Voices from Indigenous People

"Voices from Indigenous People"



Grandmothers whisper wisdom
on winds;
stirring desert floors,
whistling through stands of trees,
and blowing across plains of wheat and corn

Grandfathers speak history
of painted skins recording winter count
and storytelling voiced from mountain peaks,
against canyon walls, across floral meadows,
along meandering streams and rivers

Aunts and Uncles teach life lessons
upon the wonders of youthful minds;
practicing survival skills, homemaking,
engaging in games, becoming artisans

Healers guide, transform, and cleanse
on wings of visionaries
in ceremony upon sacred ground;
invisible and mysterious
divine energy for body and soul
in times of joy and sorrow

Nature, Earth Mother and Father Sky,
shows us everyone
on land, water, and air;
wildlife illustrations of relationships,
community living, comedic behavior,
medicine from fauna


Ancestors; elders here now and before
are with us
on our spiritual journeys;
listen to wise whispers,
repeat stories of present and past,
learn skills of life, liberty, love, and laughter;
give thanks to the old ones for our inheritance

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*winter count: Native method of counting years by the number of winters