“I have killed, robbed, and injured too many white men to believe in a good peace. They are medicine, and I would eventually die a lingering death. I had rather die on the field of battle.”

God made me an Indian, but not a reservation Indian.

Each man is good in the sight of the Great Spirit. It is not necessary for eagles to be crows. Now we are poor but we are free. No white man controls our footsteps. If we must die, we die defending our rights.

If the Great Spirit had desired me to be a white man he would have made me so in the first place. He put in your heart certain wishes and plans, and in my heart he put other and different desires. It is not necessary for eagles to be crows.

A cold wind blew on the prairie on the day the last buffalo fell. A death wind for my people.

God made me an Indian.

The white man knows how to make everything, but he does not know how to distribute it.

If a man loses anything and goes back and looks carefully for it, he will find it.

Behold, my friends, the spring is come; the earth has gladly received the embraces of the sun, and we shall soon see the results of their love!

I know Great Spirit is looking down upon me from above, and will hear what I say.

There are things they tell us that sound good to hear, but when they have accomplished their purpose they will go home and will not try to fulfill our agreements with them.

What white man can say I never stole his land or a penny of his money? Yet they say that I am a thief.

Each man is good in His sight. It is not necessary for eagles to be crows.

Inside of me there are two dogs. One is mean and evil and the other is good and they fight each other all the time. When asked which one wins I answer, the one I feed the most.

Go back home where you came from. This country is mine, and I intend to stay here and to raise this country full of grown people.

I was very sorry when I found out that your intentions were good and not what I supposed they were.

What white woman, however lonely, was ever captive or insulted by me? Yet they say I am a bad Indian.

If any foreign minister begins to defend to the death a ‘peace conference,’ you can be sure his government has already placed its orders for new battleships and airplanes.

I do not find it easy to send the flower of our youth, our finest young men, into battle.

The battles that count aren’t the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself – the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us – that’s where it’s at.

Your battles inspired me – not the obvious material battles but those that were fought and won behind your forehead.

It could all be so simple, but you’d rather make it hard, loving you is like a battle, and we both end up with scars.

Every single day is a battle to stay strong.

The Lacedaemonians fought a memorable battle; they made it quite clear that they were the experts, and that they were fighting against amateurs.

Nonviolence is really tough. You don’t practice nonviolence at conferences; you practice it on picket-lines.