This collection does not rely on the wise sayings of our revered grandfathers and chiefs quoted throughout Nerburn's book, but takes from the deeply moving, clearly written expressions of his own words. The attitude of the American Indian toward the Eternal, the Great Mystery that surrounds and embraces us, is as simple as it is exalted. There are no temples or shrines among us save those of nature. As children of nature, we are intensely poetical. We first Americans mingle with our pride an exceptional humility.
Spiritual arrogance is foreign to our nature and teaching.
Silence is the absolute poise or balance of body, mind, and spirit. The holy silence is God's voice. Silence is the cornerstone of character. We believe that the spirit pervades all creation and that every creature possess a soul in some degree, though not necessarily a soul of conscious itself. The tree, the waterfall, the grizzly bear, each is an embodied Force, and as such an object of reverence.