--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We understand the forked tongue that our…" description: "\"“We understand the forked tongue that our grandfathers talked about. [...] We know all the tricks of the wasicu world. Our young people have mastered i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac4/nick-estes-266121_indigenous-peoples_we-understand-the-forked-tongue-that-our_3027429.jpg" --- # We understand the forked tongue that our grandfathers… ![“We understand the forked tongue that our grandfathers talked about. [...] We know all the tricks of the wasicu world. Our young people have mastered it. I have mastered your language. [...] But I also know the genetic psyche. And I also have the collective memory of the damages that have occurred…” quote by Nick Estes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac4/nick-estes-266121_indigenous-peoples_we-understand-the-forked-tongue-that-our_3027429.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac4/nick-estes-266121_indigenous-peoples_we-understand-the-forked-tongue-that-our_3027429.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac4/nick-estes-266121_indigenous-peoples_we-understand-the-forked-tongue-that-our_3027429.jpg) > ““We understand the forked tongue that our grandfathers talked about. \[...\] We know all the tricks of the wasicu world. Our young people have mastered it. I have mastered your language. \[...\] But I also know the genetic psyche. And I also have the collective memory of the damages that have occurred to my people. And I will never submit to any pipeline to go through my homeland. Mitakuye Oyasin!" — Phyllis Young”” [Nick Estes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-estes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote emphasizes the deep cultural memory, language resilience, and resistance of Indigenous peoples against external control. **In simple terms:** Indigenous peoples protect language and memory against oppression. Key Takeaway Preserve cultural language and resist oppression. Themes culture resistance language memory colonialism Mood defiant proud Type speech activist cultural Indigenous-peoples:1 Language:1 Learning:0 Native americans:1 Politics:1 Tongue:1 Young people:1 Language Know:0 Mastered Language:0 Forked Tongue:0 Tongue Grandfathers:0 When to use this quote - education - policy advocacy - community workshops - media interviews Key Concepts collective memory genetic psyche cultural identity Questions to Reflect On - How can we support Indigenous language revitalization? - What challenges do Indigenous peoples face in preserving memory? A Different Perspective May overlook internal diversity within Indigenous groups. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Forked Tongue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forked-tongue-1489863/) [Indigenous-peoples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indigenous-peoples-2/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Language Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language-know-275359/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Mastered Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mastered-language-493580/) [Native americans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/native-americans/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Tongue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tongue/) [Tongue Grandfathers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tongue-grandfathers-4930128/) [Young people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-people/) ## Related quotes > [“And afterward, I stopped at Red Cloud's grave to pay my respects to the old chief. Some Oglalas had left him tobacco ties, little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/and-afterward-i-stopped-at-red-cloud-s-grave-to-pay-my-respects-to/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [“Quit bothering with angels, I say. They’re no good for Indians. Remember what happened last time some white god came floating across the ocean?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-d-az/quit-bothering-with-angels-i-say-they-re-no-good-for-indians-remember/) [Natalie Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-d-az/) > [“Like I said, no Indian I’ve ever heard of has ever been or seen an angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-d-az/like-i-said-no-indian-i-ve-ever-heard-of-has-ever-been-or-seen-an/) [Natalie Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-d-az/) > [“I would rather not speak with history but history came to me. It was dark before daybreak when the fire sparked. The men left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-harjo/i-would-rather-not-speak-with-history-but-history-came-to-me-it-was/) [Joy Harjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-harjo/) > [There's an old saying amongst players in football talking about your general manger and coaches, they speak with a forked tongue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-namath/there-s-an-old-saying-amongst-players-in-football-talking-about-your/) [Joe Namath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-namath/) > [“You actually fucked her? What, did her forked tongue feel exceptionally good on your dick or something?" —Keely to Jack after meeting his ex-girlfriend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorelei-james/you-actually-fucked-her-what-did-her-forked-tongue-feel-exceptionally/) [Lorelei James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorelei-james/) > [I don't talk for the sake of talking and I don't talk with a forked tongue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-froch/i-don-t-talk-for-the-sake-of-talking-and-i-don-t-talk-with-a-forked/) [Carl Froch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-froch/) > [His style is chaos illumined by flashes of lightning. As a writer he has mastered everything except language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/his-style-is-chaos-illumined-by-flashes-of-lightning-as-a-writer-he/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Where else, but from the industrialized world, did the suicide hijackers learn that the huge explosions and death above a city skyline are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/where-else-but-from-the-industrialized-world-did-the-suicide/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [Now when I had mastered the language of this water, and had come to know every trifling feature that bordered the great river as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/now-when-i-had-mastered-the-language-of-this-water-and-had-come-to/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [By now they had mastered my own language, but they still made simple mistakes, like using 'hermeneutics,' when they meant 'heuristic'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/by-now-they-had-mastered-my-own-language-but-they-still-made-simple/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [Armstrong was the key creator of the mature working language of jazz. Three decades after his death and more than three-quarters of a century…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/armstrong-was-the-key-creator-of-the-mature-working-language-of-jazz/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Language, as we know, is full of illogicalities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunnar-myrdal/language-as-we-know-is-full-of-illogicalities/) [Gunnar Myrdal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunnar-myrdal/) > [God speaks in a language you know best Not through your ears But through you circumstances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/god-speaks-in-a-language-you-know-best-not-through-your-ears-but/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [Babies and language are the essential ingredients of civilization, and speakers of language no more know where it came from than babies know where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlton-laird/babies-and-language-are-the-essential-ingredients-of-civilization-and/) [Charlton Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlton-laird/) ## More Indigenous-peoples quotes > [“Ancient wisdom did not disappear. We simply stopped knowing how to listen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriela-jurosz-landa/ancient-wisdom-did-not-disappear-we-simply-stopped-knowing-how-to/) [Gabriela Jurosz-Landa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriela-jurosz-landa/) > [“The greatest tragedy is not that Papuans disappear. It is that Papua disappears while Papuans remain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yamin-kogoya/the-greatest-tragedy-is-not-that-papuans-disappear-it-is-that-papua/) [Yamin Kogoya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yamin-kogoya/) > [“The global Indigenous cause reached a major milestone in 2007 when the UN General Assembly passed the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxanne-dunbar-ortiz/the-global-indigenous-cause-reached-a-major-milestone-in-2007-when/) [Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxanne-dunbar-ortiz/) > [“An Indonesianised Papuan mind is more dangerous to Papua’s sovereignty than an Indonesian weapon.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yamin-kogoya/an-indonesianised-papuan-mind-is-more-dangerous-to-papua-s/) [Yamin Kogoya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yamin-kogoya/) > [“Másaw (Skeleton Man) added. “If the Blue Star dancer removes his mask the Fifth World begins. 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Before I shut the door, I got a box of crackers from the kitchen, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-alcala/if-i-stay-here-i-will-be-just-fine-before-i-shut-the-door-i-got-a-box/) [Kathleen Alcala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-alcala/) [Browse all 39 Indigenous-peoples quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indigenous-peoples-2/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We understand the forked tongue that our grandfathers talked about. [...] We know all the tricks of the wasicu world. Our young people have mastered it. I have mastered your language. [...] But I also know the genetic psyche. And I also have the collective memory of the damages that have occurred to my people. And I will never submit to any pipeline to go through my homeland. 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