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
tepees 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.
Over
a hundred
years ago
Black Elk
had a vision
of the time
when Indian
people would
heal from
the
devastating
effects of
European
migration.
In his
vision the
Sacred Hoop
which had
been broken,
would be
mended in
seven
generations.
The children
born into
this decade
will be the
seventh
generation.
