It also called upon traditional people in the Four Directions to strengthen the healing ceremonies and asked people to heed the warnings of Mother Earth.
Dennis BanksTo be selected was an honor, and in respect of the family member chosen to run, families held feasts and gave away prized beaver coats, quilled tobacco bags and buffalo hides.
Dennis BanksMost importantly, the meaning of spirituality lays the seeds for our destiny and the path we must follow.
Dennis BanksIn 1978, the tradition of running from village to village with a message was revived. that first run was from Davis to Los Angeles, a distance of 500 miles
Dennis BanksWhat we did in the 1960s and early 1970s was raise the consciousness of white America that this government has a responsibility to Indian people. That there are treaties; that textbooks in every school in America have a responsibility to tell the truth. An awareness reached across America that if Native American people had to resort to arms at Wounded Knee, there must really be something wrong. And Americans realized that native people are still here, that they have a moral standing, a legal standing. From that, our own people began to sense the pride.
Dennis BanksSince the beginning, Native Peoples lived a life of being in harmony with all that surrounds us
Dennis BanksSince the beginning, Native Peoples lived a life of being in harmony with all that surrounds us. It is a belief that all humankind are related to each other. Each has a purpose, spirit and sacredness. It is an understanding with the Great Spirit or Creator that we will follow these ways. And in this understanding we believe we are related to all other living species.
Dennis Banks