Look at me. I was a warrior on this land where the sun rises, now I come from where the sun sets. Whose voice was first surrounded on this land - the red people with bows and arrows. The Great Father says he is good and kind to us. I can't see it.
Interpretation
This quote reflects on the struggle and perspective of Indigenous people, contrasting their past as warriors with their present circumstances.
By Red Cloud's words, we see a poignant commentary on the experiences of Indigenous peoples, who once thrived as warriors but now face challenges and uncertainties in a world that has often marginalized them. The reference to the sun rising and setting symbolizes the shift from a time of strength and pride in their heritage to a present filled with doubt about the promises made by those in power. This quote serves as a powerful reminder of the ongoing struggles faced by Indigenous communities and questions the sincerity of intentions behind the 'good and kind' sentiments often expressed by authorities.
In practice
This quote can be used at a cultural gathering to honor Indigenous heritage and reflect on the historical struggles they faced.
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.
The Great Spirit will not make me suffer because I am ignorant. He will put me in a place where I shall be better off than in this world.
When I was a young man, I was poor. In a war with other nations, I was in eighty-seven fights. There I received my name and was made Chief of my nation. But now I am old and am for peace.
We were told that they wished merely to pass through our country. . . to seek for gold in the far west . . . Yet before the ashes of the council are cold, the Great Father is building his forts among us. . . . His presence here is . . . an insult to the spirits of our ancestors. Are we then to give up their sacred graves to be allowed for corn?
...the most important things we need to manage can't be measured.
He who understands baboon would do more towards metaphysics than Locke.
Let Pascal say that man is a thinking reed. He is wrong; man is a thinking erratum. Each period in life is a new edition that corrects the preceding one and that in turn will be corrected by the next, until publication of the definitive edition, which the publisher donates to the worms.
Of all classes the rich are the most noticed and the least studied.
He taught them that the purpose of a man is to make his life holy--every aspect of his life: eating, drinking praying, sleeping. God is everywhere, he told them, and if it seems at times that He is hidden from us, it is only because we have not yet learned to seek Him correctly.
I don't know whether God exists or not. ... Some forms of atheism are arrogant and ignorant and should be rejected, but agnosticism—to admit that we don't know and to search—is all right. ... When I look at what I call the gift of life, I feel a gratitude which is in tune with some religious ideas of God. However, the moment I even speak of it, I am embarrassed that I may do something wrong to God in talking about God.
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