From Chief Luther Standing Bear

On the walls of the museum we have many quotes from noted Native American leaders.  Whenever we pass the words of Chief Luther Standing Bear we are reminded of the strength of the bond between native people and the earth.

"The Lakota was a true naturist – a lover of Nature.  He loved the earth and all things of the earth, the attachment growing with age.  The old people came literally to love the soil, and they sat or reclined on the ground with a feeling of being close to a mothering power.  It was good for the skin to touch the earth, and the old people liked to remove their moccasins and walk with bare feet on the sacred earth.

"The tipis were built on the earth, and their altars were made of earth.  The birds that flew in the air came to rest upon the earth, and it was the final abiding place of all things that lived and grew.  The soil was soothing, strengthening, cleansing, and healing."

Chief Luther Standing Bear spoke of days that he felt were gone forever.  His words live on nevertheless.  May our society find the wisdom to reestablish the feeling of kinship with the earth and its creatures Standing Bear described.  We may not wear moccasins or live in tipis in the future.  However, with determination, education, and hard work we may learn yet to stand with bare feet on the soil, where we will be soothed, strengthened, cleansed, and healed.