The old Lakota was wise. He knew that man's heart, away from nature, becomes hard; he knew that lack of respect for growing, living things soon led to lack of respect for humans too.
Luther Standing BearRead
Kinship with all creatures of the earth, sky and water was a real and active principle. In the animal and bird world there existed a brotherly feeling that kept the Lakota safe among them. And so close did some of the Lakotas come to their feathered and furred friends that in true brotherhood they spoke a common tongue.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes a deep connection between the Lakota people and all living creatures, highlighting the harmony and mutual respect that exists in nature.
Luther Standing Bear articulates a profound sense of kinship and interconnectedness between the Lakota people and the natural world, illustrating how they perceive a shared bond with animals and birds. This connection fosters a spirit of brotherhood and a protective relationship, indicating that such unity enables a harmonious existence where both humans and nature thrive. The idea underscores the importance of understanding and speaking the 'common tongue' of all living beings, reflecting a culture that values ecological relationships.
Themes
KinshipNatureBrotherhoodLakotaInterconnectednessAnimalsRespect
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of preserving wildlife, one might quote this to emphasize our connection to nature.
More from Luther Standing Bear
All quotes →"Civilization" has been thrust upon me since the days of the reservations, and 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, or to my faith in Wakan Tanka, God of the Lakotas.
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Only to the white man was nature a 'wilderness'.
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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 BearRead
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. Not until the hairy man from the east came and with brutal frenzy heaped injustices upon us and the families that we loved was it "wild" for us. When the very animals of the forest began fleeing from his approach, then it was that for us the "Wild West" began.
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