Montana has many names. Our most famous nickname is "The Treasure State". You will hear Montana called, "Big Sky Country," "Land of Shining Mountains," "The Mountain State," and "Bonanza State."
Upon seeing Glacier National Park for the first time (or hundredth time), most people will remark about its supreme beauty, the majestic mountains, beautiful streams, wildlife, etc. and comment that they feel different - Glacier casts a spell on you.
I was doing some Montana research online this past weekend and as most projects go, I was led down many trails and diverted from my original mission. However, one click took me to a website that had a collection of Indian sayings and prayers. I thought of Glacier Park as I read the quotes and the most meaningful I share below...
Treat the earth well.
It was not given to you by your parents,
it was loaned to you by your children.
It was not given to you by your parents,
it was loaned to you by your children.
Ancient Indian Proverb
Humankind has not woven the web of life.
We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.
All things are bound together.
All things connect.
We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.
All things are bound together.
All things connect.
Chief Seattle, 1854
And while I stood there I saw more than I can tell, and I understood more than I saw; for I was seeing in a sacred manner the shapes of things in the spirit,and the shape of all shapes as they must live together like one being.
Black Elk, Black Elk Speaks
When all the trees have been cut down,
when all the animals have been hunted,
when all the waters are polluted,
when all the air is unsafe to breathe,
only then will you discover you cannot eat money.
when all the animals have been hunted,
when all the waters are polluted,
when all the air is unsafe to breathe,
only then will you discover you cannot eat money.
Cree Prophecy
I do not think the measure of a civilization is how tall its buildings of concrete are, But rather how well its people have learned to relate to their environment and fellow man.
Sun Bear of the Chippewa Tribe
Glacier National Park has been revered by the Plains Indians for eons. Human activity in the Glacier Park area dates back 10,000 years; ancestors of the Blackfeet, Salish and Kootenai Tribes.This year millions of tourists will make a pilgrimage to visit Montana. If you are one of those lucky souls, remember the words of those Indians that came before us...
"We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors,
we borrow it from our Children."
2 comments:
Thank you for finding such a perfect quote!! I am going to use it in the "qotes to ponder" section on my blog. I hope that is ok?
Lovely website!!
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