Power is not brute force and money; power is in your spirit. Power is in your soul. It is what your ancestors, your old people gave you. Power is in the earth; it is in your relationship to the earth.
Interpretation
True power comes from within and is rooted in connection to one's heritage and the earth.
In this quote, Winona Laduke emphasizes that genuine power is not derived from material wealth or physical strength but is found within one’s spirit and soul. It highlights the importance of ancestral connections and the deep relationship one has with the earth, suggesting that understanding and honoring these aspects is what truly empowers individuals.
In practice
In a motivational speech about personal empowerment.
Ojibwe prophecy speaks of a time during the seventh fire when our people will have a choice between two paths. The first path is well-worn and scorched. The second path is new and green. It is our choice as communities and as individuals how we will proceed.
When I first came to Harvard, I thought to myself, 'What kind of an Indian am I?' because I did not grow up on a reservation. But being an Indian is a combination of things. It's your blood. It's your spirituality. And it's fighting for the Indian people.
What our Seventh Generation will have is a consequence of our actions today.
I see a lot of damage to Mother Earth. I see water being taken from creeks where water belongs to animals, not to oil companies.
I think of some of my friends who have passed to the spirit world but are who here with me when I go to events and when I walk in my own community. My sisters, Ingred, my sister Marsha, and my sister Nielock. All cofounders of the Indigenous Women's Network with me. All long time women activists in the native community.
In the end, there is no absence of irony: the integrity of what is sacred to Native Americans will be determined by the government that has been responsible for doing everything in its power to destroy Native American cultures.
Angels and ministers of grace defend us!_x000D_ _x000D_ Be thou a spirit of health, or goblin damn'd,_x000D_ _x000D_ Bring with thee airs from heaven, or blasts from hell,_x000D_ _x000D_ Be thy intents wicked, or charitable,_x000D_ _x000D_ Thou com'st in such a questionable shape,_x000D_ _x000D_ That I will speak to thee.
Conventions are unstated agreements within a community to abide by a single way of doing things - not because there is any inherent advantage to the choice, but because there is an advantage to everyone making the same choice.
I live what most people call the good life. I was happy, but deep inside I always felt that, with the short amount of time we are given to live and love in this world, we spend too much time loving things instead of people.
For a long time I was convinced that the conflict between Jewish people and black people in this country was a media event.
The humanity that is given to other people isn't given to us. There is an expendability that comes along with being African American.
The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.
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