In America, law substitutes for custom.

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

We are the women of daylight; of clocks and steel foundries, of drugstores and streetlights, of superhighways that slice our days in two. Our dreams are pale memories of themselves, and nagging doubt is the false measure of our days.

The root of oppression is the loss of memory.

There are many female gods recognized and honored by the tribes and Nations. Femaleness was highly valued, both respected and feared, and all social institutions reflected this attitude. Even modern sayings, such as the Cheyenne statement that a people is not conquered until the hearts of the women are on the ground, express the Indians understanding that without the power of woman the people will not live, but with it, they will endure and prosper.

In America, law substitutes for custom.

An odd thing occurs in the minds of Americans when Indian civilization in mentioned: little or nothing.