The sun, with all those planets revolving around it and dependent on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do. ~Galileo
Our roots are deep in the lands where we live. We have a great love for our country, for our birthplace is here. The soil is rich from the bones of thousands of our generations. Each of us was created in these lands and it is our duty to take great care of them, because from these lands will spring the future generations of our peoples. We walk about with great respect, for the Earth is a very Sacred Place. –Sioux, Navaho and Iroquois Declaration, 1978
First peoples see existence as a living blend of spirits, nature and people. All are one, inseparable and interdependent — a holistic vision shared with mystics throughout the ages. The word for religion does not exist in many cultures, as it is so closely integrated into life itself. For many indigenous peoples spirits permeate matter — they animate it. This led the early anthropologists to refer to such beliefs as “animist.” Burger