Dennis Banks

“We must protect the earth, our mother. She is the source of all life.”

“The old ones say the Native American has been sleeping for 500 years. It is time for us to wake up.”

“We are the landlords of this country. We are not the tenants.”

“We must have the courage to stand up for our rights, even if it means standing alone.”

“The government has broken every treaty it ever made with us.”

“We will not be silenced. We will not be ignored.”

“I do not want my children to be what I am. I want them to be what they can be.”

“The spirit of my people is not dead. It is not in a museum. It is in our hearts.”

“To be a warrior is to be a protector.”

“We are a people with a beautiful culture and a rich history. We must never forget that.”

“Our children are our future. We must teach them our ways, our language, our history.”

“We have to get back to our spiritual roots. That is where our strength lies.”

“Our struggle is not a cultural trip, it's a spiritual one. It's a struggle for the hearts and minds of our people.”

“We are trying to awaken the conscience of the country.”

“Education is the new buffalo. It is what will sustain us.”

“We are still here. We have survived genocide, and we will continue to survive.”

“Our struggle is for self-determination, for the right to choose our own destiny.”

“The American Indian Movement was born out of the ashes of despair.”