This page started out as a general listing of prayers associated with the garden and nature, but it evolved into a page of Native American spirituality,blessings, prayers and wisdom. The Native American culture is steeped in respect, prayerfulness and reverence for the earth, and sadness for it's inevitable destruction. I have found the prayers awakening my mindfulness, as i worked and rested in my gardens.

Traditional worship practices are a part of Native American tribal gatherings with dance, rhythm, songs and trance. Sacred narratives and beliefs are deeply based in Nature and are rich with the symbolism of seasons, weather, plants, animals, earth, water, sky and fire. The principle of an all embracing, universal and omniscient Great Spirit, a connection to the Earth. The Great Spirit is the concept of a life force, a Supreme Being or god known more specifically as Wakan Tanka in Lakota.

Numerous individuals are held to have been "speakers" for the Great Spirit; persons believed to serve as an earthly mediator responsible for facilitating communication between humans and the supernatural. Such a speaker is generally considered to have an obligation to preserve the spiritual traditions of their respective lineage. The Great Spirit is looked to by spiritual leaders for guidance by individuals as well as communities.

If you'd like to learn about the ancient Native American Three Sisters method of gardening, visit this page
To learn how to design a Native American Medicine Wheel, visit this page
You can learn Ancient Pueblo waffle gardening techniques for rain conservation on this page.

The first wisdom quote has always been my favorite.

Cree Prophecy

When all the trees have been cut down,
when all the animals have been hunted,
when all the waters are polluted,
when all the air is unsafe to breathe,
only then will you discover you cannot eat money.

Traditional Navajo Prayer

As I walk, as I walk 
The universe is walking with me 
In beauty it walks before me 
In beauty it walks behind me 
In beauty it walks below me 
In beauty it walks above me 
Beauty is on every side 
As I walk, I walk with Beauty.

We are all flowers in the Great Spirit's garden.  We share a common root, and the root is Mother Earth.       
 - Hopi Prophecy

Follow your dreams, to the fields unknown, to where wild flowers sink into the sun. 
I will meet you there, and we shall dance until the sun rises once again.
 - Red Deer

Mother Earth hear your child, As I sit here on your lap of grass, 

Mohawk Prayer

Oh Great Spirit, Creator of all things;
Human Beings, trees, grass, berries.
Help us, be kind to us.
Let us be happy on earth.
Let us lead our children
To a good life and old age.
These our people; give them good minds
To love one another.
Oh Great Spirit,
Be kind to us
Give these people the favor
To see green trees,
Green grass, flowers, and berries
This next spring;
So we all meet again
Oh Great Spirit,
We ask of you.

The Garden is Rich

The garden is rich with diversity
With plants of a hundred families
In the space between the trees
With all the colours and fragrances.
Basil, mint and lavender,
Great Mystery keep my remembrance pure,
Raspberry, Apple, Rose,
Great Mystery fill my heart with love,
Dill, anise, tansy,
Holy winds blow in me.
Rhododendron, zinnia,
May my prayer be beautiful
May my remembrance O Great Mystery
be as incense to thee
In the sacred grove of eternity
As I smell and remember
The ancient forests of earth.

- Chinook

Earth Prayer - Ute

Earth teach me freedom
as the eagle which soars in the sky.
Earth teach me regeneration
as the seed which rises in the spring.
Earth teach me to forget myself
as melted snow forgets its life.
Earth teach me to remember kindness
as dry fields weep with rain.

O Great Creator, I come before you in a humble manner and offer you this sacred pipe. With tears in my eyes and an ancient song from my heart I pray. To the four powers of Creation, To the Grandfather Sun, To the Grandmother Moon, To the Mother Earth, And to my ancestors. I pray for my relations in Nature, All those who walk, crawl, fly, and swim, Seen and unseen, To the good spirits that exist in every part of Creation. I ask that you bless our elders and children, families, and friends, and the brothers and sisters who are in prison. I pray for the ones who are sick on drugs and alcohol and for those who are now homeless and forlorn. I also pray for peace among the four races of humankind.

May there be good health and healing for this Earth,
May there be Beauty above me, May there be Beauty below me,
May there be Beauty in me, May there be Beauty all around me.
I ask that this world be filled with Peace, Love, and Beauty.

Medicine Grizzly Bear Spokane, Washington

"The Great Spirit is in all things, is in the air we breathe. The Great Spirit is our Father, but the Earth is our Mother. 
She nourishes us; that which we put into the ground, She returns to us...."

Give us hearts to understand;

Never to take from creation's beauty more than we give;
never to destroy wantonly for the furtherance of greed;

Never to deny to give our hands for the building of earth's beauty;
never to take from her what we cannot use.

Give us hearts to understand

That to destroy earth's music is to create confusion;
that to wreck her appearance is to blind us to beauty;

That to callously pollute her fragrance is to make a house of stench;
that as we care for her she will care for us.

We have forgotten who we are.

We have sought only our own security.

We have exploited simply for our own ends.

We have distorted our knowledge.

We have abused our power.

Great Spirit, whose dry lands thirst,

Help us to find the way to refresh your lands.

Great Spirit, whose waters are choked with debris and pollution,
help us to find the way to cleanse your waters.

Great Spirit, whose beautiful earth grows ugly with misuse,
help us to find the way to restore beauty to your handiwork.

Great Spirit, whose creatures are being destroyed,
help us to find a way to replenish them.

Great Spirit, whose gifts to us are being lost in selfishness and corruption,
help us to find the way to restore our humanity.

Oh, Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the wind,
whose breath gives life to the world, hear me;
I need your strength and wisdom. May I walk in Beauty.

Big Thunder, late 19th century Algonquin

You must teach your children that the ground beneath their feet is the ashes of our grandfathers.
So that they will respect the land, tell your children that the earth is rich with the lives of our kin.
Teach your children what we have taught our children, that the earth is our mother.
Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. If men spit upon the ground they spit upon themselves.
This we know. The earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth.
This we know. All things are connected like the blood which unites one family. All things are connected.
 - Chief Seattle

Earth Prayer

Learn to hear my feeble voice.
At the center of the sacred hoop
You have said that I should make the tree to bloom.

With tears running, O Great Spirit, my Grandfather,
With running eyes I must say
The tree has never bloomed.

Here I stand, and the tree is withered.
Again, I recall the great vision you gave me.

It may be that some little root of the sacred tree still lives.
Nourish it then
That it may leaf
And bloom
And fill with singing birds!

Hear me, that the people may once again
Find the good road
And the shielding tree.

- Black Elk

Honor the sacred.
Honor the Earth, our Mother.
Honor the Elders.
Honor all with whom we
share the Earth:-
Four-leggeds, two-leggeds,
winged ones,
Swimmers, crawlers,
plant and rock people.
Walk in balance and beauty.

Native American Elder

Thanksgiving

We return thanks to our mother, the earth,
which sustains us.
We return thanks to the rivers and streams,
which supply us with water.
We return thanks to all herbs,
which furnish medicines for the cure of our diseases.
We return thanks to the moon and stars,
which have given to us their light when the sun was gone.
We return thanks to the sun,
that has looked upon the earth with a beneficent eye.
Lastly, we return thanks to the Great Spirit,
in Whom is embodied all goodness,
and Who directs all things for the good of Her children.

- Iroquois Prayer

Treat the earth well

Treat the earth well.
It was not given to you by your parents,
it was loaned to you by your children.
We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors,
we borrow it from our Children.

Ancient Native American Proverb

Sacred Hoop

You have noticed that everything an Indian does in a circle,
and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles,
and everything and everything tries to be round.

In the old days all our power came to us from the sacred hoop
of the nation and so long as the hoop was unbroken the people
flourished. The flowering tree was the living center of the hoop,
and the circle of the four quarters nourished it. The east gave peace
and light, the south gave warmth, the west gave rain and the north
with its cold and mighty wind gave strength and endurance. This
knowledge came to us from the outer world with our religion.

Everything the power of the world does is done in a circle.
The sky is round and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball
and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power, whirls.
Birds make their nests in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours.
The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle. The moon
does the same and both are round. Even the seasons form a great
circle in their changing and always come back again to where they were.

The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is
in everything where power moves. Our teepees were round like the
nests of birds, and these were always set in a circle, the nation's hoop,
a nest of many nests, where the Great Spirit meant for us to hatch our children.

Black Elk, Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux 1863-1950

There is a road in the hearts of all of us, hidden and seldom traveled,
which leads to an unkown, secret place.
The old people came literally to love the soil,
and they sat or reclined on the ground with a feeling of
being close to a mothering power.
Their teepees were built upon the earth
and their altars were made of earth.
The soul was soothing, strengthening, cleansing and healing.
That is why the old Indian still sits upon the earth instead of
propping himself up and away from its life giving forces.
For him, to sit or lie upon the ground is to be able to think more deeply
and to feel more keenly. He can see more clearly into the mysteries of
life and come closer in kinship to other lives about him.

Chief Luther Standing Bear

Humankind has not woven the web of life.
We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.
All things are bound together.
All things connect.

Chief Seattle, 1854

The Journey

When the earth is sick and dying,
There will come a tribe of people
From all races…
Who will put their faith in deeds,
Not words, and make the planet
Green again…
 - Cree Prophecy

Great Spirit Prayer

Oh, Great Spirit,
Whose voice I hear in the winds
and whose breath gives life to all the world.
Hear me! I need your strength and wisdom.
Let me walk in beauty, and make my eyes
ever hold the red and purple sunset.
Make my hands respect the things you have made
and my ears sharp to hear your voice.
Make me wise so that I may understand
the things you have taught my people.
Let me learn the lessons you have hidden
in every leaf and rock.

Help me remain calm and strong in the
face of all that comes towards me.
Help me find compassion without
empathy overwhelming me.
I seek strength, not to be greater than my brother,
but to fight my greatest enemy: myself.
Make me always ready to come to you
with clean hands and straight eyes.
So when life fades, as the fading sunset,
my spirit may come to you without shame.

- (translated by Lakota Sioux Chief Yellow Lark in 1887)


May the stars carry your sadness away,
May the flowers fill your heart with beauty,
May hope forever wipe away your tears,
And, above all, may silence make you strong.

Chief Dan George

Navajo Chant

The mountains, I become a part of it…
The herbs, the fir tree, I become a part of it.
The morning mists, the clouds, the gathering waters,
I become a part of it.
The wilderness, the dew drops, the pollen…
I become a part of it.

Zuni Prayer for Rain

Cover my earth mother four times with many flowers.
Let the heavens be covered with the banked-up clouds.
Let the earth be covered with fog; cover the earth with rains.
Great waters, rains, cover the earth.  Lighting cover the earth.
Let thunder be heard over the earth; let thunder be heard;
Let thunder be heard over the six regions of the earth.

Apache Blessing

May the sun bring you new energy by day,
may the moon softly restore you by night,
may the rain wash away your worries,
may the breeze blow new strength into your being,
may you walk gently through the world and
know it's beauty all the days of your life.

Prayer To The Great Spirit

Great Spirit, 
Give us hearts to understand
Never to take from creation’s beauty more than we give, 
Never to destroy want only for the furtherance of greed, 
Never to deny to give our hands for the building of earth’s beauty, 
Never to take from her what we cannot use.

Give us hearts to understand
That to destroy earth’s music is to create confusion,
That to wreck her appearance is to blind us to beauty, 
That to callously pollute her fragrance is to make a house of stench,
That as we care for her she will care for us.

Give us hearts to understand 
We have forgotten who we are. 
We have sought only our own security. 
We have exploited simply for our own ends. 
We have distorted our knowledge. 
We have abused our power.

Great Spirit, 
Whose dry lands thirst, 
Help us to find the way to refresh your lands.

Great Spirit, 
Whose waters are choked with debris and pollution,
Help us to find the way to cleanse your waters.

Great Spirit, 
Whose beautiful earth grows ugly with misuse, 
Help us to find the way to restore beauty to your handiwork. 

Great Spirit, 
Whose creatures are being destroyed,
Help us to find a way to replenish them

Great Spirit, 
whose gifts to us are being lost in selfishness and corruption, 
Help us to find the way to restore our humanity.

 -Author Unknown

What is life?
It is the flash of a firefly in the night.
It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime.
It is the little shadow which runs across
the grass and loses itself in the sunset.

Crowfoot, Blackfoot warrior and orator 1830 - 1890

Earth, Teach Me

Earth teach me quiet ~ as the grasses are still with new light.
Earth teach me suffering ~ as old stones suffer with memory.
Earth teach me humility ~ as blossoms are humble with beginning.
Earth teach me caring ~ as mothers nurture their young.
Earth teach me courage ~ as the tree that stands alone.
Earth teach me limitation ~ as the ant that crawls on the ground.
Earth teach me freedom ~ as the eagle that soars in the sky.
Earth teach me acceptance ~ as the leaves that die each fall.
Earth teach me renewal ~ as the seed that rises in the spring.
Earth teach me to forget myself ~ as melted snow forgets its life.
Earth teach me to remember kindness ~ as dry fields weep with rain.

- Ute Prayer

May all I say and all I think
be in harmony with thee,
God within me,
God beyond me,
maker of the trees.

- Chinook prayer

Earth Healing Ceremony Prayer

O Great Creator,
I come before you in a humble manner
and offer you this sacred pipe.
With tears in my eyes and an ancient song from my heart
I pray.

To the four powers of Creation,
To the Grandfather Sun,
To the Grandmother Moon,
To the Mother Earth,
And to my ancestors.

I pray for my relations in Nature,
All those who walk, crawl, fly, and swim,
Seen and unseen,
To the good spirits that exist in every part of Creation.

I ask that you bless our elders and children and families and friends,
And the brothers and sisters in prison.
I pray for the ones who are sick on drugs and alcohol
And for those homeless and forlorn.
I also pray for peace among the four races of humankind.

May there be good health and healing for this Earth,
May there be Beauty above me,
May there be Beauty below me,
May there be Beauty in me,
May there be Beauty around me.
I ask that this world be filled with Peace, Love and Beauty.

- Ceremony in Spokane, Washington, 1990

If you would like to download a copy of this page in .pdf format, 
click here to start the download.