15 Native American Proverbs That Will Speak To Your Soul

Imagine if these peaceful tribes we’re never raided and their land and lives never taken. The history of our world would have transpired completely differently. We would be in touch with nature, ourselves and the Earth.

We would be able to connect with animals, the stars, the flowers and each other so deeply; something so simple that has been lost through modern reality. Let us never forget the wisdom these natives shared. Let us re-create the world of cosmic, earthly and universal understanding they once knew.

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

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

3. “All plants are our brothers and sisters. They talk to us and if we listen, we can hear them.” -Arapaho

4. “Tell me and I’ll forget. Show me, and I may not remember. Involve me, and I’ll understand.” – Tribe Unknown

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

6. “Those that lie down with dogs, get up with fleas.” – Blackfoot 

7. “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

8. “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

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

10. “Our first teacher is our own heart.” – Cheyenne

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

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

13. “There is no death, only a change of worlds.” – Duwamish

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

15. “All dreams spin out from the same web.” – Hopi

Originally published on Spirit Science