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“It is in human nature to pray. It is appropriate that we lay our words upon the earth. And so: Great Mystery, you who dwell in the endless beyond, you who spoke the first word and made of your breath the mountains and the waters, the trees and the grasses, the man and the woman and the child, hear me in my small voice. I am your thankful creature.” ― N. Scott Momaday, Earth Keeper: Reflections on the American Land
Hazel McNab
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“There is no love without loss. I hear the drums that vibrate to the heartbeat of the earth. They set me dancing. I see the clouds that wreathe the summits. They set me dreaming. I know the wonder of waves that shake the headlands. They awaken my soul. I hear the screams of eagles on the wind. And I ponder, what are these things to me who loves and does not reckon loss? Do I not keep the earth?”
― N. Scott Momaday, Earth Keeper: Reflections on the American Land
by abdduidti
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“Something of our relationship to the earth is determined by the particular place we stand at a given time. If you stand still long enough to observe carefully the things around you, you will find beauty, and you will know wonder. If you see a leaf carried along on the flow of a river, you might ponder its journey. Where did it begin, and where will it end? What will be the story of its passage? You will discover a thousand ways in which the leaf is connected to the water, the banks, the near and farther distances, the sky and the sun. Your mind, your spirit will be nourished and grow. You will become one with what you see. Consider what is to be seen.”
― N. Scott Momaday, Earth Keeper: Reflections on the American Land
"When we dance the earth trembles. When our steps fall on the earth we feel the shudder of life beneath us, and the earth feels the beating of our hearts, and we become one with the earth. We shall not sever ourselves from the earth. We must chant our being, and we must dance in time with the rhythms of the earth. We must keep the earth."
—N. Scott Momaday, Earth Keeper: Reflections on the American Land
🌎 Earth Keeper: Reflections on the American Land by N. Scott Momaday
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
“In my truest being I am a keeper of the earth. I will tell the ancient stories and I will sing the holy songs. I belong to the land.”
In 2020 I was gifted this book by my parents (it was on my book gift list) and I read it in one sitting, being profoundly moved by Momaday’s words. In the wake of his passing, I return to Earth Keeper, meditating on what it means to be a keeper of the earth, meditating on who was on American land first, thinking on how to be respectful and a good steward of the land.
Momaday writes eloquently, lyrically. He writes about his own experiences with nature and people who have also been earth keepers, reflecting on how his ancestors held the land and what that means. In the first part of the book- The Dawn- he reminisces his spiritual journeys in his landscape and how important those journeys are. In the second part- The Dusk- we stop to look at ourselves and the importance of being reminded to be a keeper of the earth.
“We humans must revere the earth, for it is our well-being. Always the earth grants us what we need. If we treat the earth with kindness, it will treat us kindly. If we give our belief to the earth, it will believe in us. There is no better blessing than to be believed in.”
“When I think about my life and the lives of my ancestors I am inevitably led to the conviction that I, and they, belong to the American land. This is a declaration of belonging. And it is an offering to the earth.”
N. Scott Momaday, you will be missed. 1934-2024
The Rocky Mountain National Park was established 109 years ago today. Happy birthday! Photo: Janet Camp Olsen (Jan 26, 2024)
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“You see, I am alive, I am alive I stand in good relation to the earth I stand in good relation to the gods I stand in good relation to all that is beautiful I stand in good relation to the daughter of Tsen-tainte You see, I am alive, I am alive” ― N. Scott Momaday, In The Presence of The Sun: Stories and Poems
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“There was a time when “man must have held his breath in the presence of this continent,” this New World, “commensurate to his capacity for wonder.” I would strive with all my strength to give that sense of wonder to those who will come after me.” ― N. Scott Momaday, Earth Keeper: Reflections on the American Land
April 22, 2022- Earth Day
