O my Father, Holy Spirit.
O Four old men and keeper of the Sacred Pipe.
O Morning Star and all good things of creation,
I mention these things, the light of dawn,
The good wind, the timber, the soil and the animals.
Listen, all you creatures under the ground,
All you creatures above the ground and in the waters!
May this people be long in life, and increase.
May our boys and girls, our children of all ages,
May our grown men and women, and all our elders,
May they increase and be strengthened.
Our Father Creator,
We ask this blessing upon our food,
And we ask for all your peoples
The increase of loving hearts and the
happy life of peace and harmony.
-Arapahoe prayer.


O' GREAT SPIRIT
help me always to speak the truth quietly,
to listen with an open mind when others speak,
and to remember the peace that may be found in silence.
-Cherokee Prayer


"Oh, Great Spirit,
whose voice I hear in the wind,
Whose breath gives life to all the world.
Hear me; I need your strength and wisdom.
Let me walk in beauty, and make my eyes
ever behold the red and purple sunset.
Make my hands respect the things you have made
and my ears sharp to hear your voice.
Make me wise so that I may understand
the things you have taught my people.
Help me to remain calm and strong
in the face of all that comes towards me.
Let me learn the lessons
you have hidden in every leaf and rock.
Help me seek pure thoughts
and act with the intention of helping others.
Help me find compassion without empathy overwhelming me.
I seek strength, not to be greater than my brother,
but to fight my greatest enemy
. . . Myself.
Make me always ready to come to you
with clean hands and straight eyes.
So when life fades, as the fading sunset,
my spirit may come to you without shame.
-Great Spirit Prayer


We return thanks to our mother,
the earth, which sustains us.
We return thanks to the rivers and streams,
which supply us with water.
We return thanks to all herbs, which
furnish medicines for the care of our diseases.
We return thanks to the corn, and to her sisters,
the beans and squashes, which give us life.
We return thanks to the wind, which,
moving the air has banished diseases.
We return thanks to the moon and stars, which
have given us their light when the sun was gone.
We return thanks to the sun, that has
looked upon the earth with a beneficent eye.
Lastly, we return thanks to the Great Spirit,
in whom is embodied all goodness, and who
directs all things for the good of his children.
-Iroquois Prayer (adapted)


It is true that many of the old ways have been lost.
But just as the rains restore the earth after a drought,
so the power of the Great Mystery will restore the way
and give it new life.
We ask that this happen not just for the Red People,
but for all people, that they all might live.
In ignorance and carelessness
they have walked on Ina Maka, Our Mother.
They did not understand that they are part of all beings,
the Four-legged, the Winged, Grandfather Rock,
the Tree People, and our Star Brothers.
Now our Mother and all our Relations are crying out.
They cry for the help of all people.
-Lakota Prayer


And the wind said:
May you be as strong as the oak,
yet flexible as the birch;
may you stand tall as the Redwood,
live gracefully as the willow;
and may you always bear fruit
all your days on this earth.
-Native American Prayer


Great Spirit, Great Spirit, My Grandfather,
All over the earth the faces of living things are all alike. . .
Look upon these faces of children without number
And with children in their arms,
That they may face the winds and
Walk the good road to the day of quiet. . .
There is no death. . .
Only a change of worlds. . .
Only a change of worlds.
-Native American Prayer


Grandfather,
look down upon your children of all ages and colors.
Teach us patience and wisdom as we live together.
Let us feel trust and peace with one another,
and most important, that we learn
to love all living things of Mother Earth.
-Native American Prayer


Earth teach me stillness
as the grasses are stilled with light.
Earth teach me suffering
as old stones suffer with memory.
Earth teach me humility
as blossoms are humble with beginning.
Earth teach me caring
as the mother who secures her young.
Earth teach me courage
as the tree which stands alone.
Earth teach me limitation
as the ant which crawls on the ground.
Earth teach me freedom
as the eagle which soars in the sky.
Earth teach me resignation
as the leaves which die in the fall.
Earth teach me regeneration
as the seed which rises in the spring.
Earth teach me to forget myself
as melted snow forgets its life.
Earth teach me to remember kindness
as dry fields weep with rain.
-Ute Prayer