--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Indians knew that life was equated…" description: "\"The Indians knew that life was equated with the earth and its resources, that America was a paradise, and they could not comprehend why the intruders f..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd5/dee-brown-29923_america_the-indians-knew-that-life-was-equated-w_2649908.jpg" --- # The Indians knew that life was equated with the earth and… ![“The Indians knew that life was equated with the earth and its resources, that America was a paradise, and they could not comprehend why the intruders from the East were determined to destroy all that was Indian as well as America itself.” quote by Dee Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd5/dee-brown-29923_america_the-indians-knew-that-life-was-equated-w_2649908.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd5/dee-brown-29923_america_the-indians-knew-that-life-was-equated-w_2649908.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd5/dee-brown-29923_america_the-indians-knew-that-life-was-equated-w_2649908.jpg) > “The Indians knew that life was equated with the earth and its resources, that America was a paradise, and they could not comprehend why the intruders from the East were determined to destroy all that was Indian as well as America itself.” [Dee Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-brown/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Indigenous peoples saw Earth as sacred; they couldn't understand outsiders' destructive greed. **In simple terms:** Earth seen as sacred, outsiders destructive. Key Takeaway Respect and protect natural resources. Themes environment colonialism culture Mood somber hopeful Type activist educational When to use this quote - land rights activism - education - policy advocacy Key Concepts ecology history Questions to Reflect On - How can you support indigenous stewardship? - What steps can you take to reduce ecological harm? A Different Perspective Economic pressures complicate protection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Determined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/determined/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Indian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indian/) [Indians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indians/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Paradise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradise/) ## Related quotes > [I had an Indian face, but I never saw it as Indian, in part because in America the Indian was dead. The Indian had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rodriguez/i-had-an-indian-face-but-i-never-saw-it-as-indian-in-part-because-in/) [Richard Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rodriguez/) > [“mainland of America, the Wampanoags of Massasoit and King Philip had vanished, along with the Chesapeakes, the Chickahominys, and the Potomacs of the great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-brown/mainland-of-america-the-wampanoags-of-massasoit-and-king-philip-had/) [Dee Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-brown/) > [“Before these laws could be put into effect, a new wave of white settlers swept westward and formed the territories of Wisconsin and Iowa.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-brown/before-these-laws-could-be-put-into-effect-a-new-wave-of-white/) [Dee Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-brown/) > [“It is too often the case,” Crook said, “that border newspapers … disseminate all sorts of exaggerations and falsehoods about the Indians, which are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-brown/it-is-too-often-the-case-crook-said-that-border-newspapers/) [Dee Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-brown/) > [“I want to say that further you are not a great chief of this country. That you have no following, no power, no control."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-brown/i-want-to-say-that-further-you-are-not-a-great-chief-of-this-country/) [Dee Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-brown/) > [Where did all these damn Indians come from?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-armstrong-custer/where-did-all-these-damn-indians-come-from/) [George Armstrong Custer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-armstrong-custer/) > [The Indians are a civilization wrought with culture and a beautiful, deep spirituality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cree-summer/the-indians-are-a-civilization-wrought-with-culture-and-a-beautiful/) [Cree Summer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cree-summer/) > [Land. If you understand nothing else about the history of Indians in North America, you need to understand that the question that really matters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-king/land-if-you-understand-nothing-else-about-the-history-of-indians-in/) [Thomas King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-king/) > [“Because the Indians are planning to start war now, the common people want all of them destroyed so that they can live in peace;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-martin-boltzius/because-the-indians-are-planning-to-start-war-now-the-common-people/) [Johann Martin Boltzius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-martin-boltzius/) > [“Wherever the white man goes he attempts to impose the bases of his ordered civilization. He puts down tribal war, he wages truceless combat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-lothrop-stoddard/wherever-the-white-man-goes-he-attempts-to-impose-the-bases-of-his/) [T. Lothrop Stoddard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-lothrop-stoddard/) > [“Should Indian adults attempt to use the California courts to bring such killers to justice, they invariably were frustrated because the law of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-stannard/should-indian-adults-attempt-to-use-the-california-courts-to-bring/) [David E. Stannard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-stannard/) > [Where today are the Pequot? Where are the Narragansett, the Mohican, the Pcanet, and other powerful tribes of our people? They have vanished before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tecumseh/where-today-are-the-pequot-where-are-the-narragansett-the-mohican-the/) [Tecumseh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tecumseh/) > [We did not know there were other people besides the Indian until about one hundred winters ago, when some men with white faces came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/we-did-not-know-there-were-other-people-besides-the-indian-until/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [The two principles on which our conduct towards the Indians should be founded are justice and fear. After the injuries we have done them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-two-principles-on-which-our-conduct-towards-the-indians-should-be/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Our nation was born in genocide when it embraced the doctrine that the original American, the Indian, was an inferior race. ... We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/our-nation-was-born-in-genocide-when-it-embraced-the-doctrine-that/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) ## More by Dee Brown > [“I heard him call to the people not to be afraid, that the soldiers would not hurt them; then the troops opened fire from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-brown/i-heard-him-call-to-the-people-not-to-be-afraid-that-the-soldiers/) [Dee Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-brown/) > [I've tried word processors, but I think I'm too old a dog to use one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-brown/i-ve-tried-word-processors-but-i-think-i-m-too-old-a-dog-to-use-one/) [Dee Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-brown/) > [Treat all men alike… give them all the same law. Give them all an even chance to live and grow. You might as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-brown/treat-all-men-alike-give-them-all-the-same-law-give-them-all-an-even/) [Dee Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-brown/) > [“I want to say that further you are not a great chief of this country. That you have no following, no power, no control."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-brown/i-want-to-say-that-further-you-are-not-a-great-chief-of-this-country/) [Dee Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-brown/) > [“The damage and invisible scars of emotional abuse are very difficult to heal, because memories are imprinted on our minds and hearts and it takes time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-brown/the-damage-and-invisible-scars-of-emotional-abuse-are-very-difficult/) [Dee Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-brown/) > [The white people were as thick and numerous and aimless as grasshoppers, moving always in a hurry but never seeming to get to whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-brown/the-white-people-were-as-thick-and-numerous-and-aimless-as/) [Dee Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-brown/) > [“I shall not be there. I shall rise and pass. Bury my heart at Wounded Knee. —STEPHEN VINCENT BENET”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-brown/i-shall-not-be-there-i-shall-rise-and-pass-bury-my-heart-at-wounded/) [Dee Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-brown/) > [“It is too often the case,” Crook said, “that border newspapers … disseminate all sorts of exaggerations and falsehoods about the Indians, which are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-brown/it-is-too-often-the-case-crook-said-that-border-newspapers/) [Dee Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-brown/) > [“Before these laws could be put into effect, a new wave of white settlers swept westward and formed the territories of Wisconsin and Iowa.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-brown/before-these-laws-could-be-put-into-effect-a-new-wave-of-white/) [Dee Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-brown/) > [The librarians know the secrets, not the historians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-brown/the-librarians-know-the-secrets-not-the-historians/) [Dee Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-brown/) > [“mainland of America, the Wampanoags of Massasoit and King Philip had vanished, along with the Chesapeakes, the Chickahominys, and the Potomacs of the great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-brown/mainland-of-america-the-wampanoags-of-massasoit-and-king-philip-had/) [Dee Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-brown/) > [To the Indians it seemed that these Europeans hated everything in nature - the living forests and their birds and beasts, the grassy grades,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-brown/to-the-indians-it-seemed-that-these-europeans-hated-everything-in/) [Dee Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-brown/) > [“Not all of Anthony’s officers, however, were eager or even willing to join Chivington’s well-planned massacre. Captain Silas Soule, Lieutenant Joseph Cramer, and Lieutenant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-brown/not-all-of-anthony-s-officers-however-were-eager-or-even-willing-to/) [Dee Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-brown/) > [Whose voice was first sounded on this land? The voice of the red people who had but bows and arrows. . . .What has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-brown/whose-voice-was-first-sounded-on-this-land-the-voice-of-the-red-2/) [Dee Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-brown/) > [You just don't give up. There have been times when everything seemed to conspire against getting a book done or printed, and I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-brown/you-just-don-t-give-up-there-have-been-times-when-everything-seemed/) [Dee Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-brown/) [Explore all 18 Dee Brown quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-brown/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) [Browse all 20,382 America quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The Indians knew that life was equated with the earth and its resources, that America was a paradise, and they could not comprehend why the intruders from the East were determined to destroy all that was Indian as well as America itself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dee Brown" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-brown/the-indians-knew-that-life-was-equated-with-the-earth-and-its/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "America" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-brown/the-indians-knew-that-life-was-equated-with-the-earth-and-its/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd5/dee-brown-29923_america_the-indians-knew-that-life-was-equated-w_2649908.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd5/dee-brown-29923_america_the-indians-knew-that-life-was-equated-w_2649908.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd5/dee-brown-29923_america_the-indians-knew-that-life-was-equated-w_2649908.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The Indians knew that life was equated with the earth and its resources, that America was a paradise, and…” — Dee Brown", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Dee Brown", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-brown/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The Indians knew that life was...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-brown/the-indians-knew-that-life-was-equated-with-the-earth-and-its/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-brown/the-indians-knew-that-life-was-equated-with-the-earth-and-its/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```