The Indians used to be the only inhabitants of the Americas, but times change. Having perceived us as belonging to history, they are free to emote over us, to re-create us in their history-based understanding, and dismiss our present lives… — Paula Gunn Allen Copy Share Image
My mother told me stories all the time... And in all of those stories she told me who I was, who I was supposed… — Paula Gunn Allen Copy Share Image
Humor is widely used by Indians to deal with life. Indian gatherings are marked by laughter and jokes, many directed at the horrors of… — Paula Gunn Allen Copy Share Image
Idealization of a group is a natural consequence of separation from the group; in other words, it is a by-product of alienation. — Paula Gunn Allen Copy Share Image
Breath is life, and the intermingling of breaths is the purpose of good living. This is in essence the great principle on which all… — Paula Gunn Allen Copy Share Image
The hoop dancer dances within what encircles him, demonstrating how the people live in motion within the circling spirals of time and space. They… — Paula Gunn Allen Copy Share Image
Medicine people are truly citizens of two worlds, and those who continue to walk the path of medicine power learn to keep their balance… — Paula Gunn Allen Copy Share Image
Hoop Dancer is a rendering of my understanding of the process by which one enters into timelessness -- that place where one is whole. — Paula Gunn Allen Copy Share Image
For the American Indian, the ability of all creatures to share in the process of ongoing creation makes all things sacred. — Paula Gunn Allen Copy Share Image
Indians think it is important to remember, while Americans believe it is important to forget. — Paula Gunn Allen Copy Share Image
The Indians used to be the only inhabitants of the Americas, but times change. Having perceived us as belonging to history, they are free… — Paula Gunn Allen Copy Share Image
We are the land. To the best of my understanding, that is the fundamental idea that permeates American Indian life. — Paula Gunn Allen Copy Share Image
In the Native American tradition... a man, if he's a mature adult, nurtures life. He does rituals that will help things grow, he helps… — Paula Gunn Allen Copy Share Image
An odd thing occurs in the minds of Americans when Indian civilization in mentioned: little or nothing. — Paula Gunn Allen Copy Share Image
