Other Voices, Sacred Ways of Seeing

‘We Return Thanks” – An Iroquois Traditional Prayer

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Spaceship Earth

 

“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 cure of diseases. We return thanks to the corn, and to her sisters, the beans and squashes, which give us life. We return thanks to the bushes and trees, which provide us with fruit. We return thanks to the wind, which, moving the air, has banished diseases. We return thanks to the moon and the stars, which has given us their light when the sun was gone. We return thanks to our grandfather He-no, that he has protected his grandchildren from witches and reptiles, and has given us his rain. We return thanks to the sun, that he 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 Traditional Saying

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