The Girl Who Sang to the Buffalo Quotes

“For more than two decades I have tried, honestly and respectfully, to walk the difficult line between the world of Native America and the world of those of us whose people came, willingly or otherwise, to these American shores. I have done this because I believe that we, as Americans, are poorly served by our willful avoidance of the true facts of our national experience, and also because I believe that the lives and ways of the Native American peoples have much to teach us all. It”
― Kent Nerburn, The Girl Who Sang to the Buffalo: A Child, an Elder, and the Light from an Ancient Sky

“But I knew in my heart I was only half a warrior. I was acting tough and strong, but that ain’t the same as being a warrior. A real warrior serves the people. A real warrior protects the weak. A real warrior helps the elders. “I was serving the country, but the country didn’t mean a damn thing to me. The land, yeah. The country, no. As far as the people — my people — I wasn’t there for them. I was just doing what I learned in boarding school — being hard and following rules.” He”
― Kent Nerburn, The Girl Who Sang to the Buffalo: A Child, an Elder, and the Light from an Ancient Sky

“It’s like the powwow ring,” he said, forming his words slowly. “You shouldn’t go in there unless you’re invited. That woman was trying get inside our ways. She wasn’t invited. Grover was trying to teach her.” It was the most expansive comment I had ever heard him make. “I never thought of it that way,” I said, hoping to keep him talking. “Grover has wayounihan.” “Wayounihan?” “A warrior spirit. He helps people. He protects us. He never asks for nothing. Sometimes you got to do hard things. Sometimes you don’t have any friends.” He”
― Kent Nerburn, The Girl Who Sang to the Buffalo: A Child, an Elder, and the Light from an Ancient Sky

“In The Girl Who Sang to the Buffalo I want to bring some of this world to you. It is a task I undertake with trepidation. The essence of a respectful approach to Native life, for both Native and non-Native people, is an honoring of boundaries. There are things that are not meant to be shared, known, and even understood. You must earn the right to approach them, and you go only if called. And despite the claims of many non-Native writers, there are places where no non-Native person is ever called, or ever should be. This is simply the way it is. But this does not negate the truth of these places, nor does it mean we should not honor their presence. They merely must remain, to those of us on the outside, part of the realm of the mysterious, a realm that flies in the face of what Dan once called our “square-cornered understanding of life.” The Girl Who Sang to the Buffalo brushes against these places. They are not places for spiritual dabblers. They are a taproot to a world that runs deeper than our presence on this continent. But, more than that, they are an incursion into a spiritual realm where there are powers and forces that neither can nor should be taken for granted. Whether”
― Kent Nerburn, The Girl Who Sang to the Buffalo: A Child, an Elder, and the Light from an Ancient Sky