May the Warm Winds of Heaven Blow softly upon your house. Black Elk Back to top Cherokee Prayer Blessing Nourish it then That it may leaf And bloom And fill with singing birds! Hear me, that the people may once again Find the good road And the shielding tree. It may be that some little root of the sacred tree still lives.

Again, I recall the great vision you gave me. With tears running, O Great Spirit, my Grandfather, With running eyes I must say The tree has never bloomed. At the center of the sacred hoop You have said that I should make the tree to bloom. Chinook Psalter Back to top Earth Prayer Rhododendron, zinnia, May my prayer be beautiful May my remembrance O Great Mystery be as incense to thee In the sacred grove of eternity As I smell and remember The ancient forests of earth. Basil, mint and lavender, Great Mystery keep my remembrance pure, Raspberry, Apple, Rose, Great Mystery fill my heart with love, Dill, anise, tansy, Holy winds blow in me. The garden is rich with diversity With plants of a hundred families In the space between the trees With all the colours and fragrances. So, we too, because only for a short while have you loaned us to each other. Because even a drawing cut in obsidian fades, and the green feathers, the crown feathers, of the Quetzal bird lose their color, and even the sounds of the waterfall die out in the dry season. But only for so short a while have you loaned us to each other. Oh, only for so short a while you have loaned us to each other, because we take form in your act of drawing us, and we take life in your painting us, and we breathe in your singing us. This life that now we know! - Tewa (North American Indian) Traditional Prayer Back to top Only For a Short While Our old women gods, we ask you! Our old women gods, we ask you! Then give us long life together, May we live until our frosted hair is white May we live till then. Translated by Lakota Sioux Chief Yellow Lark in 1887 Prayer for Life So when life fades, as the fading sunset, my spirit may come to you without shame. Make me always ready to come to you with clean hands and straight eyes. I seek strength, not to be greater than my brother, but to fight my greatest enemy: myself. Help me find compassion without empathy overwhelming me. Help me 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. Make me wise so that I may understand the things you have taught my people. Make my hands respect the things you have made and my ears sharp to hear your voice. Let me walk in beauty, and make my eyes ever hold the red and purple sunset. Hear me! I need your strength and wisdom. Oh, Great Spirit, Whose voice I hear in the winds and whose breath gives life to all the world.

Sacred fire native american