How to approach an understanding of the American Indian Spiritual attitudes as part of daily life Realizing the impermanence of life True respect for the earth Man's place among other beings Silence, courtesy, and mindfulness Early preparations for spiritual attainment Use of the pipe in ceremonies "We lived our religion" Tolerance, one God, and "civilization"

slide 10 of 10            "All the Indians pray to God for life, and try to find out a good road, and do nothing wrong in this life. This is what we want, and to pray to God. But you did not believe us.            "You should say nothing wrong against our religion, for we say nothing against yours. You pray to God. So do all of us Indians, as well as the Whites. We both pray to only one God, who made us all." Sitting Bull, Sioux            "Regarding the 'civilization' that has been thrust upon me since the days of the reservation, 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; nor to my faith in Wakan Tanka—God of the Lakotas. For after all the great religions have been preached and expounded, or have been revealed by brilliant scholars, or have been written in books and embellished in fine language with finer covers, man—all man— is still confronted with the Great Mystery.            "So if today I had a young mind to direct, to start on the journey of life, and I was faced with the duty of choosing between the natural way of my forefathers and that of the white man’s present way of civilization, I would, for its welfare, unhesitatingly set that child’s feet in the path of my forefathers. I would raise him to be an Indian!" Standing Bear, Sioux "The grandfathers and the grandmothers are in the children: teach them well." Ojibwa proverb