"Oh Great Spirit"; Native American Prayer, Great Video links included, Peace and Prosperity

Oh Great Spirit, First Nations Prayer, incl. Source Credit UPDATE (please comment)

First Nations Prayer

First Nations peoples in the Americas have passed on the traditions, knowledge, and history of their Elders and kinsfolk from one generation to the next largely by the use of Oral Tradition practices. One such knowledge passed down through the generations is that of the GREAT SPIRIT (as He is reverently known amongst the First Nations peoples). This Spirit is held in higher regard than Mother Earth, or any of the multitude of other spirits inhabiting the animals of the earth, sea, and sky; and appropriately so, as the Great Spirit is also known as the Creator.

Oral Tradition, from Wikipedia.org is linked here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oral_tradition

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Now, I would like to respectfully introduce a well-known Indian Chief, the late CHIEF DAN GEORGE (Jul. 24, 1899 - Sep. 23, 1981) of the Tsleil-Waututh First Nations (Burrard Band) in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Chief George was a bit of a public figure, on account of himself being the Chief of the band, and also because he was a movie actor, with a few films to his credit, including Little Big Man, with Dustin Hoffman. By virtue of these advantages, the Chief publicly orated a profound and unique personal prayer to his Creator, the Great Spirit. This oration was recorded and endorsed as a piece of cultural history which well displays the Chief’s spiritual relationship with his God (and by extension, the relationship of his people with their God). The prayer is so articulate, loved by so many, and so widely respected that it has been broadcast and dispersed with the technologies of late as a prime example of Indian spirituality, virtue, and belief.

This prayer is archived and treasured as but one historical and sublime example of a (spiritual) Record of the Native American Indian. It is indeed profound in its sagacity and implications. You may easily find that when the venerable Chief speaks to his beloved Great Spirit, he does so with reverence, and with this personal elucidation, he displays a commitment and a faith that speaks volumes.

Admittedly, it is a fairly modern piece of literature. Notwithstanding this fact, I believe it can be well construed to be a sample of evidence which describes a loving God, who did NOT JUST dwell for a time in the Biblical Middle East, but did in fact visit the Americas - BECAUSE … He veritably has a vested interest in ALL of His Father’s children.* (Continued below … )

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Oh Great Spirit

Whose voice I hear in the wind

Whose breath gives life to the world

Hear me

I come to you as one of your many children

I am small and weak

I need your strength and your wisdom

May I walk in beauty

Make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset

Make my hands respect the things that You have made

And my ears sharp

T o hear Your voice

Make me wise,

So that I may know the things You have taught

Your children

The lessons You have hidden in every leaf and rock

Make me strong,

Not to be superior to my brothers

But be able to fight my greatest enemy —

myself

Make me ever ready to come to You

With straight eyes

So that when life fades, as the fading sunset

My spirit will come to You without shame.

Thomas S. Whitecloud II (1914-1972).

Chief Dan George, who died on Sept. 23, 1981 at the age of 82 years, recited this poem expertly at the end of this CBC documentary broadcast:

http://archives.cbc.ca/society/native_issues/clips/14948/

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Note: for copyright reasons, this prayer has been edited. All attempts at contacting the family/owner have been unsuccessful.

*** UPDATE***: Please forgive the delay, but I must explain (notwithstanding that I take nothing away from Chief Dan George, as I admire his talents) my personal hard-copy documentation of this prayer that I had previously acquired (and had pasted to my bedroom door for a time) actually listed the venerable Chief Dan George as the progenitor of this cherished Indian poem. Today however, I have discovered a different SOURCE accredited with authorship. He is a Native American Ojibwe/Chippewa Indian writer called Thomas S. Whitecloud II (1914-1972). Appropriately, it is now published above in its entirety, with a more likely writer/author indicated as its inspired composer. I can only hope that this is true, because there are great multitudes of dead-ends on the internet. Please share your thoughts on this matter.

· This “Oh Great Spirit” Indian Prayer has long been widely available as an unaccredited piece of art anyhow, except per se to the Indian protégés as a Nation. Therefore and hence, I applaud them directly for sharing it unselfishly, just as I expect the Creator and Great Spirit would that they should.

Chippewa

The official name in the U.S. Government for the Ojibwe nation and their Algonquian language. Most of the people reside in Canada, where they are called Ojibwe. Their name for themselves is Anishinaabe.

Source: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Chippewa .

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WATCH this YouTube video below of the prayer, presented in a very peaceful and humble way, with music and stunning visual aids -- definitely a FAVORITE to bookmark and revisit often!

The concept of the GREAT SPIRIT is one example of many instances of the First Nations peoples legitimate exposure to and reliance upon a God, as their oral tradition has testified for many centuries.

The Book of Mormon is also an example of Recorded American History, translated once into the English language - revealed for us all to consider since the year 1830. It is quite literally Another Testament of Jesus Christ. It also speaks of the Great Spirit, which can be found in several places, including in the record of Alma 18: 4 “And now, when the king heard these words, he said unto them: Now I know that it is the Great Spirit; and he has come down at this time to preserve your lives, that I might not slay you as I did your brethren. Now this is the Great Spirit of whom our fathers have spoken.” (About B.C. 90)

I invite all who may want to investigate this additional source of testimony to do so, noting the many references to the Bible’s Old and New Testaments, as well as the Great Spirit, and ultimately the ancestral heritage and remnants of First Nations peoples. These scriptures are available online at http://scriptures.lds.org/en/bm/contents.

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Several profound attestations are included prior to the text. Note that a trial of faith may be required to receive a Spiritual witness of its truth, but it will come, and I respectfully attest to this promise (for example, concerning faith), as found in the record of Alma 32: 28 “Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that THIS IS A GOOD SEED, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.”

Finally, I include a verse from the Book of Mormon record of 2 Ne. 25: 21, where the SACRED ARCHIVES OF THE LORD’S CHILDREN ARE PROMISED TO BE WELL PRESERVED FOR HIS PURPOSES. “Wherefore, for this cause hath the Lord God promised unto me that these things which I write shall be kept and preserved, and handed down unto my seed, from generation to generation, that the promise may be fulfilled unto Joseph, that his seed should never perish as long as the earth should stand.”

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Peace and good tidings