Grandfather Cries Charles Phillip Whitedog
Grandfather, do you know me?
I am your blood.
The son of your son.
I come to ask you a question Grandfather.
Grandfather, don't you know me?
Can I stop being Indian now?
There are others that want to be Indian,
And if they can start from nothing,
I should be able to stop from something?
Grandfather, don't you know me?
Grandfather, I don't look like you.
I don't know what you know.
It would be easy for me to hide behind my paler skin.
No one would know the pain I feel,
Or see the tears I cry for your Great Grandchildren.
Grandfather, don't you know me?
Grandfather, look what I have done to our world.
Mother Earth is on her knees.
The Snake and Owl rule the day.
I don't understand the language you speak Grandfather.
Grandfather, don't you know me?
Grandfather, I want my Pepsi, Levi's and Porsche too.
I want to go where the others go,
And see the things they see too.
I don't have time to dance in the old way Grandfather.
Grandfather?
Grandfather, why are you crying?
Grandfather, why are you crying?
Grandfather, please stop crying.
Grandfather, don't you know me?
We are with you in our path
Our flame of fire will continue to burn
To light our sacred hearts as One,
wakaye,wakaye, wakaye
This is Honor of a great Man My Uncle John. He hurts no more
Who will sing my name?
When I see the eagle no more,
Will you call my name?
When the end of my path is reached,
Will you sing my name in prayer?
The Old Ones fade and are no more,
And no one calls their names.
Our People vanish and come to ashes,
And no one sings the prayers.
We were once strong and many,
I call the names of those before.
Those who remain have no knowing,
For them I sing my prayer.
But when I am gone, who follows me,
Who will call my name?
When I have given up my breath,
Who will sing my name in prayer?
Grandfather Great Spirit
All over the world the faces
of living ones are alike.
With tenderness they have
come up out of the ground.
Look upon your children
that they may face the winds
And walk the good road to the Day of Quiet.
Grandfather Great Spirit
Fill us with the Light.
Give us the strength to understand,
And the eyes to see.
Teach us to walk the soft Earth
as relatives to all that live.
A Prayer Addressed To The Mountain Spirits (Apache)
Mountain Spirit, leader of the Mountain Spirits, your body is holy.
By means of it, make him well again.
Make his body like your own.
Make him strong again.
He wants to get up with all of his body.
For that reason, he is performing this ceremony,
Do that which he has asked of you.
Long ago, it seems you restored someone's legs and eyes for them.
This has been said.
In the same way, make him free again from disease.
That is why I am speaking to you.
Indian Table Grace
Now I am about to eat, O Great Spirit, Give my thanks to the beast and the birds whom you have provided for my hunger and pray deliver my sorrow that living things must sacrifice for my comfort and well being. Let the feather of corn spring up in its time and let it not wither but make full grains for the fires of our cooking pots. Now I am about to eat.
Lord's Prayer in English & Cherokee
o gi do da - ga lv la di he hi
Our Father, heaven dweller,
ga lv quo di yu - ge se s di - de tsa do v i
My loving will be (to) Thy name.
tsa gv wi yu hi - ge sv - wi ga na nu go i
Your Lordship let it make its appearance.
a ni e lo hi - wi tsi ga li s da - ha da nv te s gv i
Here upon earth let happen what you think,
na s gi ya - ga lv la di - tsi ni ga li s di ha
The same as in heaven is done.
ni da do da qui sv - o ga li s da yv di - s gi v si - go hi i ga
Daily our food give to us this day.
di ge s gi v si quo no - de s gi du gv i
Forgive us our debts,
na s gi ya - tsi di ga yo tsi na ho - tso tsi du gi
the same as we forgive our debtors,
a le - tla s di - u da go le ye di yi - ge sv - wi di s gi ya ti nv s ta nv gi
And do not temptation being lead us into,
s gi yu da le s ge s di quo s gi ni - u yo - ge sv i
Deliver us from evil existing.
tsa tse li ga ye no - tsa gv wi yu hi - ge sv i
For thine your Lordship is,
a le - tsa li ni gi di yi - ge sv i
And the power is,
a le - e tsa lv quo di yu - ge sv - ni go hi lv i
And the glory is forever.
E-mena, Amen
Mother Earth Prayer
Mother Earth hear your child, As I sit here on your lap of grass, I listen to the echoes of your voice In my brother, the Wind, As he blows from all corners and directions.
The soft and gentle raindrops are the Tears you cry for your children.
Teach me the Lessons you offer: To nurture my children, as you nurture yours, To learn the Lessons of the Four Kingdoms, that make up this World of Physical Things, and To Learn to Walk the Path chosen so long ago.
Mother Earth, hear your child, Be a bond between the Worlds of Earth and Spirit. Let the Winds echo the Knowledge of the Grandfathers.
Who await, unseen, yet visible if I only turn my eyes to their World.
Let me hear their Voices, in the Winds that Blow to the East.
From the East: I seek the Lessons of Childhood: To see with the trusting innocence of a small one, The Lessons of Spirit, Given in Love by our Creator.
From the South: to Learn the Ways of Questioning: The Fire and Independence of adolescence, The Truths, and how they help us Grow along this Path.
From the West: where the Grandfathers teach us Acceptance of Responsibility That come during the years of Marriage and Family.
That my own children grow Strong, and True.
From the North: where the Elders, who by their long lives Have learned and stored Wisdom and Knowledge. And Learned to Walk in Balance and Harmony with our Mother, the Earth.
Mother Earth, hear your child. Hold my hand as I Walk my Path in this World. Guide me to the Lessons I seek, bring me closer to Our Creator, Until I return to the Western Direction, to once again Enter the World of Spirit, Where the Sacred Fire Awaits, and I rejoin the Council of the Elders, In the Presence of the One Who-Created-All.
~KiiskeeN'tum- She Who Remembers
Isoba Mahli yamma
Isoba Tohbi yamma
Wakaya Wakaya
Chi awant wakayalashke
Oh! Wind Horse
Oh! White Horse
Arise! Arise!
May I Arise with You
Isoba Mahli yamma
Isoba Tohbi yamma
Wakaya Wakaya
Chi awant wakayalashke
Oh! Wind Horse
Oh! White Horse
Arise! Arise!
May I Arise with You
Isoba Mahli yamma
Isoba Tohbi yamma
Wakaya Wakaya
Chi awant wakayalashke
Oh! Wind Horse
Oh! White Horse
Arise! Arise!
May I Arise with You
Ofi Tohbi anowa
Aiena kut Neshoba Homma
Wakaya Wakaya
Chi awant wakayalashke
On the White dog's path
And also the red Wolf too
Arise Arise
May I arise with you!!
(Repeat Three times)
Sioux Prayer: At Harvest Time
You, O God, are the Lord of the mountains and valleys. You are my mother and my father. You have given rain to make the corn grow, and sunshine to ripen it. Now in your strength the harvest begins.
I offer you the first morsels of the harvest. I know it is almost nothing compared with the abundance of the crop. But since you have provided the harvest, my gift to you is only a sign of what you have given to me.
You alone know how many suns and moons it will take to finish reaping. You alone know how heavy the crop will be. If I work too hard and too fast I forget about you, who gave me the harvest. So I will work steadily and slowly, remembering that each ear of corn is a priceless gift from you.
Earth Teach Me to Remember
by John Yellow Lark
Earth teach me stillness
as the grasses are stilled with light.
Earth teach me suffering
as old stones suffer with memory.
Earth teach me humility
as blossoms are humble with beginning.
Earth Teach me caring
as the mother who secures her young.
Earth teach me courage
as the tree which stands alone.
Earth teach me limitation
as the ant which crawls on the ground.
Earth teach me freedom
as the eagle which soars in the sky.
Earth teach me resignation
as the leaves which die in the fall.
Earth teach me regeneration
as the seed which rises in the spring.
Earth teach me to forget myself
as melted snow forgets its life.
Earth teach me to remember kindness
as dry fields weep in the rain.
PRAYER FOR THE WHITE MAN
And now, Grandfather, I ask you to bless the White Man. He needs your Wisdom, your guidance. You see, for so long, he has tried to destroy my people, and only feels comfortable when given power. Bless them, show them the peace we understand, teach them humility. For I fear they will someday destroy themselves and their children, As they have done so Mother Earth. I plead, I cry. After all, They are my Brothers.......
Great Spirit,
give us hearts to understand;
Never to take from creation's beauty more than we give;
Never to destroy wantonly for the furtherance of greed;
Never to deny to give our hands for the building of earth's beauty;
Never to take from her what we cannot use.
Give us hearts to understand
That to destroy earth's music is to create confusion;
That to wreck her appearance is to blind us to beauty;
That to callously pollute her fragrance is to make a house of stench;
That as we care for her she will care for us.
We have forgotten who we are.
We have sought only our own security.
We have exploited simply for our own ends.
We have distorted our knowledge.
We have abused our power.
Great Spirit, whose dry lands thirst,
help us to find the way to refresh your lands.
Great Spirit, whose waters are choked with debris and pollution,
help us to find the way to cleanse your waters.
Great Spirit, whose beautiful earth grows ugly with mis-use,
help us to find the way to restore beauty to your handiwork.
Great Spirit, whose creatures are being destroyed,
help us to find a way to replenish them.
Great Spirit, whose gifts to us are being lost
in selfishness and corruption,
help us to find the way to restore our humanity.
Lord most giving and resourceful, I implore you;
make it your will that this people enjoy the goods and riches you naturally give,
that naturally issue from you,
that are pleasing and savory,
that delight and comfort,
though lasting but briefly, passing away as if in a dream.
As I walk the trail of life
in the fear of the wind and rain,
grant O Great Spirit
that I may always walk
like a man
All over the world the faces
of living ones are alike.
With tenderness they have
come up out of the ground.
Look upon your children
that they may face the winds
And walk the good road to the Day of Quiet.
Grandfather Great Spirit
Fill us with the Light.
Give us the strength to understand,
And the eyes to see.
Teach us to walk the soft Earth
as relatives to all that live.
All over the world the faces
of living ones are alike.
With tenderness they have
come up out of the ground.
Look upon your children
that they may face the winds
And walk the good road to the Day of Quiet.
Grandfather Great Spirit
Fill us with the Light.
Give us the strength to understand,
And the eyes to see.
Teach us to walk the soft Earth
as relatives to all that live.
Nesika papa klaksta mitlite kopa saghalie
(Our Father Who dwells on High)
Kloshe kopa nesika tumtum mika nem.
(Good for our hearts Your Name.)
Kloshe mika tyee kopa konaway tillikum;
(Good you Chief of all people
Kloshe mika tumtum kopa illahee kahkwa kopa saghalie;
(Good Your heart to make our country such as Yours up above
Potlatch konaway sun nesika muckamuck,
(Give us all days our food,)
Pee kopet-kumtux donaway nesika mesachie,
(And stop remembering all our sins we make to them,)
Kahkwa nesilka mamook kopa klasksta spose mamook
mesachie kopa nesia;
(As we suppose not their sin against us
Mahah siah kopa nesika konaway mesachie.
(Throw far away from us all evil)
Kloshe kahkwa.
(Amen.)
Oh, Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the winds
Whose breath gives life to the world, hear me
I come to you as one of your many children
I am small and weak
I need your strength and wisdom
May I walk in beauty
Make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset.
Make my hands respect the things you have made
And my ears sharp to your voice.
Make me wise so that I may know the things you have taught your children.
The lessons you have written in every leaf and rock
Make me strong--------!
Not to be superior to my brothers, but to fight my greatest enemy....myself
Make me ever ready to come to you with straight eyes,
So that when life fades as the fading sunset,
May my spirit come to you without shame.
My grandfather is the fire
My grandmother is the wind
The Earth is my mother
The Great Spirit is my father
The World stopped at my birth
and laid itself at my feet
And I shall swallow the Earth whole
when I die
and the Earth and I will be one
Hail The Great Spirit, my father
without him no one could exist
because there would be no will to live
Hail The Earth, my mother
without which no food could be grown
and so cause the will to live to starve
Hail the wind, my grandmother
for she brings loving, lifegiving rain
nourishing us as she nourishes our crops
Hail the fire, my grandfather
for the light, the warmth, the comfort he brings
without which we be animals, not men
Hail my parent and grandparents
without which
not I
nor you
nor anyone else
could have existed
Life gives life
which gives unto itself
a promise of new life
Hail the Great Spirit, The Earth, the wind, the fire
praise my parents loudly
for they are your parents, too
Oh, Great Spirit, giver of my life
please accept this humble offering of prayer
this offering of praise
this honest reverence of my love for you.
