When we read these words, we see the “wisdom” of our elders—the wisdom that comes out of living life, in frequently harsh landscapes—becoming resilient through self-subsistence--understanding the natural world around them—“listening”, “seeing”, and “feeling” the traditional lessons of those that have gone before.

And, these lessons are still real today!

Peter Matthiessen, author of In The Spirit of Crazy Horse, crossed over this past week.  In his book, Matthiessen quoted Okute, or “Shooter” (Lakota), “We see the change in our ponies.  In the old days they could stand great hardship and travel long distance without water.  They lived on certain kinds of food and drank pure water.  Now our horses require a mixture of food; they have less endurance and must have constant care.  It is the same with the Indians; they have less freedom and they fall an easy prey to disease.  In the old days they were rugged and healthy, drinking pure water and eating the meat of the buffalo, which had a wide range, not being shut up like cattle of the present day.  The water of the Missouri River is not pure, as it used to be, and many of the creeks are no longer good for us to drink.”