Finest fur may cover toughest meat.

When I think of our condition, my heart is heavy. I see men of my own race treated as outlaws and driven from country to country, or shot down like animals.

I would have given my own life if I could have undone the killing of white men by my people.

An Indian respects a brave man, but he despises a coward.

The earth is our mother. She should not be disturbed by hoe or plough. We want only to subsist on what she freely gives us.

I labored hard to avoid trouble and bloodshed.

If the white man wants to live in peace with the Indian, he can live in peace. Treat all men alike. Give them all the same law. Give them all an even chance to live and grow. All men were made by the same Great Spirit Chief. They are all brothers. The Earth is the mother of all people, and all people should have equal rights upon it. Let me be a free man, free to travel, free to stop, free to work, free to trade where I choose, free to choose my own teachers, free to follow the religion of my fathers, free to think and talk and act for myself, and I will obey every law, or submit to the penalty.