We were taught to believe that the Great Spirit sees and hears everything, and that he never forgets; that hereafter he will give every man a spirit-home according to his deserts: if he has been a good man, he will have a good home; if he has been a bad man, he will have a bad home. This I believe, and all my people believe the same.
Interpretation
The quote expresses a belief in a moral universe where actions have consequences in the afterlife, reflecting on the teachings of a spiritual belief system.
Chief Joseph articulates a profound belief in the Great Spirit's omniscience and justice, suggesting that every individual will ultimately face the outcomes of their actions in the afterlife. This belief underscores the importance of morality and the intrinsic connection between one's deeds and their eventual fate, as understood within his cultural context. It reflects a worldview where ethical living is rewarded and wrongdoing has its repercussions, resonating deeply within his community and shared cultural insights.
In practice
In a discussion about ethical behavior and consequences.
We do not want churches because they will teach us to quarrel about God. We do not want to learn that. We may quarrel with men sometimes about things on this earth, but we never quarrel about the Great Spirit. We do not want to learn that.
Let me be a free man, free to travel, free to stop, free to work, free to trade where I choose, free to choose my own teachers, free to follow the religion of my fathers, free to talk, think and act for myself — and I will obey every law or submit to the penalty.
It makes my heart sick when I remember all the good words and the broken promises.
If the white man wants to live in peace with the Indian, he can live in peace. There need be no trouble. Treat all men alike. give them all the same law. Give them all an even chance to live and grow.
The earth is the mother of all people, and all people should have equal rights upon it.
All men were made by the Great Spirit Chief. They are all brothers.
The world changed from having the determinism of a clock to having the contingency of a pinball machine.
We poison the wine as He decants it into us; murder a melody He would play with us as the instrument...Hence all sin, whatever else it is, is sacrilege.
Life ceases to be so oppressive: we are free to give our own lives meaning and purpose, free to redeem our suffering by making something of it.
When a man has so far corrupted and prostituted the chastity of his mind, as to [profess] things he does not believe, he has prepared himself for the commission of every other crime.
There is no absolute point of view from which real and ideal can be finally separated and labelled.
We are still conditioning people in this country and, indeed, all over the globe to the myth of white superiority. We are constantly being told that we don't have racism in this country anymore, but most of the people who are saying that are white. White people think it isn't happening because it isn't happening to them.
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