The song that I will sing is an old song, so old that none knows who made it. It has been handed down through generations and was taught to me when I was but a little lad.

It is now my own song. It belongs to me. This is a holy song (medicine song), and great is its power.

The song tells how, as I sing, I go through the air to a holy place where Yusun (The Supreme Being) will give me power to do wonderful things.

I am surrounded by little clouds, and as I go through the air I change, becoming spirit only.

- Geronimo, Apache warrior/leader (1829-1909)

WORLD (non-Indian)

My mother said to me, “If you are a soldier, you will become a general. If you are a monk, you will become the Pope.”

Instead, I was a painter, and became Picasso.

- Pablo Picasso (Spanish artist, 1881-1973)

READ MORE Earth writings...

Only the best Native American Indian tribal quotes, wisdoms and sayings...

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.

Pueblo Prayer

Upon suffering beyond suffering:

The Red Nation shall rise again and it shall be a blessing for a sick world; a world filled with broken promises, selfishness and separations; a world longing for light again.

I see a time of Seven Generations when all the colors of mankind will gather under the Sacred Tree of Life and the whole Earth will become one circle again.

In that day, there will be those among the Lakota who will carry knowledge and understanding of unity among all living things and the young white ones will come to those of my people and ask for this wisdom.

I salute the light within your eyes where the whole Universe dwells. For when you are at that center within you and I am that place within me, we shall be one.

- Crazy Horse, Oglala Lakota Sioux (circa 1840-1877)

Crazy Horse is quoted while he sat smoking the Sacred Pipe with Sitting Bull for the last time.

Crazy Horse was killed four days later by US Army soldiers in a hand-to-hand scuffle as they attempted to imprison him.

There are no known photographs of Crazy Horse, he would not permit anyone to take his picture, presumably, Crazy Horse believed a photograph stole or unnaturally held the soul of the person(s) pictured.

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 (father), Oglala Lakota (1938-)

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.

- Red Cloud, Oglala Lakota Sioux (1822-1909)

I will pray to the Creator to give me strength and courage, to show pity on me for I am a pitiful man and I need help everyday of my life.

I will thank the Creator for all my blessings and good fortune, for all my family and all my relations.

I just try to tell myself that I'm a proud Rezdog.

- Virgil Zwicker, 28, San Pasqual Band of Indians
Professional heavyweight mixed martial arts fighter
(1982-)

When you have a spiritual foundation, you look at poverty different then.

- Dennis Banks Ojibwa (Activist, Teacher 1938-2017)

I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed. Looking Glass is dead. Toohulhulsote is dead. The old men are all dead.

It is the young men who say yes or no. He who led the young men is dead.

It is cold and we have no blankets. The little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away to the hills and have no blankets, no food. No one knows where they are -- perhaps freezing to death.

I want to have time to look for my children and see how many I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead.

Hear me, my chiefs. I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever.

- Chief Joseph, Nez Perce (1840-1904)

In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.

- Iroquois Maxim (circa 1700-1800)

I'm on this road for the rest of my life.

- Dennis Banks Ojibwa (Activist, Teacher 1938-2017)

I am an Indian, American Indian. I prefer 'American Indian' (because) anyone born in the western hemisphere is a 'native American.'

- Russell Means (1939-2012, Republic of Lakotah)

Children learn from what they see. We need to set an example of truth and action.

- Howard Rainer, Taos Pueblo-Creek (2012)

When all the trees have been cut down, when all the animals have been hunted, when all the waters are polluted, when all the air is unsafe to breathe, only then will you discover you cannot eat money.

Cree Prophecy

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 (1780-1866)

When you know who you are; when your mission is clear and you burn with the inner fire of unbreakable will; no cold can touch your heart; no deluge can dampen your purpose. You know that you are alive.

- Chief Seattle, Duwamish (1780-1866)

Eventually one gets to the Medicine Wheel to fulfill one's life.

- Old Mouse, Arikara

We live, we die, and like the grass and trees, renew ourselves from the soft earth of the grave. Stones crumble and decay, faiths grow old and they are forgotten, but new beliefs are born.

The faith of the villages is dust now... but it will grow again... like the trees.

- Chief Joseph, Nez Perce (1840-1904)

The ground on which we stand is sacred ground. It is the dust and blood of our ancestors.

- Chief Plenty Coups, Crow (1848 - 1932)

Sometimes I go about pitying myself, and all the while I am being carried across the sky by beautiful clouds.

Ojibway proverb

A frog does not drink up the pond in which it lives.

- American Indian proverb

The life of an Indian is like the wings of the air.

That is why you notice the hawk knows how to get his prey. The Indian is like that.

The hawk swoops down on its prey, so does the Indian.

In his lament he is like an animal. For instance, the coyote is sly, so is the Indian.

The eagle is the same.

That is why the Indian is always feathered up, he is a relative to the wings of the air.

- Black Elk, Oglala Lakota Sioux (1863-1950)

Between individuals, as between nations, peace means respect for the rights of others.

- Benito Juarez, Zapoteca (1806-1872)

When the white man discovered this country Indians were running it. No taxes no debt, women did all the work. White man thought he could improve on a system like this.

- Cherokee proverb

Out of the Indian approach to life there came a great freedom, an intense and absorbing respect for life, enriching faith in a Supreme Power, and principles of truth, honesty, generosity, equity, and brotherhood as a guide to mundane relations.

- Black Elk, Oglala Lakota Sioux (1863-1950)

Only to the white man was nature a wilderness and only to him was the land 'infested' with 'wild' animals and 'savage' people.

To us it was tame, Earth was bountiful and we were surrounded with the blessings of the Great Mystery.

- Black Elk, Oglala Lakota Sioux (1863-1950)

The time will soon be here when my grandchild will long for the cry of a loon, the flash of a salmon, the whisper of spruce needles, or the screech of an eagle.

But he will not make friends with any of these creatures and when his heart aches with longing, he will curse me.

Have I done all to keep the air fresh?

Have I cared enough about the water?

Have I left the eagle to soar in freedom?

Have I done everything I could to earn my grandchild's fondness?

- Chief Dan George, Tsleil-Waututh (1899 - 1981)

Grown men can learn from very little children for the hearts of the little children are pure.

Therefore, the Great Spirit may show to them many things which older people miss.

- Black Elk, Oglala Lakota Sioux (1863-1950)

I am going to venture that 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, Oglala Lakota Sioux (1868-1939)

It does not require many words to speak the truth.

- Chief Joseph, Nez Perce (1840-1904)

Is it wrong for me to love my own?

Is it wicked for me because my skin is red?

Because I am Sioux?

Because I was born where my father lived?

Because I would die for my people and my country?

God made me an Indian.

- Sitting Bull, Hunkpapa Lakota (circa 1831-1890)

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 (1888-1936)

Suppose a white man should come to me and say, Joseph, I like your horses. I want to buy them.

I say to him, no, my horses suit me; I will not sell them.

Then he goes to my neighbor and he says, pay me money, and I will sell you Joseph's horses.

The white man returns to me and says, Joseph, I have bought your horses and you must let me have them.

If we sold our lands to the government, this is the way they bought them.

- Chief Joseph, Nez Perce (1840-1904)

The traditions of our people are handed down from father to son.

The Chief is considered to be the most learned, and the leader of the tribe.

The Doctor, however, is thought to have more inspiration.

He is supposed to be in communion with spirits... He cures the sick by the laying of hands, and payers and incantations and heavenly songs.

He infuses new life into the patient, and performs most wonderful feats of skill in his practice... He clothes himself in the skins of young innocent animals, such as the fawn, and decorates himself with the plumage of harmless birds, such as the dove and hummingbird...

- Sarah Winnemucca, Paiute - (1844-1891)

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, Republic of Lakotah
(Activist, actor 1939-2012)

Americans realized that native people are still here, that they have a moral standing, a legal standing.

- Dennis Banks Ojibwa (Activist, Teacher 1938-2017)

He who would do great things should not attempt them all alone.

- Seneca proverb

A very great vision is needed and the man who has it must follow it as the eagle seeks the deepest blue of the sky.

- Crazy Horse, Oglala Lakota Sioux (circa 1840-1877)

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, Mowachaht (died circa 1795)

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 Lakota (circa 1831-1890)

Our land is more valuable than your money.

It will last forever.

It will not even perish by the flames of fire.

As long as the sun shines and the waters flow, this land will be here to give life to men and animals.

Chief Crowfoot, Siksika (circa 1825-1890)

We are going by you without fighting if you will let us, but we are going by you anyhow!

- Chief Joseph, Nez Perce (1840-1904)

I was standing on the highest mountain of them all, and round about beneath me was the whole hoop of the world.

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 all things in the spirit, and the shape of all shapes as they must live together like one being.

And I saw that the sacred hoop of my people was one of many hoops that made one circle, wide as daylight and as starlight, and in the center grew one mighty flowering tree to shelter all children of one mother and one father.

And I saw that it was holy.

Black Elk, Oglala Lakota (Sioux) (1863-1950)

Live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart.

Trouble no one about his religion.

Respect others in their views and demand that they respect yours.

Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life.

Seek to make your life long and of service to your people.

Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide.

Always give a word or sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, or even a stranger, if in a lonely place.

Show respect to all people, but grovel to none.

When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life, for your strength.

Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living.

If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself.

Touch not the poisonous firewater that makes wise ones turn to fools and robs their spirit of its vision.

When your time comes to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way.

Sing your death song, and die like a hero going home.

- Tecumseh, Shawnee (1768-1813)

I am an old woman now.

The buffaloes and black-tail deer are gone, and our Indian ways are almost gone. Sometimes I find it hard to believe that I ever lived them.

My little son grew up in the white man's school. He can read books, and he owns cattle and has a farm. He is a leader among our Hidatsa people, helping teach them to follow the white man's road.

He is kind to me. We no longer live in an earth lodge, but in a house with chimneys, and my son's wife cooks by a stove.

But for me, I cannot forget our old ways.

Often in summer I rise at daybreak and steal out to the corn fields, and as I hoe the corn I sing to it, as we did when I was young. No one cares for our corn songs now.

Sometimes in the evening I sit, looking out on the big Missouri. The sun sets, and dusk steals over the water. In the shadows I see again to see our Indian village, with smoke curling upward from the earth lodges, and in the river's roar I hear the yells of the warriors, and the laughter of little children of old.

It is but an old woman's dream.

Then I see but shadows and hear only the roar of the river, and tears come into my eyes. Our Indian life, I know, is gone forever.

- Waheenee, Hidatsa

The beauty of the trees,
the softness of the air,
the fragrance of the grass,
speaks to me.

The summit of the mountain,
the thunder of the sky,
the rhythm of the sea,
speaks to me.

The strength of the fire,
the taste of salmon,
the trail of the sun,
and the life that never goes away,
they speak to me.

And my heart soars.

- Chief Dan George, Tsleil-Waututh (1899 - 1981)

One thing to remember is to talk to the animals.

If you do, they will talk back to you. But if you don't talk to the animals, they won't talk back to you, then you won't understand, and when you don't understand you will fear, and when you fear you will destroy the animals, and if you destroy the animals, you will destroy yourself.

- Chief Dan George, Tsleil-Waututh (1899 - 1981)

INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES
World Knowledge & Education

My mother said to me, “If you are a soldier, you will become a general. If you are a monk, you will become the Pope.”

Instead, I was a painter, and became Picasso.

- Pablo Picasso (Spanish artist, 1881-1973)

In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.

Albert Einstein (Genius 1879-1955)

I think education is power. I think that being able to communicate with people is power. One of my main goals on the planet is to encourage people to empower themselves.

- Oprah Winfrey (Business woman, 1954-)

Until you're ready to look foolish, you'll never have the possibility of being great.

- Cher (Singer, actress, producer, 1946-)

Whether you think you can, or think you can't, you're probably right.

- Henry Ford (Founder, Ford Motor Co. 1863-1947)

Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence.

Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent.

Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.

Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.

Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.

The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.

- Calvin Coolidge (30th US president, 1872-1933)

The only thing that I have done that is not mitigated by luck, diminished by good fortune, is that I persisted, and other people gave up.

- Harrison Ford (actor 1942-)

Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

- Thomas Edison (Inventor, 1847-1931)

Keep away from people who try to belittle your dreams. Small people always do that, but the really great ones make you feel that you, too, can become great.

- Mark Twain (Writer, lecturer, 1835-1910)

This is the media, an irresponsible media.

It will make the crininal look like he's the victim, and the victim look like he's the criminal.

- MALCOM X (revolutionary, 1925-1965)

When people hurt you over and over, think of them like sandpaper.

They may scratch and hurt you a bit, but in the end, you end up polished and they end up useless.

- Chris Colfer (Actor, singer, 1990-)

Integrity is not a conditional word. It doesn't blow in the wind or change with the weather.

It is your inner image of yourself, and if you look in there and see a man who won't cheat, then you know he never will.

- John D. MacDonald (Novelist, 1916-1986)

I am afraid we must make the world honest before we can honestly say to our children that honesty is the best policy.

- George Bernard Shaw (Playright, 1856-1950)

There are seven things that will destroy us:

Wealth without work;

Pleasure without conscience;

Knowledge without character;

Religion without sacrifice;

Politics without principle;

Science without humanity;

Business without ethics.

- Gandhi (1869-1948)

As a leader, you have to not only do the right thing, but be perceived to be doing the right thing.

A consequence of seeking a leadership position is being put under intense public scrutiny, being held to high standards, and enhancing a reputation that is constantly under threat.

- Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Andrew Ward (Firing Back)

In looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if they don't have the first, the other two will kill you.

- Warren Buffett (Businessman, 1930-)

Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher.

- Oprah Winfrey (Business woman, 1954)

Power perceived is power achieved.

- Principal Claude Rolle ("The Substitute" 1996)

When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life.

When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down "happy."

They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.

- John Lennon (Singer, songwriter, 1940-1980)

Live so that when your children think of fairness, caring, and integrity, they think of you.

- H. Jackson Brown, Jr (American author, 1940-)

Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity.

- Oprah Winfrey (Business woman, 1954)

The simple act of paying attention can take you a long way.

- Keanu Reeves (Actor, 1964-)

Winners lose more than losers. They win and lose more than losers, because they stay in the game.

- Terry Paulson (Psychologist)

I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty six times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed.

I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.

- Michael Jordan (Athlete, 1963-)

It is better to play than do nothing.

- Confucius (Philosopher, 551 BC-479 BC)

It ain't over till it's over.

- Yogi Berra (New York Yankees, 1925-)

It's a sad day when you find out that it's not accident or fortune but just yourself that kept things from you.

- Lillian Hellman (Playwright, writer, 1905-1984)

A man is not finished when he is defeated. He is finished when he quits.

- Richard Nixon (37th US President 1913-1994)

You learn you can do your best even when it's hard, even when you're tired and maybe hurting a little bit. It feels good to show some courage.

- Joe Namath (Athlete, 1943-)

A slip of the foot you may soon recover, but a slip of the tongue you may never get over.

- Benjamin Franklin (Founding father, America's first millionaire, 1706-1790)

Never ruin an apology with an excuse.

- Benjamin Franklin (Founding father, America's first millionaire, 1706-1790)

When your work speaks for itself, don’t interrupt.

- Henry J. Kaiser (Industrialist, 1882-1967)

A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies.

- Oscar Wilde (Writer, 1854-1900)

A false friend and a shadow attend only while the sun shines.

- Benjamin Franklin (Founding father, America's first millionaire, 1706-1790)

People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances.

The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them.

- George Bernard Shaw (Playwright, critic, 1856-1950)

Change can come in either of two important ways:

Start behaving positively or stop behaving negatively.

- Dr. Phil (TV host, 1950-)

Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.

- Abraham Lincoln (16th US president, 1809-1865)

You are responsible for your life.

You can't keep blaming somebody else for your dysfunction.

Life is really about moving on.

- Oprah Winfrey (Business woman, 1954)

The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, or not to anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.

- Buddha (Founder of Buddhism, circa 563 BCE-483 BCE)

A prophet is without honor in his own community.

- The Holy Bible
Matt 13:57. “Then Jesus told them, ‘A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family.’ "

The other night I ate at a real nice family restaurant. Every table had an argument going.

- George Carlin (Comedian 1937-2008)

The first half of our lives is ruined by our parents and the second half by our children.

- Clarence Darrow (Attorney, 1857-1938)

The reason grandparents and grandchildren get along so well is that they have a common enemy.

- Sam Levenson (Writer, teacher 1911-1980)

The old believe everything, the middle-aged suspect everything, the young know everything.

- Oscar Wilde (Writer, 1854-1900)

We all grow up with the weight of history on us. Our ancestors dwell in the attics of our brains as they do in the spiraling chains of knowledge hidden in every cell of our bodies.

- Shirley Abbott (Author 1934-2019)

TRIBAL GENEALOGY
Research Native America Indian Ancestry, DNA Bloodlines, Tribal Enrolment...

A window of opportunity won't open itself.

- Dave Weinbaum (Online philosopher)

Life is pretty simple:

You do some stuff. Most fails. Some works.

You do more of what works.

If it works big, others quickly copy it. Then you do something else.

The trick is the doing something else.

- Leonardo da Vinci (Artist, 1452-1519)

The man who leaves money to charity in his will is only giving away what no longer belongs to him.

Voltaire (Writer, philosopher, 1694-1778)

You can't accomplish anything worthwhile if you inhibit yourself. If life teaches you nothing else, know this for sure:

When you get the chance, go for it.

- Oprah Winfrey (Business woman, 1954)

Imagination rules the world.

- Napoleon Bonaparte (Emperor, 1769-1821)

The man who has no imagination has no wings.

- Muhammad Ali (Boxer 1942-)

If you owe the bank $100 that's your problem. If you owe the bank $100 million, that's the bank's problem.

- J. Paul Getty (Industrialist, 1892-1976

Don't be afraid your life will end. Be afraid that it will never begin.

- Grace Hansen

Thirteen roadways lead through life

To thirteen doors of death,

Homeward from foolish fears and strife

We float on failing breath.

- Tao (Chinese Philosophy, 6th century, B.C.)

A wedding is just like a funeral except that you get to smell your own flowers.

- Grace Hansen

The most beautiful people I've known are those who have known trials, have known struggles, have known loss, and have found their way out of the depths.

- Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (Psychiatrist, 1926-2004)

Grief does not change you... It reveals you.

- John Green (Author)

As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death.

- Leonardo da Vinci (Artist, 1452-1519)

I would like to be remembered as a man who had a wonderful time living life, a man who had good friends, fine family -- and I don't think I could ask for anything more than that, actually.

- Frank Sinatra (Singer, 1915-1998)

The children have been a wonderful gift to me, and I'm thankful to have once again seen our world through their eyes. They restore my faith in the family's future.

- Jacqueline Kennedy (First Lady, 1929-1994)

If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them.

- Thoreau (Philosopher, 1817-1862)

Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.

- Stephen King (Novelist, screenwriter, film director, 1947-)

If you need something done ask as busy man, no one else will have time to do it.

- Unknown

The biggest thing separating people from their artistic ambitions is not a lack of talent.

It's the lack of a DEADLINE.

- Chris Baty (Writer)

His talent was as natural as the pattern that was made by the dust on a butterfly's wings. At one time he understood it no more than the butterfly did and he did not know when it was brushed or marred.

Later he became conscious of his damaged wings and of their construction and he learned to think and could not fly any more because the love of flight was gone and he could only remember when it had been effortless.

- Ernest Hemingway (Writer, 1899-1961)

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

- Leonardo da Vinci (Artist, 1452-1519)

That old law about "an eye for an eye" leaves everybody blind. The time is always right to do the right thing.

- Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (Activist, 1929-1968)

Don’t ever wrestle with a pig. You’ll both get dirty, but the pig will enjoy it.

- Cale Yarborough (NASCAR driver, 1939)

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.

- Dr. Seuss (Childrens' book author)

Your intellect may be confused, but your emotions will never lie to you.

- Roger Ebert (Film critic, historian, journalist)

If you think in terms of a year, plant a seed; if in terms of ten years, plant trees; if in terms of 100 years, teach the people.

- Confucius (Philosopher, 551 BC-479 BC)

The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you've got to put up with the rain.

- Dolly Parton (Singer, actor, 1946-)

I dwell in possibility.

- Emily Dickenson (Poet, 1830-1886)

Big shots are only little shots who keep shooting.

- Christopher Morley (Journalist, 1890-1957)

A stranger stabs you in the front; a friend stabs you in the back; a boyfriend stabs you in the heart, but best friends only poke each other with straws.

- Unknown

If you come to a fork in the road, take it.

- Yogi Berra (New York Yankees, 1925-)

I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.

- Confucius (Philosopher, 551 BC-479 BC)

The safest way to double your money is to fold it over once and put it in your pocket.

- Kin Hubbard (Humorist, 1868-1930)

If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write something worth reading or do things worth the writing.

- Benjamin Franklin (Founding father, America's first millionaire, 1706-1790)

Girl & The Rattlesnake

A young girl walking along a mountain path to her grandmother's house heard a rustle at her feet. Looking down, she saw a snake, but before she could react, the snake spoke to her.

"I am about to die," he said. "It's too cold for me up here, and I am freezing. There is no food in these mountains, and I am starving. Please put me under your coat and take me with you."

"No," the girl replied. "I know your kind. You are a rattlesnake. And if I pick you up, you will bite me and your bite is poisonous."

"No, no," the snake said. "If you help me, you will be my best friend. I will treat YOU differently."

The young girl sat down on a rock for a moment to rest and think things over. She looked at the beautiful markings on the snake and she had to admit he was the most beautiful snake she had ever seen.

Suddenly, she said, "I believe you. I will save you. All living things deserve to be treated with kindness."

She then reached over, put the snake gently under her coat and continued toward her grandmother's house.

Within a moment, she felt a sharp pain in her side. The snake had bitten her!

"How could you do this to me?" she cried. "You promised that you would not bite me, and I trusted you!"

"You knew what I was when you picked me up," he hissed as he slithered away

- Ann Landers' column (with minor edits)
- Rattle Snake photo poster design: G BALLARD

I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.

- Jimmy Dean (Singer, 1928-2010)

Meeting you was fate, becoming your friend was a choice, but falling in love with you was beyond my control.

- Unknown

Nobody is worth your tears, and the one who is won't make you cry.

- Unknown

Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle.

And so we must straighten our backs... A man can't ride you unless your back is bent.

- Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (Activist, 1929-1968)

- Unknown

There's a Genius in all of us.

Albert Einstein (Genius 1879-1955)

TRADITIONAL Native American Indian Quotations

The song that I will sing is an old song, so old that none knows who made it. It has been handed down through generations and was taught to me when I was but a little lad. It is now my own song.

It belongs to me. This is a holy song (medicine song), and great is its power.

The song tells how, as I sing, I go through the air to a holy place where Yusun (The Supreme Being) will give me power to do wonderful things.

I am surrounded by little clouds, and as I go through the air I change, becoming spirit only.

- Geronimo, Apache warrior/leader (1829-1909)

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