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38 Lakota Sioux Quotes, Sayings & Proverbs Everyone Should Know

Lakota people use a lot of sayings and expressions in daily life which offer advice and even sometimes have hidden meanings.

Check out these Lakota proverbs and quotes below to gain some insight into Lakota beliefs and ways of thinking. 

Below I’ve listed famous Lakota quotes, inspiring Lakota sayings and common Lakota proverbs.

Famous Lakota Proverbs & Lakota Sayings

Below I’ve listed the most famous Lakota proverbs as well as some common Lakota sayings about life. These are used often in day to day life.

  1. It does not take many words to tell the truth.
  1. Knowledge is rooted in all things, the world is a library.
Famous Lakota quote which reads 'Knowledge is rooted in all things, the world is a library'.
  1. Touching the earth equates to having harmony with nature.
  1. Be satisfied with the needs instead of the wants.
  1. When a man moves from nature, his heart becomes hard.
  1. May the Great Spirit walk with you.
  1. If you continue to contaminate your own home, you will eventually suffocate in your own waste.
  1. True peace between nations will only happen when there is true peace within people’s souls.
  1. No matter how hidden a force is, it will attract some kind of resistance.
  1. Inner peace and love are the greatest of God’s gifts.
  1. It is observed that in any great endeavor, it is not enough for a person to depend solely on himself.
  1. A man or a woman with many children has many homes.
  1. The power of the world always works in circles.
  1. Tell me and I will listen. Show me and I will understand. Involve me and I will learn.
  1. Do not speak of evil for it creates curiosity in the hearts of the young.
  1. Many have fallen with the bottle in their hand.
  1. See how the boy is with his sister and the other ones of his home lodge and you can know how the man will be with your daughter.
  1. The Great Spirit is not perfect: it has a good side and a bad side. Sometimes the bad side gives us more knowledge than the good side. 

Beautiful Lakota Quotes & Lakota Sayings 

Below I’ve listed a range of famous and inspirational Lakota Sioux quotes, many of which were said by prominent Lakota Sioux chiefs.

  1. “The life my people want is a life of freedom.” – Sitting Bull
Famous Lakota Sitting Bull quote which reads 'The life my people want is a life of freedom'.
  1. As individual fingers, we can easily be broken, but all together we make a mighty fist.
  1. “The warrior is not someone who fights, because no one has the right to take another life. The warrior, for us, is one who sacrifices himself for the good of others.” – Sitting Bull
  1. “A very great vision is needed, and the man who has it must follow it as the eagle seeks the deepest blue of the sky.” – Crazy Horse
  1. “Behold, my friends, the spring has come; the earth has gladly received the embraces of the sun, and we shall soon see the results of their love!” – Sitting Bull
  1. “Healthy feet can hear the very heart of holy Earth.” – Sitting Bull
  1. There is the world of the flesh and there is the Spirit World. When the flesh is gone, the Spirit forever remains.
  1. When the blood in your veins returns to the sea and the earth in your bones returns to the ground, perhaps then you will remember that this land does not belong to you, it is you who belongs to this land.
  1. “The land under my feet is mine again. I never sold it, I never gave it to anyone.” – Sitting Bull
  1. “I salute the light within your eyes where the whole universe dwells. For when you are at that center within you and I am at that place within me, we shall be one.” – Crazy Horse
  1. “The center of the universe is everywhere.” – Black Elk
  1. “One does not sell the earth upon which the people walk.” – Crazy Horse
  1. “Let us put our minds together and see what life we can make for our children.” – Sitting Bull
  1. “I see a time of seven generations when all the colors of mankind will gather under the sacred tree of life and the whole earth will become one circle again.” – Crazy Horse
  1. “What does it matter how I pray, so long as my prayers are answered?” – Sitting Bull
  1. “Upon suffering beyond suffering, the Red Nation shall rise again, and it shall be a blessing for a sick world. A world filled with broken promises, selfishness and separations. A world longing for light again.” – Crazy Horse
  1. “Any man who is attached to things of this world is one who lives in ignorance and is being consumed by the snakes of his own passions.” – Black Elk
  1. “The man who sat on the ground in his tipi meditating on life and its meaning, accepting the kinship of all creatures and acknowledging unity with the universe was infusing into his being the true essence of civilization.” – Standing Bear
  1. “I am a red man. If the Great Spirit had desired me to be a white man he would have made me so in the first place.” – Sitting Bull
  1. “Let us put our minds together and see what life we can make for our children.” – Sitting Bull

Check out the videos below which feature a range of famous Lakota Sioux quotes and well-known native American sayings & proverbs.

Thanks for reading this post on the best Lakota quotes about life, famous Lakota sayings and fascinating Lakota Sioux proverbs.

These Lakota quotes & sayings give an interesting insight into the Lakota beliefs and language.

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