Vine Deloria's Words of Praise for Russell Means

"As I was listening to Russell Means I continually looked around the room to see the faces of the people as he spoke. Almost every face shone with a new pride, a beatific vision of the tribe as it should be, not as it had become through a century of betrayal. Old men sat entranced and nodded ever so slightly at the different points Russell discussed. I came away from Means' speech with the feeling that Russell is a terribly important man to our tribe. He may be the greatest Lakota of this century and his ability to light the eyes that have been dimmed so long is probably more important for us than anything that anyone else can do. I think it is the pride in living that many Indians have lost, and in the clarity of Russell Means' speech many Indian people found that pride and also found a strength they did not know they had possessed. We should cherish this man as one of our greatest people. History has a way of leveling all the honors of a century and allowing the truly great figures to emerge from the shadows as they really were. I cannot remain silent and allow a chance to go by to honor as best I can a man who gave to my tribe even for a brief moment a vision of something better than what we had. If Russell Means has faults, and we all do, he also has talent and dedication which greatly outweighs the faults and which in my mind make him one of the great Indians of our time."

Vine Deloria, Jr.
Author of "God is Red" and "Custer Died for Your Sins"

Photos: The South Dakota Badlands, Russell Means, and Bison in the Black Hills.

In indigenous societies, to be a leader meant that, materially, you were always going to be poor . . .

"In indigenous societies, to be a leader meant that, materially, you were always going to be poor. This is because you had to make sure everyone else in the community was taken care of. So being a leader was avoided by many men. Leaders had to be chosen, designated, by the Elder Women. So a leader among the men did not rise to the position out of personal ambition, greed for power, or personal insecurities, trying to prove something. These are all characteristics of unfit leaders, which are common today in patriarchal society."

Russell Means
Oglala Lakota

Photos: Badlands National Park, SD, May 16, 2015

Perhaps extinct life forms simply didn't want to live on this Earth with humans!

"In the 1960s, an elder De'ne' man from the Northwest Territories of Canada stated to an anthropologist who was intent on civilizing the De'ne' people: 'You white people are very arrogant. You think you are responsible for the extinction of different forms of life. Have you ever considered that maybe those life forms didn't want to live with you?' "

Russell Means
Oglala Lakota

Photos: Colorful Badlands and Bison in the Black Hills, SD, May 16-17, 2015

Our hearts affect Infinity!

"I saw that according to Natural Law, my heart is connected to and affects Infinity. With this connection in mind - knowing that your heart has an effect on the Infinite - you see how important it is to have a pure and healthy heart! Our hearts are part of the Infinite, not separate from it."

Russell Means
Oglala Lakota

Photos: Badlands Yellow Mounds, yellow Salsify flower, and Bear Butte with Chokecherry flowers; Badlands National Park, SD, and Devil's Tower National Monument, WY, May 16, 2015

Woman is more Holy than Man.

"The Sun is male, Earth is female. The Sun gives energy to the Earth so that life can be created out of her, just as Man gives his seed to Woman. Earth and Woman are the most sacred of beings, they are Holy, because they create life from the energy of the Sun / Man. Because Woman is more Holy than Man, she lives longer, she can withstand more pain, she has more endurance, and she has a unique 6th sense that cannot be explained. Woman goes through two changes in life - from a girl, she blossoms into womanhood, and after her childbearing years she transitions into an Elder. Man, just like the Sun, goes through no changes - from the time he reaches manhood, he just goes and goes until burnout. He is never naturally purified. Man is 1-dimensional compared to Woman."

Russell Means
Oglala Lakota

Photos: Bison feast on the emerald-green grass after a fire in the Black Hills, Wind Cave National Park, SD, May 17, 2015. The flower is Sand Lily, and the cone is from a Ponderosa Pine.

We don't build churches; we pray outside, in the Natural World.

"Every good thought is a prayer. That is what we believe. That is why we don't have church. Life is church, the Universe is our temple. To be conscious of the well-being of the Little People, that's a form of prayer . . . We don't build churches, and go inside to pray one day a week. We pray outside, in the Natural World. And our entire life is an act of prayer, because there is Holiness in all things in the Natural World here on Grandmother Earth."

Russell Means
Oglala Lakota

Photos: Golden Banner, Bear Lodge, and the Badlands; Devil's Tower National Monument (WY) and Badlands National Park, SD; May 16, 2015

Humans are not row plants that thrive in a domesticated setting . . .

"Humans are not row plants that thrive in a domesticated setting; we are free, wild, living in the natural world, nurturing and being nurtured by the world around us - by Mother Earth. If you want a clear demonstration of the contrast between indigenous people living matriarchally and the modern subjects of the patriarch, simply compare a wild salmon to a farm fish. Wild salmon live in deep clean water, they're fast-moving, chasing their food, surviving by being fit and healthy. Their flesh is bright-colored and firm, free of disease and parasites. Farmed salmon are pale and mushy, sickly, covered with sores, infested with worms and parasites, the victims of confinement, inactivity, unhealthy diet. Does this remind you of anyone?"

Russell Means
Oglala Lakota

Photos: Badlands National Park, SD, May 16, 2015

The reason we decided to write this book is because The Trickster has completely tricked my people . . .

"The reason we decided to write this book is because The Trickster has completely tricked my people. The Trickster, or Iktomi, has come into our land, and completely colonized the Lakotah Nation. Many of my own people are only play-acting at being Indians. Only a few even realize that they are colonized. The Heyoka, the one who lives backwards, has come into our land to try to get the people out of this death condition, but it's not working - the people are not listening. They're not learning. Heyokas [tricksters] were rare when we were free. Walking backwards, talking backwards - they're always talking about bad things, but it means the opposite. So the Heyoka is a teacher. And the further you get away from the Great Mystery's teachings, the more Heyokas are needed. In Pine Ridge back in the 1960s, there was only one Heyoka in the entire nation. This is because most of the old people who kept our culture alive were still living. But as they died off, more Heyokas materialized. Now practically every Holy Man is a Heyoka. This means the people aren't listening to the teaching. The whole nation is becoming Heyoka. With so many people addicted to alcohol or to one drug or another, and sending their kids to school where they learn the anti-knowledge of patriarchal society, the whole nation is unwittingly turning Heyoka - they don't even realize it. Only a few great ones know that they are Heyoka these days. The others are Heyoka, teaching backwards, without even knowing it. This has become the tragic norm . . . 

"The white man is always confused by the concept of Iktomi, who is often represented by the Spider. American Indian people don't believe in the Devil. We don't believe in evil. We had no experience of it until we met a patriarch [Euro-American society]. A basic premise among indigenous people is that there isn't anything that is perfect. So you build this idea into the society, and therefore you have Iktomi, the Trickster, who is a sort of Heyoka. Iktomi is a teacher, he will teach you about the tricks of life, the foibles of life, about temptation, about egos. There is nothing evil about him. Iktomi, by the way, is a male. So Iktomi, as part of the natural world, is not evil, in fact he can be downright funny. But you've got to LOOK OUT. That's the lesson of Iktomi."

Russell Means
Oglala Lakota

"If You've Forgotten the Names of the Clouds, You've Lost Your Way," co-authored with Bayard Johnson (2013)

Photos:  Badlands National Park, SD, May 16, 2015

The indigenous male is always seeking to get in balance with the female.

"The indigenous male is always seeking to get in balance with the female. Always seeking some insight into the experience of the female and her unique position as a creator of life. Men of the Lakotah Nation have always felt great affection, honor and gratitude toward the White Buffalo Calf Woman for giving them the Inipi [sweat lodge] and Sundance - two of the Sacred Ceremonies given to humankind - for the specific purpose of helping the men develop and strengthen this sacred bond with our Mother the Universe . . . In our culture, women are taught to always treat their husbands as twelve year-olds, because men, no matter how old they are, will throw tantrums. They pout and demand to be babied. My wife tells me I've matured with 72 winters, and now act more like a thirteen year-old!"

Russell Means
Oglala Lakota

Photos: Badlands National Park, SD, May 16, 2015

The the Lakota, the four sacred colors represent the four races of humanity.

"For the Lakotah, black, red, yellow and white are four of the sacred colors. They represent the four races of people, and when you mix those four colors together you get brown, the color of the other race, and the color of our Grandmother the Earth."

Russell Means
Oglala Lakota

Photo: Yellow Mounds section of Badlands National Park, SD, May 16, 2016

Indigenous peoples believe members of industrial society don't know how to be happy.

"Modern anthropologists have observed indigenous hunter-gatherers, and found that about two hours per day is spent in fulfilling one's material responsibilities - procuring food, clothing and shelter. Compare this with the 'modern' man in industrialized society, where a minimum of 8 hours per day is spent working to cover the bare essentials of life . . . We indigenous people had time to notice the world around us, and to learn from it, and that is why we develop all these practices and all this knowledge which is still so elusive to patriarchal society. Foremost among these gifts is the ability to be happy, to be satisfied."

Russell Means
Oglala Lakota

Photos: Cottonwood tree, Salsify flower, and the Yellow Mounds, Badlands National Park, SD; May 16, 2015