I've only just started reading this thread, I want to share this teaching with my daughter......fantastic informative information about a topic that intrigues me, thank you so much for posting...

Many have probably seen me mention a place called "Dreamer's Rock".., which is a very sacred place for me.. Here's a little bit about it.. and you can Google it to see pics and get more info., if you want to..

DREAMERS ROCK

Whitefish River First Nation; Ontario; Canada (a.k.a.: Rainbow Country)

Dreamer's Rock, located on the Whitefish River First Nation in northern Ontario, no longer serves its original purpose. (*Note: This is not true, as it has been reborn to new generations, in the past 20 years) ....Yet the rock, which was previously primarily used by Aboriginal youth as a site to induce visions of their future, is still a place that attracts visitors.

For generations, area Ojibwe boys approaching adulthood would be sent alone to the top of a steep trail where they would spend several days and nights beside a tall quartzite rock. That stone was called Dreamer's Rock. Those who would make the journey to the top would fast in solitude for days, drinking only water. And they would sleep beside the rock, with only a blanket to comfort them on nights when it was cold. The belief was that after several days of fasting, the boys-soon-to-be-men would start having dreams and receive powers from a guardian spirit.

Elders were among those that helped interpret these dreams in order to help predict that individual’s future. For example, if one dreamed of a deer, then the thinking was the person would be a good hunter and fleet-footed. Those that dreamed of a bear would in turn show physical strength. And those who had visions of a squirrel, were told they would become smart.

Many years ago adults would occasionally also climb up to Dreamer'��s Rock. For the most part they would do so to seek help or guidance with the problems they were encountering in their lives. Dreamer's Rock is no longer used as a site to induce visions. (*Again.. not true, anymore) ...But visitors that make the journey there are rewarded with a breathtaking panoramic view of the countryside.

- See more at: http://www.ammsa.com/publications/windspeaker/powwow-country-dreamer’s-rock-whitefish-river-first-nation-ontario#sthash.VpM4zvyB.dpuf

"Each creature has a medicine, so there are many medicines. Because they are so close to the Creator, they are to communicate that medicine. Then they bring help and health."

---- Wallace Black Elk, LAKOTA

"The old Lakota was wise. He knew that man's heart away from nature becomes hard; he knew the lack of respect for growing, living things soon led to a lack of respect for humans too. So he kept his youth close to its softening influence."

---- Luther Standing Bear, OGLALA SIOUX

..and blessings for you, Storm..

"The manner with which we walk through life is each man's most important responsibility, and we should remember this with every new sunrise."

---- Thomas Yellowtail, CROW

"In early days we were close to nature. We judged time, weather conditions, and many things by the elements--the good earth, the blue sky, the flying of geese, and the changing winds. We looked to these for guidance and answers. Our prayers and thanksgiving were said to the four winds--to the East, from whence the new day was born; to the South, which sent the warm breeze which gave a feeling of comfort; to the West, which ended the day and brought rest; and to the North, the Mother of winter whose sharp air awakened a time of preparation for the long days ahead. We lived by God's hand through nature and evaluated the changing winds to tell us or warn us of what was ahead.

Today we are again evaluating the changing winds. May we be strong in spirit and equal to our Fathers of another day in reading the signs accurately and interpreting them wisely. May Wah-Kon-Tah, the Great Spirit, look down upon us, guide us, inspire us, and give us courage and wisdom. Above all, may He look down upon us and be pleased."

---- Unknown Speaker addressing the National Congress of American Indians, in the mid 1960's

"I was hostile to the white man...We preferred hunting to a life of idleness on our reservations. At times we did not get enough to eat and we were not allowed to hunt. All we wanted was peace and to be let alone. Soldiers came...in the winter..and destroyed our villages.

Then Long Hair (Custer) came...They said we massacred him, but he would have done the same to us. Our first impulse was to escape...but we were so hemmed in we had to fight. After that I lived in peace, but the government would not let me alone. I was not allowed to remain quiet. I was tired of fighting...They tried to confine me..and a soldier ran his bayonet into me. I have spoken."

---- Crazy Horse / Sioux

"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. He put in your heart certain wishes and plans, in my heart he put other and different desires. Each man is good in his sight. It is not necessary for Eagles to be Crows. We are poor..but we are free. No white man controls our footsteps. If we must die...we die defending our rights."

---- Sitting Bull / Hunkpapa Sioux

"In 1868, men came out and brought papers. We could not read them and they did not tell us truly what was in them. We thought the treaty was to remove the forts and for us to cease from fighting. But they wanted to send us traders on the Missouri, but we wanted traders where we were. When I reached Washington, the Great Father explained to me that the interpreters had deceived me. All I want is right and just."

---- Red Cloud(Makhpiya-luta) , April, 1870

"Our land is everything to us... I will tell you one of the things we remember on our land. We remember that our grandfathers paid for it - with their lives."

---- John Wooden Legs / Cheyenne

"Once I was in Victoria, and I saw a very large house. They told me it was a bank and that the white men place their money there to be taken care of, and that by and by they got it back with interest. "We are Indians and we have no such bank; but when we have plenty of money or blankets, we give them away to other chiefs and people, and by and by they return them with interest, and our hearts feel good. Our way of giving is our bank."

---- Chief Maquinna / Nootka

"You ask me to plow the ground. Shall I take a knife and tear my mother's bosom? Then when I die she will not take me to her bosom to rest.

"You ask me to dig for stones! Shall I dig under her skin for bones? Then when I die I cannot enter her body to be born again.

"You ask me to cut grass and make hay and sell it and be rich like white men, but how dare I cut my mother's hair?

"I want my people to stay with me here. All the dead men will come to life again. Their spirits will come to their bodies again. We must wait here in the homes of our fathers and be ready to meet them in the bosom of our mother."

---- Wovoka / Paiute

"My Father: a long time has passed since first we came upon our lands; and our people have all sunk into their graves. They had sense. We are all young and foolish, and do not wish to do anything that they would not approve, were they living. We are fearful we shall offend their spirits if we sell our lands; and we are fearful we shall offend you if we do not sell them. This has caused us great perplexity of thought, because we have counselled among ourselves, and do not know how we can part with our lands.

My Father, we have sold you a great tract of land already; but it is not enough! We sold it to you for the benefit of your children, to farm and to live upon. We have now but a little left. We shall want it all for ourselves. We know not how long we shall live, and we wish to leave some lands for our children to hunt upon. You are gradually taking away our hunting grounds. Your children are driving us before them. We are growing uneasy. What lands you have you may retain. But we shall sell no more."

---- Metea (a Potowatami chief of the Illinois nation)

YES!

"Everything really is equal. The Creator doesn't look at me any better than He looks at the trees. We're all the same."

---- Janice Sundown Hattet, SENECA

"Together we can end the Holocaust against the environment."

---- Haida Gwaii, Traditional Circle of Elders

"One does not sell the land people walk on." ...

---- Crazy Horse, Sept. 23, 1875

Something I should probably post on my profile...

"Spiritual matters are difficult to explain because you must live with them in order to fully understand them."

---- Thomas Yellowtail, CROW