The following words were spoken by Peacemaker, the founder of the Iroquois Confederacy: "Think not forever of yourselves, O Chiefs, nor of your own generation. Think of continuing generations of our families, think of our grandchildren, and of those yet unborn, whose faces are coming from beneath the ground."
Steve Wall, a documentary photographer, and Harvey Arden, senior writer for National Geographic have put together powerful pictures and the words of 17 Native American spiritual elders in this enlightening paperback. Here are individuals from more than a score of Native American nations: Lakota, Seminole, Ojibway, Hopi, Ute, Pawnee, Mohawk, Hoh, Lumbee, and others. They share their feelings about the Earth, animals, their history and customs, dreams and visions, healing remedies, and apocalyptic prophecies.
Oren Lyons of the Onondaga says: "Another of the Natural Laws is that all life is equal. That's our philosophy. You have to respect life — all life, not just your own. The key word is 'respect.' Unless your respect the earth, you destroy it. Unless you respect all life as much as your own life, you become a destroyer, a murderer." This is the kind of truth telling that is to be found on these pages.