We need to walk to know sacred places, those around us and those within. We need to walk to remember the songs.

Strong words outlast the paper they are written upon.

There is a kind of certainty that seems to characterize Jared Smith's best work, an understanding about place and the flow of spirit that makes you think of Thoreau along with a commitment as fierce as that of Pablo Neruda.

A story is a burden which must be carried with as much care as we carry a sleeping child

Do we make ourselves into what we become or is it built into our genes, into the fate spun for us by whatever shapes events?

Never think that war is a good thing, grandchildren. Though it may be necessary at times to defend our people, war is a sickness that must be cured. War is a time out of balance. When it is truly over, we must work to restore peace and sacred harmony once again.

One of the things I've been taught by Native American elders is the importance of patience, of waiting to do things when the time is right. As an Onondaga friend put it to me, "you can't pick berries until the berries are ripe."