Top 101 Native American Quotes

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The Native American tribes have lived on and with the land for a long time. They have a special connection to it and have great spiritual wisdom. With that in mind, check out the top 101 Native American quotes.

#101 – 90. Native American Quotes

101. Behold this day. It is yours to make. – Black Elk

100. Each person is his own judge. – Shawnee

99. The way of the troublemaker is thorny. – Umpqua

98. It is easy to be brave from a distance. – Omaha

97. Beware of the man who does not talk, and the dog that does not bark. – Cheyenne

96. There is no death, only a change of worlds. – Duwamish

95. To touch the earth is to have harmony with nature. – Oglala Sioux

94. When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice. – Cherokee

93. Everything on the earth has a purpose, every disease an herb to cure it, and every person a mission. This is the Indian theory of existence. – Mourning Dove Salish

92. When we show our respect for other living things, they respond with respect for us. – Arapaho

91. There are many good moccasin tracks along the trail of a straight arrow. – Sioux

90. We will be known forever by the tracks we leave. – Dakota

#89 – 80. Native American Quotes

89. All who have died are equal. – Comanche

88. All dreams spin out from the same web. – Hopi

87. Walk lightly in the spring; Mother Earth is pregnant. – Kiowa

86. Do not wrong or hate your neighbor for it is not he that you wrong but yourself. – Pima

85. The rain falls on the just and the unjust. – Hopi

84. One finger cannot lift a pebble. – Hopi

83. I have seen that in any great undertaking it is not enough for a man to depend simply upon himself. – Shooter Teton Sioux

82. It is better to have less thunder in the mouth and more lightning in the hand. – Apache

81. A people without a history is like the wind over buffalo grass. – Sioux

80. One should pay attention to even the smallest crawling creature for these too may have a valuable lesson to teach us. – Black Elk

#79 – 70. Native American Quotes

79. Ask questions from you heart and you will be answered from the heart. – Omaha

78. The ground on which we stand is sacred ground. It is the blood of our ancestors. – Chief Plenty Coups, Crow

77. A danger foreseen is half-avoided. – Cheyenne

76. Most of us do not look as handsome to others as we do to ourselves. – Assiniboine

75. A good chief gives, he does not take. – Mohawk

74. If we wonder often, the gift of knowledge will come. – Arapaho

73. One rain does not make a crop. – Creole

72. Man has responsibility, not power. – Tuscarora

71. You can’t wake a person who is pretending to be asleep. – Navajo

70. The bird who has eaten cannot fly with the bird that is hungry. – Omaha

#69 – 60. Native American Quotes

69. We do not want riches. We want peace and love. – Red Cloud, Oglala Lakota Sioux

68. Wisdom comes only when you stop looking for it and start living the life the Creator intended for you. – Hopi

67. Those who have one foot in the canoe, and one foot in the boat, are going to fall into the river. – Tuscarora

66. Those that lie down with dogs, get up with fleas. – Blackfoot

65. Everyone who is successful must have dreamed of something. – Maricopa

64. A good soldier is a poor scout. – Cheyenne

63. Many have fallen with the bottle in their hand. – Lakota

62. Sharing and giving are the ways of God. – Sauk

61. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies in yourself. – Minquass

60. The weakness of the enemy makes our strength. – Cherokee

#59 – 50. Native American Quotes

59. Remember that your children are not your own, but are lent to you by the Creator. – Mohawk

58. Man’s law changes with his understanding of man. Only the laws of the spirit remain always the same. – Crow

57. What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night, it is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime, it is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset. – Blackfoot

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

55. A hungry stomach makes a short prayer. – Paiute

54. Everything the power does, it does in a circle. – Lakota

53. Coyote is always out there waiting, and Coyote is always hungry. – Navajo

52. The rainbow is a sign from Him who is in all things. – Hopi

51. 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

50. Our first teacher is our own heart. – Cheyenne

#49 – 40. Native American Quotes

49. In age, talk; in childhood, tears. – Hopi

48. What the people believe is true. – Anishinabe

47. Each bird loves to hear himself sing. – Arapaho

46. The one who tells the stories rules the world. – Hopi

45. With all things and in all things, we are relatives. – Sioux

44. 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

43. It is less of a problem to be poor, than to be dishonest. – Anishinabe

42. Poverty is a noose that strangles humility and breeds disrespect for God and man. – Sioux

41. Take only what you need and leave the land as you found it. – Arapaho

40. They are not dead who live in the hearts they leave behind. – Tuscarora

#39 – 30. Native American Quotes

39. Don’t let yesterday use up too much of today. – Cherokee

38. Before eating, always take time to thank the food. – Arapaho

37. White men have too many chiefs. – Nez Perce

36. It does not require many words to speak the truth. – Chief Joseph, Nez Perce

35. The coward shoots with shut eyes. – Oklahoma

34. It is no longer good enough to cry peace, we must act peace, live peace and live in peace. – Shenandoah

33. Do not judge your neighbor until you walk two moons in his moccasins. – Cheyenne

32. When a fox walks lame, the old rabbit jumps. – Oklahoma

31. God gives us each a song. – Ute

30. We are made from Mother Earth and we go back to Mother Earth. – Shenandoah

#29 – 20. Native American Quotes

29. When a man moves away from nature his heart becomes hard. – Lakota

28. We are all one child spinning through Mother Sky. – Shawnee

27. Look to the old, they are worthy of old age; they have seen their days and proven themselves. With the help of the Great Spirit, they have attained a ripe old age. At this age the old can predict or give knowledge or wisdom, whatever it is, it is so. – Black Elk

26. Make my enemy brave and strong, so that if defeated, I will not be ashamed. – Plains

25. One does not sell the land people walk on. – Crazy Horse

24. Old age is not as honorable as death, but most people want it. – Crow

23. Day and night cannot dwell together. – Duwamish

22. Know the power that is Peace. – Black Elk

21. Let every step you take upon the Earth be as a prayer. – Black Elk

20. Force, no matter how concealed, begets resistance. – Lakota

#19 – 10. Native American Quotes

19. Life is not separate from death. It only looks that way. – Blackfoot

18. A starving man will eat with the wolf. – Oklahoma

17. When the Earth is sick, the animals will begin to disappear, when that happens, The Warriors of the Rainbow will come to save them. – Chief Seattle

16. All plants are our brothers and sisters. They talk to us and if we listen, we can hear them. – Arapaho

15. Children learn from what they see. We need to set an example of truth and action. – Howard Rainer, Taos Pueblo-Creek

14. You already possess everything necessary to become great. – Crow

13. Don’t be afraid to cry. It will free your mind of sorrowful thoughts. – Hopi

12. How smooth must be the language of the whites, when they can make right look like wrong, and wrong like right. – Black Hawk, Sauk

11. If a man is as wise as a serpent, he can afford to be as harmless as a dove. – Cheyenne

10. The moon is not shamed by the barking of dogs. – Southwest

#9 – 1. Native American Quotes

9. A man or woman with many children has many homes. – Lakota Sioux

8. The frog does not drink up the pond in which he lives. – Sioux

7. May you always walk in beauty. – Black Elk

6. Seek wisdom, not knowledge. Knowledge is of the past, Wisdom is of the future. – Lumbee

5. 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

4. Cherish youth, but trust old age. – Pueblo

3. Every animal knows more than you do. – Nez Perce

2. A rocky vineyard does not need a prayer, but a pick ax. – Navajo

1.There is nothing as eloquent as a rattlesnakes tail. – Navajo

Ideas for the top 101 Native American quotes come from the following sources.^[1]Saying Images – 60 Native American Quote, Sayings and Wisdom^[2]Legends of America – Native American Proverbs and Wisdom^[3]Spiritual Quotes to Live By – Native American Quote To Live By