True shamans live in a world that is alive with what is to rationalist sight unseen, a world pulsing with intelligence.

As long as we avoid the creative, we are condemned to reaction.

The shadows cannot speak.

... America has amnesia. ... Certainly, there is a passion for memory loss in American thought. ... Americans may be the world champion forgetters.

The root of oppression is the loss of memory.

In the Native American tradition... a man, if he's a mature adult, nurtures life. He does rituals that will help things grow, he helps raise the kids, and he protects the people. His entire life is toward balance and cooperativeness. The ideal of manhood is the same as the ideal of womanhood. You are autonomous, self-directing, and responsible for the spiritual, social and material life of all those with whom you live.

In America, law substitutes for custom.