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Native American Prayers
If you have any Native American Prayers please feel free to send it in to add to these pages! You can send them to Diane and I will get them posted as quickly as possible.
Native American Ten Commandments 1. The Earth is our Mother, care for her. 2. Honor all your relations. 3. Open your heart and soul the the Great Spirit. 4. All life is sacred, treat all beings with respect. 5. Take from the Earth what is needed and nothing more. 6. Do what needs to be done for the good of the all. 7. Give constant thanks to the Great Spirit for each new day. 8. Speak the truth: but only of the good in others. 9. Follow the rhythms of nature: rise and retire with the sun. 10. Enjoy lifes journey but leave no tracks. Native American Ten Commandments version 2 1. Treat the earth an all that dwell theron with respect 2. Remain close to the Great Spirit 3. Show great respect for your fellow beings 4. Work together for the benefit of all humankind 5. Give assistance and kindness wherever needed 6. Do what you know to be right 7. Look after the well-being of mind and body 8. Dedicate a share of your efforts to the greater good 9. Be truthful and honest at all times 10. Take full responsibility for your actions Native Commandments Jasper Saunkeah, Cherokee Treat the Earth and all that dwell thereon with respect. Remain close to the Great Spirit. Show great respect for your fellow beings. Work together for the benefit of all Mankind. Give assistance and kindness wherever needed. Do what you know to be right. Look after the well being of mind and body. Dedicate a share of your efforts to the greater good. Be truthful and honest at all times. Take full responsibility for your actions. Let us greet the dawn of a new day when all can live as one with nature and peace reigns everywhere. Oh Great Spirit, bring to our brothers the wisdom of Nature and the knowledge that if her laws are obeyed this land will again flourish and grasses and trees will grow as before. Guide those that through their councils seek to spread the wisdom of their leaders to all people. Heal the raw wounds of the earth and restore to our soul the richness which strengthens men's bodies and makes them wise in their councils. Bring to all the knowledge that great cities live only through the bounty of the good earth beyond their paved streets and towers of stone and steel. Native American Prayer Oh, Great Spirit Whose voice I hear in the winds, And whose breath gives life to all the world, hear me, I am small and weak, I need your strength and wisdom. Let me walk in beauty and make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset. Make my hands respect the things you have made and my ears sharp to hear your voice. Make me wise so that I may understand the things you have taught my people. Let me learn the lessons you have hidden in every leaf and rock. I seek strength, not to be greater than my brother, but to fight my greatest enemy - myself. Make me always ready to come to you with clean hands and straight eyes. So when life fades, as the fading sunset, my Spirit may come to you without shame. (translated by Lakota Sioux Chief Yellow Lark in 1887) Wise Words Of Tecumseh Live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about his religion. Respect others in their views and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and of service to your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide. Always give a word or sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, or even a stranger, if in a lonely place. Show respect to all people, but grovel to none. When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life, for your strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself. Touch not the poisonous firewater that makes wise ones turn to fools and robs their spirit of its vision. When your time comes to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song, and die like a hero going home. Tecumseh - Shawnee Hopi Prayer for Peace "Great Spirit and all unseen, this day we pray and ask You for guidance, humbly we ask You to help us and fellow men to have recourse to peaceful ways of life, because of uncontrolled deceitfulness by human- kind. Help us all to love, not hate one another. We ask you to be seen in an image of Love and Peace. Let us be seen in beauty, the colors of the rainbow. We respect our Mother, the planet, with our loving care, for from Her breast we receive our nourishment. Let us not listen to the voices of the two-hearted, the destroyers of mind, the haters and self-made leaders, whose lusts for power and wealth will lead us into confusion and darkness. Seek visions always of world beauty, not violence nor battlefields. It is our duty to pray always for harmony between man and earth, so that the earth will bloom once more. Let us show our emblem of love and goodwill for all life and land. Pray for the House of Glass, for within it are minds clear and pure as ice and mountain streams. Pray for the great leaders of nations in the House of Mica who in their own quiet ways help the earth in balance. We pray the Great Spirit that one day our Mother Earth will be purified into a healthy peaceful one. Let us sing for strength of wisdom with all nations for the good of all people. Our hope is not yet lost, purification must be to restore the health of our Mother Earth for lasting peace and happiness. Techqua Ikachi - for Land and Life!" Great Spirit Prayer "Oh, Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the wind, Whose breath gives life to all the world. Hear me; I need your strength and wisdom. Let me walk in beauty, and make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset. Make my hands respect the things you have made and my ears sharp to hear your voice Make me wise so that I may understand the things you have taught my people. Help me to remain calm and strong in the face of all that comes towards me. Let me learn the lessons you have hidden in every leaf and rock. Help me seek pure thoughts and act with the intention of helping others. Help me find compassion without empathy overwhelming me. I seek strength, not to be greater than my brother, but to fight my greatest enemy Myself. Make me always ready to come to you with clean hands and straight eyes. So when life fades, as the fading sunset, my spirit may come to you without shame. Black Elk: Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux "Grandfather, Great Spirit, once more behold me on earth and lean to hear my feeble voice. You lived first, and you are older than all need, older than all prayer. All things belong to you -- the two-legged, the four-legged, the wings of the air, and all green things that live. "You have set the powers of the four quarters of the earth to cross each other. You have made me cross the good road and road of difficulties, and where they cross, the place is holy. Day in, day out, forevermore, you are the life of things." Big Thunder (Bedagi), late 19th century Algonquin "The Great Spirit is in all things, is in the air we breathe. The Great Spirit is our Father, but the Earth is our Mother. She nourishes us; that which we put into the ground, She returns to us...." Give Us Hearts to Understand 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 misuse, 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. Oh, Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the wind, whose breath gives life to the world, hear me; I need your strength and wisdom. May I walk in Beauty. Earth Teach Me to Remember 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. Ute, North American 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. As I Walk with Beauty As I walk, as I walk The universe is walking with me In beauty it walks before me In beauty it walks behind me In beauty it walks below me In beauty it walks above me Beauty is on every side As I walk, I walk with Beauty. Traditional Navajo Prayer Hear Me Hear me, four quarters of the world-- a relative I am! Give me the strength to walk the soft earth. Give me the eyes to see and the strength to understand, that I may be like you. With your power only can I face the winds. Great Spirit...all over the earth the faces of living things are all alike. With tenderness have these come up out of the ground. Look upon these faces of children without number and with children in their arms, that they may face the winds and walk the good road to the day of quiet. This is my prayer' hear me! Black Elk, Sioux Indian An Aztec Prayer Reportedly translated from an original dating from the 1500's 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. The Offering of the Pipe, from Black Elk Speaks: Hey hey! Hey hey! Hey hey! Hey hey! Grandfather, Great Spirit, you have been always, and before you no one has been. There is no other one to pray to but you. You yourself, everything that you see, everything has been made by you. The star nations all over the universe you have finished. The four quarters of the earth you have finished. The day, and in that day, everything you have finished. Grandfather, Great Spirit, lean close to the earth that you may hear the voice I send. You towards where the sun goes down, behold me; Thunder Beings, behold me! You where the White Giant lives in power, behold me! You where the sun shines continually, whence come the day-break star and the day, behold me! You where the summer lives, behold me! You in the depths of the heavens, an eagle of power, behold me! And you, Mother Earth, the only Mother, you who have shown mercy to your children! Hear me, four quarters of the world - a relative I am! Give me the strength to walk the soft earth, a relative to all that is! Give me the eyes to see and the strength to understand, that I may be like you. With your power only can I face the winds. Great Spirit, Great Spirit, my Grandfather, all over the earth the faces of living things are all alike. With tenderness have these come up out of the ground. Look upon these faces of children without number and with children in their arms, that they may face the winds and walk the good road to the day of quiet. This is my prayer; hear me! The voice I have sent is weak, yet with earnestness I have sent it. Hear me! It is finished. Hetchetu aloh! Now, my friend, let us smoke together so that there may be only good between us. Black Elk Speaks, John G. Neihardt, Lincoln:Univ. of Nebraska Press, 1979 Cherokee Prayer Blessing May the Warm Winds of Heaven Blow softly upon your house. May the Great Spirit Bless all who enter there. May your Mocassins Make happy tracks in many snows, and may the Rainbow Always touch your shoulder. A Sioux Prayer Translated by Chief Yellow Lark - 1887 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. 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....... Sioux Prayer Grandfather Great Spirit All Over The World The Faces Of Living Things 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. ~Sioux Prayer~ Dream Catchers An ancient Chippewa tradition The dream net has been made For many generations Where spirit dreams have played. Hung above the cradle board, Or in the lodge up high, The dream net catches bad dreams, While good dreams slip on by. Bad dreams become entangled Among the sinew thread. Good dreams slip through the center hole, While you dream upon your bed. This is an ancient legend, Since dreams will never cease, Hang this dream net above your bed, Dream on, and be at peace. Hold on to what is good even if it is a handful of earth. Hold on to what you believe even if it is a tree which stands by itself. Hold on to what you must do even if it is a long way from here. Hold on to life even when it is easier letting go. Hold on to my hand even when I have gone away from you." ~Pueblo Blessing ~ Thanksgiving Prayer We return thanks to our mother, the earth, which sustains us. We return thanks to the rivers and streams, which supply us with water. We return thanks to all herbs, which furnish medicines for the cure of our diseases. We return thanks to the moon and stars, which have given to us their light when the sun was gone. We return thanks to the sun, that has looked upon the earth with a beneficent eye. Lastly, we return thanks to the Great Spirit, in Whom is embodied all goodness, and Who directs all things for the good of Her children. Iroquois Prayer, adapted (Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace) Give Thanks When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the morning light, for your life and strength. Give thanks for your food and the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies in yourself. Tecumseh Prayer before the U.S. Senate - 1975 by Frank Fools Crow, Old Lord of the Holy Men Ceremonial Chief and Medicine Man of the Lakota Nation "In the presence of this house, Grandfather, Wakan-Tanka, and from the directions where the sun sets, and from the direction of cleansing power, and from the direction of the rising un, and from the direction of the middle of the day. Grandfather, Wakan-Tanka, Grandmother, the Earth who hears everything, Grandmother, because you are woman, for this reason you are kind, I come to you this day. To tell you to love the red men, and watch over them, and give these young men the understanding because, Grandmother, from you comes the good things, good things that are beyond our eyes to see have been blessed in our midst for this reason I make my supplication known to you again. Give us a blessing so that our words and actions be one in unity, and that we be able to listen to each other, in so doing, we shall with good heart walk hand in hand to face the future. In the presence of the outside, we are thankful for many blessings. I make my prayer for all people, the children, the women and the men. I pray that no harm will come to them, and that on the great island, there be no war, that there be no ill feelings among us From this day on may we walk hand in hand So be it. Chinok Lordís Prayer Nesika papa klaksta mitlite kopa saghalie Our Father Who dwells in High Kloshe kopa nesika tumtum mika nem. Good for our hearts Your Name. Kloske mika tyee kopa konaway tillikum; Good you Chief of all people; Kloshe mika tumtum kopa illahee kahkwa kopa saghalie; God Your heart to make our country such as Yours up above; Potlach konaway sun nesika muckamuck, Gice 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. The Lights The Sun is a luminous shield Borne up the blue path By a god; The moon is the torch Of an old man Who stumbles over the stars. -Eda Lou Walton Sun Tracks the Track of the Sun across the Sky leaves its shining message, Illuminating, Strengthening, Warming, us who are here, showing us we are not alone, we are yet ALIVE! And this fireÖ Our fireÖ Shall not die! -Atoni (Choctaw) Ojibwa Prayer Oh Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the winds And whose breath gives life to everyone, Hear me. I come to you as one of your many children; I am weakÖI am smallÖI need your wisdom and your strength. Let me walk in beauty, and make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunsets. Make my hands respect the things you have made, and make my ears sharp so I may hear your voice. Make me wise, so that I may understand what you have taught my people and The lessons you have hidden in each leaf and each rock. I ask for wisdom and strength, Not to be superior to my brothers, but to be able to fight my greatest enemy, myself. Make me ever ready to come before you with clean hands and a straight eye, So as life fades away as a fading sunset, My spirit may come to you without shame. -Author Unknown The Hunters There were but two beneath the sky The thing I came to kill, and I. I, under covert, quietly Watched him sense eternity From quivering brush to pointed nose My gun to shoulder level rose And then I felt (I could not see) Far off a hunter watching me. I slowly put my rifle by, For there were two who had to die ñ The thing I wished to kill, and I. -Author Unknown The Moccasins of an Old Man I hung you there, moccasins of worn buckskin. I hung you there and there you are still. I took you from the hot flesh of a swift buck. I took you to my woman. She tanned you with buck brains. She cut and sewed and beaded. I wore you with pride. I wore you with leaping steps over many grounds. Now, I sit here and my bones are stiff with many winters. You hang there and I shall sit. We shall watch the night approach. -Romona Carden (Colville) Voices That Beautify The Earth Voice above, Voice of Thunder, Speak from the dark of clouds; Voice below, Grasshopper-voice, Speak from the green of plants; So may the earth be beautiful. The Rock The rock lays near While light comes and goes The rock only exists Said to have no soul The rock cannot be sad It knows not the time It has no life to hold It canít feel love As we admire it It remains in stillness Yet in its own way May watch! -Lloyd Carl Owle (Cherokee) Final Vision Life is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of the buffalo in the winter. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset. -Crowfoot (Blackfoot) Words That Speak The American Indian is of the soil, whether it be the region of forests, plains, pueblos, or mesas. He fits into the landscape, for the hand that fashioned the continent also fashioned the man for his surroundings. He once grew as naturally as the wild sunflowers, he belongs just as the buffalo belonged.... Out of the Indian approach to life there came a great freedom, an intense and absorbing respect for life, enriching faith in a Supreme Power, and principles of truth, honesty, generosity, equity, and brotherhood as a guide to mundane relations. You have noticed that everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round..... The Sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power, whirls. Birds make their nest in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours.... Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves. -Black Elk (Oglala) 1863-1950 Daily Prayer of the Wolf I call to those whoe went before me for guidance to travel this days path I ask those who are yet to come what this holds for me Of Wolf and Man is what I seek I ask for the Wolf to be at one with the Man and for the Man to walk beside the Wolf I offer this prayer to the Spirits above and humbly ask for their divine help to live my life to the fullest and bring honor to myself and my people. A Hopi Prayer for Peace Contributed by: Billie Campbell Great Spirit and all unseen, this day we pray and ask you for guidance, humbly we ask you to help us and fellow men to have recourse to peaceful ways of life, because of uncontrolled deceitfulness by humankind. Help us all to love, not hate one another. We ask You to be seen in an image of Love and Peace. Let us be seen in beauty, the colors of the rainbows. We respect our Mother, the planet & our corn fields, with our loving care, from Her breast we receive our nourishment. ... Let us not listen to the voices of the two-hearted, the destroyers of mind, the haters of self-made leaders, whose lusts for power and wealth will lead us into confusion and darkness. Seek visions always of world beauty, not violence not battlefields. It is our duty to pray always for harmony between man and earth, so that the earth will bloom once more. Let us show our emblem of love and goodwill for all life and land. Pray for the House of Glass, (United Nations) Pray for within it are minds clear and pure as ice and mountain streams. Pray for the great leaders of nations in the House of Mica who in their own quiet ways help the earth in balance. We pray the Great Sprit that one day our Mother Earth will be purified into a healthy peaceful one. Let us Sing for strength of wisdom with all nations for the good of all people. Our hope is not yet lost, purification must be to restore the health of our Mother Earth for lasting peace and happiness, Techqua Ikachi -- for Land and Life! "Together with All Nations We Hold this World in Balance" Hopi Elders Hotevilla USA
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