Across the continent, on the shores of small tributaries, in the shadows of sacred mountains, on the vast expanse of the prairies, or in the safety of the woods, prayers are being repeated, as they have for thousands of years, and common people with uncommon courage and the whispers of their ancestors in their ears continue their struggles to protect the land and water and trees on which their very existence is based. And like small tributaries joining together to form a mighty river, their force and power grows.
Winona LaDukeIf we build a society based on honoring the earth, we build a society which is sustainable, and has the capacity to support all life forms.
Winona LaDukeThe Lockean assumption that if we put our labor to it then it becomes our own is totally fallacious. We have to figure out how to leave things alone, and build an economic system that's not built on a linear model, but instead on a cyclical model, because that's the natural world - it's cyclical and not linear. That is going to take a lot of transformation.
Winona LaDukeOne of our people in the Native community said the difference between white people and Indians is that Indian people know they are oppressed but donโt feel powerless. White people donโt feel oppressed, but feel powerless. Deconstruct that disempowerment. Part of the mythology that theyโve been teaching you is that you have no power. Power is not brute force and money; power is in your spirit. Power is in your soul. It is what your ancestors, your old people gave you. Power is in the earth; it is in your relationship to the earth.
Winona LaDuke