Tobacco is used by native people to represent the honesty that they carry in their hearts when words are to be spoken between two people or to the spirit world. When a request is made, a teaching is shared, a question is asked, or a prayer is offered, the tobacco travels ahead of the words so that honesty will be received in a kind and respectful way. To offer tobacco is to pay an ultimate respect to that which you are asking.

Honesty - to achieve honesty within yourself; to recognize who and what you are; do this and you can be honest with all others

Humility - humble yourself and recognize that no matter how much you think you know, you know very little of all the universe

Truth - to learn truth, to live with truth and to walk with truth, to speak truth

Wisdom - to have wisdom is to know the difference between good and bad and to know the result of your actions

Love - unconditional love to know that when people are weak they need your love the most, that your love is given freely and you cannot put conditions on it or your love is not true

Respect - respect others, their beliefs and respect yourself. If you cannot show respect you cannot expect respect to be given

Bravery - to be brave is to do something right even if you know it's going to hurt you.

"Being Indian is mainly in your heart. It's a way of walking with the earth instead of upon it. A lot of the history books talk about us Indians in the past tense, but we don't plan on going anywhere... We have lost so much, but the thing that holds us together is that we all belong to and are protectors of the earth; that's the reason for us being here. Mother Earth is not a resource, she is an heirloom." - David Ipinia, Yurok Artist - Sacramento, CA

My 23rd Birthday with my Lodge Elders Grandmother Mechi Garza and Lynn Redbird, and my own Sky Dancer

"You have noticed that everything an Indian does is in a circle. That is because the power of the world always works in circles, and everything tries to be round.... The sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. The wind in its greatest power, whirls. Birds make their nests in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours. Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing and always come back again, to where they were. The life of a man is a circle, from childhood to childhood. And so it is in everything, where power moves..."

Black Elk - Oglala Lakota

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life.

"A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil -- he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego."

He continued: "The other is good -- he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.

This same fight is going on inside you -- and inside every other person, too."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."