I know Great Spirit is looking down upon me from above, and will hear what I say.
Sitting BullRead
Only seven years ago we made a treaty by which we were assured that the buffalo country should be left to us forever. Now they threaten to take that from us also.
Interpretation
This quote reflects on broken promises and the struggles of indigenous peoples in retaining their land.
Sitting Bull's quote highlights the deep sense of betrayal felt by Native Americans when treaties meant to protect their lands were disregarded. It serves as a poignant reminder of the historical injustices faced by indigenous communities, emphasizing the ongoing conflict between their rights and the interests of external forces seeking to exploit their territories.
In practice
During a speech about land rights, one could use this quote to illustrate the ongoing struggles of native populations.
I know Great Spirit is looking down upon me from above, and will hear what I say.
I want to tell you that if the Great Spirit had chosen anyone to be the chief of this country, it is myself.
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?
When I was a boy, the Sioux owned the world. The sun rose and set on their land; they sent ten thousand men to battle. Where are the warriors today? Who slew them? Where are our lands? Who owns them?
Therefore, I do not wish to consider any proposition to cede any portion of our tribal holdings to the Great Father.
I wish it to be remembered that I was the last man of my tribe to surrender my rifle.
Behind it all is surely an idea so simple, so beautiful, that when we grasp it - in a decade, a century, or a millennium - we will all say to each other, how could it have been otherwise? How could we have been so stupid?
Here is everything which can lay hold of the eye, ear and imagination - everything which can charm and bewitch the simple and ignorant. I wonder how Luther ever broke the spell.
It is inconceivable to me that a million or three million or half a million human beings will think and feel precisely the same way on any single subject.
As a young man... you don't know anything about yourself. And add on to that, you're on the cover of magazines. People are interviewing you about what you think. You feel like a real phony.
The Christian church in the U.S. is still strong numerically, but it has lost its decisive influence both in American public life and in American culture as a whole, especially in the major elite institutions of society.
And as she looked around, she saw how Death the consoler, Laying his hand upon many a heart, had healed it forever.
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