Anton Treuer > Anton's Quotes

“Ezra, some people think growth only happens in the spring. Plants grow in the spring. People grow in the spring of their lives. But growth is more than a springtime flood, it’s a dance. Dance in all your seasons, my boy, and play the music loud.”
― Anton Treuer, Where Wolves Don't Die

“I never set foot inside Carlisle Indian Industrial School, Haskell, Tomah, Kamloops, or Brandon—not as a student and not even as a visitor. But I’ve been fighting the demons they unleashed my whole life. We all have.”
― Anton Treuer, Where Wolves Don't Die

“For some people, fear and loss close their hearts, leaving them guarded and lonely and disconnected. But somehow, they opened me.”
― Anton Treuer, Where Wolves Don't Die

“That hit me in a way that all the books and lessons at school never could. I made a silent vow to move a little slower and think before I acted. I would listen to my elders, and I’d protect them too.”
― Anton Treuer, Where Wolves Don't Die

“It was a strange feeling, giving away my kill. The elders seemed so happy to receive packages of meat. Many people shook my hand. I felt like I mattered in a way I had never felt before. Something was stirring inside of me and I knew that if I had anything else to give, I would gladly do so.”
― Anton Treuer, Where Wolves Don't Die

“We don’t live in two worlds. We live in one world. We don’t have to code-switch to make it out there. We don’t have to maintain a dual consciousness. People from other cultures don’t have to sacrifice theirs to enter our world, and natives don’t have to sacrifice their cultures to navigate the modern world. We can be exactly who we are—exactly who the creator wanted us to be—and thrive.”
― Anton Treuer, The Cultural Toolbox: Traditional Ojibwe Living in the Modern World

“You are a complete, fully realized human being. You are a soul who has a body. You are the one your ancestors were praying for and waiting for through the generations. You have been given a unique set of gifts, and you yourself are a gift to the world.”
― Anton Treuer, The Cultural Toolbox: Traditional Ojibwe Living in the Modern World

“Connection and culture live inside of us. Having a rich cultural life is not just about looking out and looking for; it is about looking within. We can do that where ever we live. The awakening is healing and empowering.”
― Anton Treuer, The Cultural Toolbox: Traditional Ojibwe Living in the Modern World

“The Bureau of Indian Affairs is the first instance of organized crime on the reservation.”
― Roger Jourdain

“Even when I am dead, I will haunt the shores of these waters. My spirit will never be at rest until all of the lake is back in the hands of my people.”
― Peter Graves