Native American Proverbs and Wisdom
Hopi Weaving, 1879, John K. Hillers
Don’t be afraid to cry. It will free your mind of sorrowful thoughts. – Hopi
Day and night cannot dwell together. – Duwamish
It is better to have less thunder in the mouth and more lightning in the hand. – Apache
They are not dead who live in the hearts they leave behind. – Tuscarora
All plants are our brothers and sisters. They talk to us and if we listen, we can hear them. – Arapaho
Tell me and I’ll forget. Show me, and I may not remember. Involve me, and I’ll understand. – Tribe Unknown.
Before eating, always take time to thank the food. – Arapaho
When we show our respect for other living things, they respond with respect for us. – Arapaho
If we wonder often, the gift of knowledge will come. – Arapaho
Most of us do not look as handsome to others as we do to ourselves. – Assiniboine
Those that lie down with dogs, get up with fleas. – Blackfoot
In age, talk; in childhood, tears. – Hopi
We always return to our first loves. – Tribe Unknown
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
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
Those who have one foot in the canoe, and one foot in the boat, are going to fall into the river. – Tuscarora
The weakness of the enemy makes our strength. – Cherokee
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
A good soldier is a poor scout. – Cheyenne
Poverty is a noose that strangles humility and breeds disrespect for God and man. – Sioux
We will be known forever by the tracks we leave. – Dakota
Do not judge your neighbor until you walk two moons in his moccasins. – Cheyenne
There is nothing as eloquent as a rattlesnakes tail. – Navajo
Force, no matter how concealed, begets resistance. – Lakota
Our first teacher is our own heart. – Cheyenne
Everyone who is successful must have dreamed of something. – Maricopa
All who have died are equal. – Comanche
Remember that your children are not your own, but are lent to you by the Creator. – Mohawk
One rain does not make a crop. – Creole
Man’s law changes with his understanding of man. Only the laws of the spirit remain always the same. – Crow
What the people believe is true. – Anishinabe
You already possess everything necessary to become great. – Crow
There is no death, only a change of worlds. – Duwamish
Life is not separate from death. It only looks that way. – Blackfoot
You can’t wake a person who is pretending to be asleep. – Navajo
It is less of a problem to be poor, than to be dishonest. – Anishinabe
Native American Symbols, Totems & Their Meanings – Digital Download
One finger cannot lift a pebble. – Hopi
Beware of the man who does not talk, and the dog that does not bark. – Cheyenne
All dreams spin out from the same web. – Hopi
Even a small mouse has anger. – Tribe Unknown
If a man is as wise as a serpent, he can afford to be as harmless as a dove. – Cheyenne
Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children.
We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children. – Tribe Unknown
The rainbow is a sign from Him who is in all things. – Hopi
Walk lightly in the spring; Mother Earth is pregnant. – Kiowa
When a man moves away from nature his heart becomes hard. – Lakota
Old age is not as honorable as death, but most people want it. – Crow
Many have fallen with the bottle in their hand. – Lakota
Everything the power does, it does in a circle. – Lakota
A brave man dies but once, a coward many times. – Tribe Unknown.
A man or woman with many children has many homes. – Lakota Sioux
Seek wisdom, not knowledge. Knowledge is of the past, Wisdom is of the future. – Lumbee
If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies in yourself. – Minquass
A good chief gives, he does not take. – Mohawk
Coyote is always out there waiting, and Coyote is always hungry. – Navajo
Listening to a liar is like drinking warm water. – Tribe Unknown
Every animal knows more than you do. – Nez Perce
To touch the earth is to have harmony with nature. – Oglala Sioux
When a fox walks lame, the old rabbit jumps. – Oklahoma
A starving man will eat with the wolf. – Oklahoma
A danger foreseen is half-avoided. – Cheyenne
The coward shoots with shut eyes. – Oklahoma
It is easy to be brave from a distance. – Omaha
The bird who has eaten cannot fly with the bird that is hungry. – Omaha
Ask questions from you heart and you will be answered from the heart. – Omaha
A hungry stomach makes a short prayer. – Paiute
Do not wrong or hate your neighbor for it is not he that you wrong but yourself. – Pima
Make my enemy brave and strong, so that if defeated, I will not be ashamed. – Plains
Cherish youth, but trust old age. – Pueblo
Sharing and giving are the ways of God. – Sauk
We are all one child spinning through Mother Sky. – Shawnee
Each person is his own judge. – Shawnee
We are made from Mother Earth and we go back to Mother Earth. – Shenandoah
It is no longer good enough to cry peace, we must act peace, live peace and live in peace. – Shenandoah
James Lone Elk – Sioux
There are many good moccasin tracks along the trail of a straight arrow. – Sioux
A rocky vineyard does not need a prayer, but a pick ax. – Navajo
With all things and in all things, we are relatives. – Sioux
The one who tells the stories rules the world. – Hopi
The frog does not drink up the pond in which he lives. – Sioux
A people without a history is like the wind over buffalo grass. – Sioux
The moon is not shamed by the barking of dogs. – Southwest
Regard Heaven as your father, Earth as your Mother and all things as your Brothers and Sisters. – Tribe Unknown
Tell me and I’ll forget. Show me, and I may not remember. Involve me, and I’ll understand. – Tribe Unknown
White men have too many chiefs. – Nez Perce
If a man is to do something more than human, he must have more than human powers. – Tribe Unknown
The soul would have no rainbow if the eye had no tears. – Tribe Unknown
Wisdom comes only when you stop looking for it and start living the life the Creator intended for you. – Hopi
Not every sweet root gives birth to sweet grass. – Tribe Unknown
Take only what you need and leave the land as you found it. – Arapaho
It takes a thousand voices to tell a single story. – Tribe Unknown
Don’t let yesterday use up too much of today. – Cherokee
No river can return to its source, yet all rivers must have a beginning. – Tribe Unknown
Listen, or your tongue will make you deaf. – Tribe Unknown
Man has responsibility, not power. – Tuscarora
The rain falls on the just and the unjust. – Hopi
Each bird loves to hear himself sing. – Arapaho
The way of the troublemaker is thorny. – Umpqua
God gives us each a song. – Ute
A man must make his own arrows. – Winnebago
After dark all cats are leopards. – Zuni
When you die, you will be spoken of as those in the sky, like the stars. – Yurok
Lakota Instructions for Living
Friend do it this way – that is,
whatever you do in life,
do the very best you can
with both your heart and mind.
And if you do it that way,
the Power Of The Universe
will come to your assistance,
if your heart and mind are in Unity.
When one sits in the Hoop Of The People,
one must be responsible because
All of Creation is related.
And the hurt of one is the hurt of all.
And the honor of one is the honor of all.
And whatever we do affects everything in the universe.
If you do it that way – that is,
if you truly join your heart and mind
as One – whatever you ask for,
that’s the Way It’s Going To Be.
Passed down from White Buffalo Calf Woman
Hopi Weaving, 1879, John K. Hillers
Don’t be afraid to cry. It will free your mind of sorrowful thoughts. – Hopi
Day and night cannot dwell together. – Duwamish
It is better to have less thunder in the mouth and more lightning in the hand. – Apache
They are not dead who live in the hearts they leave behind. – Tuscarora
All plants are our brothers and sisters. They talk to us and if we listen, we can hear them. – Arapaho
Tell me and I’ll forget. Show me, and I may not remember. Involve me, and I’ll understand. – Tribe Unknown.
Before eating, always take time to thank the food. – Arapaho
When we show our respect for other living things, they respond with respect for us. – Arapaho
If we wonder often, the gift of knowledge will come. – Arapaho
Most of us do not look as handsome to others as we do to ourselves. – Assiniboine
Those that lie down with dogs, get up with fleas. – Blackfoot
In age, talk; in childhood, tears. – Hopi
We always return to our first loves. – Tribe Unknown
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
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
Those who have one foot in the canoe, and one foot in the boat, are going to fall into the river. – Tuscarora
The weakness of the enemy makes our strength. – Cherokee
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
A good soldier is a poor scout. – Cheyenne
Poverty is a noose that strangles humility and breeds disrespect for God and man. – Sioux
We will be known forever by the tracks we leave. – Dakota
Do not judge your neighbor until you walk two moons in his moccasins. – Cheyenne
There is nothing as eloquent as a rattlesnakes tail. – Navajo
Force, no matter how concealed, begets resistance. – Lakota
Our first teacher is our own heart. – Cheyenne
Everyone who is successful must have dreamed of something. – Maricopa
All who have died are equal. – Comanche
Remember that your children are not your own, but are lent to you by the Creator. – Mohawk
One rain does not make a crop. – Creole
Man’s law changes with his understanding of man. Only the laws of the spirit remain always the same. – Crow
What the people believe is true. – Anishinabe
You already possess everything necessary to become great. – Crow
There is no death, only a change of worlds. – Duwamish
Life is not separate from death. It only looks that way. – Blackfoot
You can’t wake a person who is pretending to be asleep. – Navajo
It is less of a problem to be poor, than to be dishonest. – Anishinabe
Native American Symbols, Totems & Their Meanings – Digital Download
One finger cannot lift a pebble. – Hopi
Beware of the man who does not talk, and the dog that does not bark. – Cheyenne
All dreams spin out from the same web. – Hopi
Even a small mouse has anger. – Tribe Unknown
If a man is as wise as a serpent, he can afford to be as harmless as a dove. – Cheyenne
Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children.
We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children. – Tribe Unknown
The rainbow is a sign from Him who is in all things. – Hopi
Walk lightly in the spring; Mother Earth is pregnant. – Kiowa
When a man moves away from nature his heart becomes hard. – Lakota
Old age is not as honorable as death, but most people want it. – Crow
Many have fallen with the bottle in their hand. – Lakota
Everything the power does, it does in a circle. – Lakota
A brave man dies but once, a coward many times. – Tribe Unknown.
A man or woman with many children has many homes. – Lakota Sioux
Seek wisdom, not knowledge. Knowledge is of the past, Wisdom is of the future. – Lumbee
If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies in yourself. – Minquass
A good chief gives, he does not take. – Mohawk
Coyote is always out there waiting, and Coyote is always hungry. – Navajo
Listening to a liar is like drinking warm water. – Tribe Unknown
Every animal knows more than you do. – Nez Perce
To touch the earth is to have harmony with nature. – Oglala Sioux
When a fox walks lame, the old rabbit jumps. – Oklahoma
A starving man will eat with the wolf. – Oklahoma
A danger foreseen is half-avoided. – Cheyenne
The coward shoots with shut eyes. – Oklahoma
It is easy to be brave from a distance. – Omaha
The bird who has eaten cannot fly with the bird that is hungry. – Omaha
Ask questions from you heart and you will be answered from the heart. – Omaha
A hungry stomach makes a short prayer. – Paiute
Do not wrong or hate your neighbor for it is not he that you wrong but yourself. – Pima
Make my enemy brave and strong, so that if defeated, I will not be ashamed. – Plains
Cherish youth, but trust old age. – Pueblo
Sharing and giving are the ways of God. – Sauk
We are all one child spinning through Mother Sky. – Shawnee
Each person is his own judge. – Shawnee
We are made from Mother Earth and we go back to Mother Earth. – Shenandoah
It is no longer good enough to cry peace, we must act peace, live peace and live in peace. – Shenandoah
James Lone Elk – Sioux
There are many good moccasin tracks along the trail of a straight arrow. – Sioux
A rocky vineyard does not need a prayer, but a pick ax. – Navajo
With all things and in all things, we are relatives. – Sioux
The one who tells the stories rules the world. – Hopi
The frog does not drink up the pond in which he lives. – Sioux
A people without a history is like the wind over buffalo grass. – Sioux
The moon is not shamed by the barking of dogs. – Southwest
Regard Heaven as your father, Earth as your Mother and all things as your Brothers and Sisters. – Tribe Unknown
Tell me and I’ll forget. Show me, and I may not remember. Involve me, and I’ll understand. – Tribe Unknown
White men have too many chiefs. – Nez Perce
If a man is to do something more than human, he must have more than human powers. – Tribe Unknown
The soul would have no rainbow if the eye had no tears. – Tribe Unknown
Wisdom comes only when you stop looking for it and start living the life the Creator intended for you. – Hopi
Not every sweet root gives birth to sweet grass. – Tribe Unknown
Take only what you need and leave the land as you found it. – Arapaho
It takes a thousand voices to tell a single story. – Tribe Unknown
Don’t let yesterday use up too much of today. – Cherokee
No river can return to its source, yet all rivers must have a beginning. – Tribe Unknown
Listen, or your tongue will make you deaf. – Tribe Unknown
Man has responsibility, not power. – Tuscarora
The rain falls on the just and the unjust. – Hopi
Each bird loves to hear himself sing. – Arapaho
The way of the troublemaker is thorny. – Umpqua
God gives us each a song. – Ute
A man must make his own arrows. – Winnebago
After dark all cats are leopards. – Zuni
When you die, you will be spoken of as those in the sky, like the stars. – Yurok
Lakota Instructions for Living
Friend do it this way – that is,
whatever you do in life,
do the very best you can
with both your heart and mind.
And if you do it that way,
the Power Of The Universe
will come to your assistance,
if your heart and mind are in Unity.
When one sits in the Hoop Of The People,
one must be responsible because
All of Creation is related.
And the hurt of one is the hurt of all.
And the honor of one is the honor of all.
And whatever we do affects everything in the universe.
If you do it that way – that is,
if you truly join your heart and mind
as One – whatever you ask for,
that’s the Way It’s Going To Be.
Passed down from White Buffalo Calf Woman
