Luther Standing Bear …. 10 Quotes From a Sioux Indian Chief!!

~~January 20, 2015~~ 

Luther Standing Bear (December 1868-February 20, 1939) (Ota Kte, “Plenty Kill” or “Mochunozhin”) was an Oglala Lakota chief notable in American history as an Native American author, educator, philosopher, and actor of the 20th century. Standing Bear fought to preserve Lakota heritage and sovereignty and was at the forefront of a Progressive movement to change government policy towards Native Americans.

Standing Bear was one of a small group of Lakota leaders of his generation, such as Black Elk, Gertrude Bonnin and Charles Eastman, who were born and raised in the oral traditions of their culture, educated in white culture and wrote significant historic accounts of their people and history in English. Luther’s experiences in early life, the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, Wild Westing with Buffalo Bill and life on government reservations present a unique view of a Native American during of the Progressive Era in American history.

Standing Bear’s commentaries on Native American culture and wisdom educated the American public, deepened public awareness and created popular support to change government policies toward Native American peoples. Luther Standing Bear helped create the popular 20th century image that Native American culture is holistic and respectful of nature. Luther Standing Bear’s classic commentaries appear on college reading lists in anthropology, literature, history and philosophy, and leave a legacy and treasure of Native American wisdom.

“As it appears in … “

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luther_Standing_Bear

10 Quotes From a Sioux Indian Chief That Will Make You Question Everything About “Modern” Culture

Raised in the traditions of his people until the age of eleven, he was then educated at the Carlisle Indian Industrial Boarding School of Pennsylvania, where he learned the english language and way of life. (Though a National Historical Landmark, Carlisle remains a place of controversy in Native circles.)

his native roots were deep, leaving him in the unique position of being a conduit between cultures. Though his movement through the white man’s world was not without “success” — he had numerous movie roles in Hollywood — his enduring legacy was the protection of the way of life of his people.

Here, then, are 10 quotes from the great Sioux Indian Chief known as Standing Bear that will be sure to disturb much of what you think you know about “modern” culture.

Praise, flattery, exaggerated manners and fine, high-sounding words were no part of Lakota politeness. Excessive manners were put down as insincere, and the constant talker was considered rude and thoughtless. Conversation was never begun at once, or in a hurried manner.

Children were taught that true politeness was to be defined in actions rather than in words. They were never allowed to pass between the fire and the older person or a visitor, to speak while others were speaking, or to make fun of a crippled or disfigured person. If a child thoughtlessly tried to do so, a parent, in a quiet voice, immediately set him right.

Silence was meaningful with the Lakota, and his granting a space of silence before talking was done in the practice of true politeness and regardful of the rule that ‘thought comes before speech’… and in the midst of sorrow, sickness, death or misfortune of any kind, and in the presence of the notable and great, silence was the mark of respect… strict observance of this tenet of good behavior was the reason, no doubt, for his being given the false characterization by the white man of being a stoic. He has been judged to be dumb, stupid, indifferent, and unfeeling.

We did not think of the great open plains, the beautiful rolling hills, the winding streams with tangled growth, as ‘wild’. Only to the white man was nature a ‘wilderness’ and only to him was it ‘infested’ with ‘wild’ animals and ‘savage’ people. To us it was tame. Earth was bountiful and we were surrounded with the blessings of the Great Mystery.

Kinship with all creatures of the earth, sky and water was a real and active principle. In the animal and bird world there existed a brotherly feeling that kept the Lakota safe among them. And so close did some of the Lakotas come to their feathered and furred friends that in true brotherhood they spoke a common tongue.

This concept of life and its relations was humanizing and gave to the Lakota an abiding love. It filled his being with the joy and mystery of living; it gave him reverence for all life; it made a place for all things in the scheme of existence with equal importance to all.

It was good for the skin to touch the earth, and the old people liked to remove their moccasins and walk with bare feet on the sacred earth … the old Indian still sits upon the earth instead of propping himself up and away from its life giving forces. For him, to sit or lie upon the ground is to be able to think more deeply and to feel more keenly. He can see more clearly into the mysteries of life and come closer in kinship to other lives about him.

Everything was possessed of personality, only differing from us in form. Knowledge was inherent in all things. The world was a library and its books were the stones, leaves, grass, brooks, and the birds and animals that shared, alike with us, the storms and blessings of earth. We learned to do what only the student of nature learns, and that was to feel beauty. We never railed at the storms, the furious winds, and the biting frosts and snows. To do so intensified human futility, so whatever came we adjusted ourselves, by more effort and energy if necessary, but without complaint.

… the old Lakota was wise. He knew that a man’s heart, away from nature, becomes hard; he knew that lack of respect for growing, living things soon led to lack of respect for humans, too. So he kept his children close to nature’s softening influence.

Civilization has been thrust upon me… and it has not added one whit to my love for truth, honesty, and generosity.

“As it appears in …. full credit”

http://www.wisdompills.com/2015/01/22/10-quotes-sioux-indian-chief-will-make-question-everything-modern-culture/

~~GALLERY~~

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~Standing Bear’s Footsteps Trailer~

~Uploaded on Mar 25, 2011~

In 1877, the Ponca people were exiled from their Nebraska homeland to Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma. To honor his dying son’s last wish to be buried in his homeland, Chief Standing Bear set off on a grueling, six-hundred-mile journey home. Captured en-route, Standing Bear sued a famous U.S. army general for his freedom — choosing to fight injustice not with weapons, but with words. The chief stood before the court to prove that an Indian was a person under the law. The story quickly made newspaper headlines –attracting powerful allies, as well as enemies.

This high definition documentary weaves interviews, re-creations and present-day scenes to tell a story about human rights — one that resonates powerfully in the present. “I am a man,” Chief Standing Bear said at his trial. “The same God made us both.”

We ALL are ONE!!