Fanciful Friday: Life In Quotes

We struggle with the consequences of yet another seemingly needless war, raising questions about its purpose and impact. While many would like to envision the United States as a source of peace, its history is a complex fabric woven of strands of conflict, oppression, and struggle. Today, we are probably further from our forefathers’ vision for this country than ever before.

This “Fanciful Friday,” I shifted gears and focused on recognition of our true first citizens through art and words. I selected four poignant quotes by Native Americans and collaborated with an AI (AI, not SI) to create interpretive images for each one. After reviewing several image versions for each quote, I chose the illustrations that best captured its essence. These quotes function as vivid reminders of wisdom, resilience, and the strong bond with nature that Native cultures embody. I hope we realize that Native Americans are the true original citizens, and all the rest of us are immigrants.

Recently, the Statue of Liberty has had cause to weep for the loss of meaning and honor in the words on her pedestal’s bronze plaque: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” We have become fearful and smaller, both as a people and as a nation, and sadly some seem to think this is their greatest accomplishment.

Each image contains the appropriate quote. But just in case you’re using a small screen or have trouble reading them, I’ve included them below in the proper order.

“Never has America lost a war … But name, if you can, the last peace the United States won. Victory, yes, but this country has never made a successful peace because peace requires exchanging ideas, concepts, thoughts, and recognizing the fact that two distinct systems of life can exist together without conflict. Consider how quickly America seems to be facing its allies of one war as new enemies.”
― Vine Deloria Jr., Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto

“No man is as wise as Mother Earth. She has witnessed every human day, every human struggle, every human pain, and every human joy. For maladies of both body and spirit, the wise ones of old pointed man to the hills. For man too is of the dust, and Mother Earth stands ready to nurture and heal her children.”
― Anasazi Foundation, The Seven Paths: Changing One’s Way of Walking in the World

“Though many non-Native Americans have learned very little about us, over time we have had to learn everything about them. We watch their films, read their literature, worship in their churches, and attend their schools. Every third-grade student in the United States is presented with the concept of Europeans discovering America as a “New World” with fertile soil, abundant gifts of nature, and glorious mountains and rivers. Only the most enlightened teachers will explain that this world certainly wasn’t new to the millions of indigenous people who already lived here when Columbus arrived.”
― Wilma Mankiller, Every Day is a Good Day: Reflections of Contemporary Indigenous Women

“Life is a walking, a journey. So, if life upon Mother Earth is a journey, there are two ways to walk. We can choose to walk forward or we can choose to walk backward. Forward Walking choices are rewarded with consequences that light the way to peace, happiness, joy, comfort, knowledge, and wisdom. Backward Walking choices bring to the Two-Legged beings consequences of misery, despair and darkness.”
― Anasazi Foundation, The Seven Paths: Changing One’s Way of Walking in the World