"We did not think of the great open plains, the beautiful rolling hills and the winding streams with tangled growth as ‘wild’. Only to the white man was Nature a wilderness and only to him was the land ‘infested’ with ‘wild’ animals and ‘savage’ people. To us it was tame. Earth was bountiful and we were surrounded with blessings of the Great Mystery."
"Kinship with all creatures of the earth, sky and water was a real and active principle. In the animal and bird world there existed a brotherly feeling that kept us safe among them. The animals had rights: the right of man’s protection, the right to live, the right to multiply, the right to freedom, and the right to man’s indebtedness. This concept of life and its relations filled us with the joy and mystery of living. It gave us reverence for all life; it made a place for all things in the scheme of existence with equal importance to all."
"The old Lakota was wise. He knew that a man’s heart away from Nature becomes hard. He knew the lack of respect for growing, living things soon led to lack of respect for humans too. So he kept his children close to Nature’s softening influence."
- Luther Standing Bear, Oglala Lakota