Speaking the Truth

Love is something you and I must have. We must have it because our spirit feeds upon it. We must have it because without it we become weak and faint. Without love our self-esteem weakens. Without it our courage fails. Without love we can no longer look out confidently at the world…But with love, we are creative. With it, we march tirelessly. With it, and with it alone, we are able to sacrifice for others.” – Chief Dan George

Looks Like Daylight

Ellis, Deborah. Looks Like Daylight. Toronto: Groundwood Books, 2013.
The acclaimed author of The Breadwinner series spent two years travelling throughout Canada and the U.S.A. In this collection of interviews, aboriginal young people from nine to eighteen years old tell about their lives and their hopes for the future.  Highly recommended for readers twelve years old and up.

The beauty of the trees, the softness of the air,
the fragrance of the grass speaks to me.
The summit of the mountain, the thunder of the sky,
The rhythm of the sea, speaks to me.
The faintness of the stars, the freshness of the morning,
the dewdrop on the flower, speaks to me.
The strength of the fire, the taste of salmon, the trail of the sun,
and the life that never goes away, they speak to me
And my heart soars. – Chief Dan George

More books about aboriginal people: HERE
More biographies: HERE

“Sometimes I go about pitying myself
And all the while I am being carried across the sky
By beautiful clouds.” – Ojibway poem