the hut.

Each day, the young girl would go to the stream to fetch water. So the Raven transformed himself into a tiny hemlock needle and floated into the girl's bucket. Working a bit of his trickster magic, he made the girl thirsty, and as she took a drink, he slipped down her throat. Once down in her warm insides, he changed again - this time into a small human being - and took a very long nap.

The girl did not know what was happening to her and didn't tell her father. One day, the Raven emerged from her as a little boy- baby. If anyone could have seen him in the dark, they would have noticed that he was a peculiar-looking child, with a long beak-like nose, a few feathers here and there, and the unmistakably shining eyes of the Raven.

Both father and daughter were delighted with their new family addition and played with him for hours on end. As the child explored his new surroundings, he soon determined that the light must be kept in the big box in the corner. When he first tried to open the box, his grandfather scolded him profusely, which in turn caused a crying and squawking fit, the likes of which the old man had never seen. As grandfathers have done since the beginning of time, he caved in and gave the child the biggest box to play with. This brought peace to the hut for a brief time, but it wasn't long until the child pulled his scam again - and again and again - until finally only one box remained.

After much coaxing and wailing by the child, the old man at last agreed to let him play with the light for only a moment. As the child tossed the ball of light, he transformed back into the Raven! Snatching the light in his beak, he flew through the smoke hole and up into the sky.

Then, the world was instantly changed forever. Mountains sprang up into the bright sky and reflections danced on the rivers and oceans. Far away, the Eagle was awakened and launched skyward - his target now clearly in sight.

Raven was so caught up in all the excitement of the newly- revealed world that he nearly didn't see the Eagle bearing down on him. Swerving sharply to escape the outstretched talons, he dropped nearly half of the ball of light, which fell to the earth. Shattering into one large and many small pieces on the rocky ground, the bits of light bounced back up into the heavens, where they remain to this day as the moon and the stars.

The Eagle pursued Raven beyond the rim of the world. Exhausted by the long chase, Raven let go of what light still remained. Floating gracefully above the the clouds, the sun as we now know it started up over the mountains to the east.

The first rays of the morning sun brought light through the smoke hole of the old man's house. As he wept in sorrow over his great loss, he looked up. It was then that he saw his daughter for the very first time. She was very beautiful and smiling, and that made him very happy!


This story is told by the Haida Nation and other Native nations of Alaska and the Pacific Northwest

Photo: Raven at Fairy Falls; Yellowstone National Park, WY; August 31, 2013

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These images are not done by humans. They are done by beings with spiritual powers.

"My grandfather told us that these images are not done by humans.  They are not done by Indians,  They are done by beings with spiritual powers and they tell us stories of all kinds - stories of their travels, their beliefs. But (he cautioned): don't let anyone tell you they are done by humans because they are not.  They are done by somebody greater than a human."

Mae Perry,

Shoshoni Tribe

Photo: An alien-like pictograph painted in red hematite by the Archaic Barrier-Canyon people, as early as 6000 B.C.E; Moab, UT; November 26, 2012

The rocks can only continue to have a voice if we speak to them and pray to them.

"It's very important that we be connected to the elements as a human race.  As a Native person, I am connected to these things, because I can hear their voices, coming from all these elements.  I hear all their songs and everything else.  I'm asking each thing to continue on in a good way . . . I have to DO something so that all this continues on.  In order to connect with all these things, our forefathers had to have ceremony and pray.  That was our duty . . . I think everyone is now coming back to realize that the Indian people have the authority to talk about the right way to care for the earth . . .  I talk to rocks in my prayers.  I ask the rocks, "Make sure that you ARE in such a way that we hear from you.  Make your voices heard, make sure that I hear what you're saying . . . Mountain, make sure the water comes out clean from you . . . And now I ask you, today, Mountain, to continue to have a voice, to have songs" . . .

If the mountain doesn't have a voice, then we as a people are not going to have a voice pretty quick . . . The mountain is where the people are, the little people up there, the mountain people, as we call them, or the rock people - they're up there listening to us.  They're the ones we have to pray to; they're the ones who take care of the mountain . . .We have to ask what's out there, the rocks, the land, the living things, to unite together; everything has to work together.

Long ago, the land, the mountain, used to have more voice, a clearer voice, clearer than it is today.  The land, the rocks, they used to continue to tell us over and over again to take care of them, and to ask us to do those things.  But today, we're lost, and I think its's the reason we're not concerned with anything; we just look at a mountain as if it's just there, nothing more.  But the mountain's got a life to it.  Everything's got a spirit, the mountain's got a spirit, and all the living things on the mountain have got a spirit . . . It's one of the reasons why their voice is not clear and loud anymore - because we haven't been taking care of them."

Corbin Harney, 
Western Shoshone Elder

Photo: Vedauwoo Rocks, Medicine Bow National Forest, WY; November 3, 2012. "Vedauwoo" is an anglicized version of an Arapaho word meaning "earth-born."  Notice the "face" in the rocks.

Mother Earth and Father Sky are eternal helpmates.

"Now the Mother Earth
And the Father Sky
Meeting, joining one another;
Helpmates ever, they"

Navajo poem

Photo: A mountain, clouds, sunlight and forest fire haze create an amazing moment.  Georgia Pass, Mosquito Range, CO; June 23, 2012

It is the job of humans to connect the material, spiritual and supernatural powers.

"God put Three Powers into the world for us to use.  We need them all.  We Indians know all three.  It took us a million years to find them.  There's the material power, the spiritual power, and the supernatural power.  The material power is the goodness of this Earth.  The spiritual power is the goodness of human beings.  The supernatural power is the goodness of God, the Great Spirit.  The Three Powers are separate.  They're not connected.  It's the job of human beings to make that connection.  We connect the Three Powers with our prayers, with our ceremonies, with our deeds.  Every good deed is a pillar of the Creation.  Every prayer holds up the world.  Our ceremony, our Sun Dance, keeps the Universe in harmony by connecting the Three Powers . . . The third power refers to God Himself, the Great Mysterious.  You can't use it for yourself.  That's sorcery.  IT'S supposed to use you."

Noble Red Man (Mathew King), Lakota elder

Photo: Bear Lodge from my campsite, Devil's Tower National Monument, WY; May19, 2012

Love the goodness in yourself. Then, put that goodness into the world.

"Goodness is the natural state of this world.  The world is good!  Even when it seems evil, it's good.  There's only goodness in God.  And that same goodness is in us all.  You can feel it in yourself.  You know when you feel good inside.  Yes, you're God's child, too.  You are good.  You are sacred.  Respect yourself.  Love the goodness in yourself.  Then, put that goodness into the world.  That's everybody's Instructions.  God made you so you feel good when you do right.  Watch when you feel good and follow that good feeling.  The good feeling comes from God.  When you feel good, God feels good, too.  God and you feel good together."

Noble Red Man (Mathew King), Lakota elder

Photo: Ponderosa pine and Bear Lodge, Devil's Tower National Monument, SD; May 18, 2012.  Bear Lodge is considered a sacred presence by many different tribal nations.

The grief and attention we offer to divine Nature is like candy to her.

"A young man must fall in love with 'the goddess, Nature' so that he can throw his soul's great expectations to her, rather than onto his human lover.  Large expectations and fantasies become debilitating to the human women we love.  The intensity of one's inner life can never be fully handled by another human, despite our romanticized expectations of marriage and relationships.  Nature, on the other hand, can accept and handle all the emotional turmoil and grief a man is willing to express.  The grief and attention we offer to divine Nature is like CANDY to her."

Martin Prechtel, Mayan shaman

Photo: The candied formations of  Yellow Mounds Overlook, Badlands National Park, SD; May 19, 2012.  The yellow wildflower blowing in the breeze is vetch.

We Lakota don't need your church. We have the Black Hills for our church. The Universe is the tabernacle of God.

"God made everything so simple.  Our lives are very simple . . . We don't need your church.  We have the Black Hills for our church.  And we don't need your Bible.  We have the wind and the rain and the stars for our Bible.  The world is an open Bible for us.  We've studied it for millions of years.  We've learned that everything God made is living.  Even the rocks are alive.  When we use them in our sweat ceremony we talk to them . . . and they talk back to us.  The Universe is the tabernacle of God.  When the wind blows, that's the breath of God.  When you or I breathe, that's also the breath of God."

Noble Red Man (Mathew King), Lakota elder

Photo: My tent with Bear Lodge in the background, Devil's Tower National Monument, WY; May 19, 2012.  Bear Lodge is a part of the Bearlodge Mountains, which are a northern extension of the Black Hills.

Our mind is part of God's mind. Our mind is part of Nature, part of God.

 

"Everyone is sacred.  You're sacred and I'm sacred.  Every time you blink your eye, or I blink my eye, God blinks His eye.  God sees through your eyes and my eyes.  We are sacred . . . I know God is with me.  I believe in God's power . . . That's God's power we're thinking with. It's God's mind.  Our mind is part of God's mind.  Our mind is part of Nature, part of God.  To Indians, Nature is God and God is Nature.  So when I work for my people, I'm working for God, I'm working for Nature.  Who are YOU working for?"

Noble Red Man (Mathew King), Lakota Elder

Photo: The Badlands - sacred land of the Lakota - at sunset, Badlands National Park, SD, May 19, 2012

Happiness seeks us when we become still.

"Happiness is much like a butterfly - the more you chase after it, the more elusive it becomes. But should you cease your frantic activities and sit down in the middle of the meadow, the beauty all around you will become apparent and, by and by, the vibrations of the meadow will become your vibrations. When you have become as one with the serenity of the meadow, the butterfly will no longer see you as a threat but as a part of the beauty all around it. Thus, the butterfly will seek out your company and alight upon your head. May we become the vessel which happiness seeks."

Nelson Augustine, Elder, Migmag Nation 

Photo: Boisduval's Blue butterflies sucking water from a recently dried up streambed; Lory State Park, CO, May 22, 2012.  I took this photo yesterday evening; Nelson made his Facebook posting this morning.  What he describes is precisely what happened to me.  After causing the butterflies to scatter when I approached, I settled down in the grass next to this dry streambed, and the butterflies all returned, allowing me to come very close without being viewed as a threat.

If you are interested in imbibing daily bits of wisdom - skillfully combining attitudes of protest with spiritual acceptance, earthy details with philosophy, and tribal pride with openness to others, please look up Nelson on Facebook.

That's how you pray to God - you LISTEN.

"You can call Wakan-Tanka by any name you like.  In English I call Him God or the Great Spirit.  He's the Great Mystery, the Great Mysterious.  That's what Wakan-Tanka really means - the Great Mysterious.  You can't define Him.  He's not actually a 'He' or a 'She,' a 'Him' or a 'Her.'  We have to use those kinds of words because you can't just say 'It.'  God's never an 'It.'  So call Wakan-Tanka whatever you like.  Just be sure to call Him.  He wants to talk to you . . . When I go up on the hill to pray I don't just talk to God.  I try to get the talking over quick.  Mostly I'm listening.  Listening to God - that's praying, too . . . So that's how you pray to God.  You LISTEN."

Noble Red Man (Mathew King), Lakota elder

Photo: Bear Lodge, Devil's Tower National Monument, WY, May 19, 2012

I shall be beautiful while the earth lasts.

 

"I, Sarah Winnemucca, am a shell-flower, such as I wear on my dress.  My name is Thocmetony.  I am so beautiful!  Who will come and dance with me while I am so beautiful?  Oh, come and be happy with me!  I shall be beautiful while the earth lasts."

Sarah Winnemucca,

19th century Paiute activist

I love the unabashed self-confidence expressed in this statement, as well as the fact that Winnemucca connects her beauty to that of the Earth.

Photo: A pasqueflower glows in last light, Lory State Park, CO, March 21, 2012

Behold, my brothers, the spring has come. The earth has received the embrace of the sun, and we shall soon see the results of that love!

 

"Behold, my brothers, the spring has come, 

The earth has received the embrace of the sun

And we shall soon see the results of that love!

Every seed is awakened and so has all animal life.

It is through this mysterious power that we too have our being

And we therefore yield to our neighbors . . .

The same rights as ourselves, to inhabit this land."

Sitting Bull

Hunkpapa Lakota Chief

Photo: New leaves appear on a cottonwood tree, Mary Jane Canyon, near Moab, UT, April 17, 2011

The true essence of civilization involves meditating on life and its meaning, accepting the kinship of all creatures, and acknowledging unity with the universe of things.

 

" 'Civilization' has been thrust upon me since the days of the reservations, and it has not added one whit to my sense of justice, to my reverence for the rights of life, to my love for truth, honesty, and generosity, or to my faith in Wakan Tanka [the Great Sacred] . . . 

The man who sat on the ground in his tipi meditating on life and its meaning, accepting the kinship of all creatures and acknowledging unity with the universe of things was infusing into his being the true essence of civilization."

Luther Standing Bear

Teton Lakota

Photo: Yellow-bellied marmot, above Lake of the Clouds, Sangre de Cristo Range, CO, July 16, 2011

For the Lakota, granting a space of silence before speaking was regardful of the rule that "thought comes before speech."

"Silence was meaningful with the Lakota, and his granting a space of silence before talking was . . . regardful of the rule that 'thought comes before speech' . . . Silence was the mark of respect.  More powerful than words was silence with the Lakota . . . Silence meant what it meant to Disraeli when he said, 'Silence is the mother of truth,' for the silent man was ever to be trusted, while the man ever ready with speech was never taken seriously . . . Conversation was never begun at once, or in a hurried manner.  No one was quick with a question, no matter how important, and no one was pressed for an answer.  A pause giving time for thought was the truly courteous way of beginning and conducting a conversation . . . As a little child, it was instilled into me to be silent and reticent.  This was one of the most important traits to form the character of the Indian 

. . . It was considered absolutely necessary, and was thought to lay the foundations of patience and self-control."

Chief Luther Standing Bear

Teton Lakota

Photo: Late light sculpts a snowfield and a peak of the Medicine Bow Range, near Montgomery Pass, CO; March 16, 2012

The land belongs to the Great Spirit, not to any people.

"Some of our chiefs make the claim that the land belongs to us.  It is not what the Great Spirit told me.  He told me that the lands belong to Him, that no people owns the land; that I was not to forget to tell this to the white people when I met them in council."

Kanakuk

Kickapoo tribe

Addressing Lieutenant William Clark, ("Lewis and Clark"), 1827

Photo: Heart-leaved bittercress flowers above Upper Lake of the Clouds, Sangre de Cristo Mountains, CO; July 16, 2011