Oh Great Spirit,
Whose voice I hear in the winds,
And whose breath gives life
To all the universe . . . . PLEASE HEAR ME !
I am small and weak;
I need your strength and wisdom.
Let me walk in beauty.
Make my eyes ever behold your red and purple sunset.
Make my hands respect the things that you have made,
And my ears sharp to hear your voice.
Make me wise so that I might understand
The things that you have taught my people.
Teach me the lessons that you have hidden
In every leaf and rock.
I seek strength and wisdom,
Not to be greater than my brothers and my sisters,
But to fight my greatest enemy, MYSELF.
Help me to be ready to come to you
With clean hands and straight eyes
So that when life fades, as the fading sunset,
My spirit will come to you without shame.
Amen.
Written by Sioux Chief Yellow Lark who translated
it in 1887.