Timothy P. McLaughlin > Quotes

“I walk out into the open, never dreaming of what I'd see. I sat on a tree and saw Mother Nature crying to me. When I looked around, I knew the pain She felt. All the trees lifeless on the ground. She cries and asks me, 'How?' She continued, 'It's gone. I had to say goodbye to my grass, trees, and little animals, too. This was once beautiful and I was happy, but now I feel like you.'

(Larissa Ross, student)”
― Timothy P. McLaughlin, Walking on Earth and Touching the Sky: Poetry and Prose by Lakota Youth at Red Cloud Indian School

“What the roses are saying cannot be heard through voice
but through beauty as you watch the rain slip
from their petals and hang from their edges.

(Dena Colhoff, student)”
― Timothy P. McLaughlin, Walking on Earth and Touching the Sky: Poetry and Prose by Lakota Youth at Red Cloud Indian School

“Indian misery is when somebody takes your land.
Indian misery is when somebody kills your friends.
Indian misery is when your people turn against you.
Indian misery is being slaves to people.
Indian misery is being locked up in jail.
Indian misery is people killing your food for money.
Indian misery is fighting. Indian misery is no peace.
Indian misery is when you get killed. Indian misery is if you lose the fight.

(Andrew Herman, student)”
― Timothy P. McLaughlin, Walking on Earth and Touching the Sky: Poetry and Prose by Lakota Youth at Red Cloud Indian School

“Misery is when you always seem to be getting dressed in black to go to a funeral.
Misery is when you get there and realize that the person who is dead is another close friend.
Misery is when you look around and all your friends are crying.
Misery is when you hear them say they'll try to stop and stay away from this stuff.
Misery is when the next day you see them stocking up in White Clay for a party soon to come.
Misery is whenyou hear the sirens, and you have to sit and wonder whose funeral you'll be attending for the next few days.
Misery is when you realize they'll never stop,
and you'll always be choosing black clothing for the next day.

(Kayla Matthews, student)”
― Timothy P. McLaughlin, Walking on Earth and Touching the Sky: Poetry and Prose by Lakota Youth at Red Cloud Indian School

“Life on
Life on the reservation
Life on the reservation is dirty
Life on the reservation is dirty, filthy
Life on the reservation is dirty, filthy dogs.

(Dena Colhoff, student)”
― Timothy P. McLaughlin, Walking on Earth and Touching the Sky: Poetry and Prose by Lakota Youth at Red Cloud Indian School

“One way is how he soars high above the clouds.
The second way is when the eagle sits on a tree branch
looking over the countryside.
The third way is when he grabs his prey on the prairie.
The fourth wya is when his protective eyes are keeping you safe at all times.
The fifth way is when the eagle lets us borrow his feathers,
The sixty way is when he talks to the rest of the sacred animals
so they can also keep you protected.
The seventh way his how the eagle sits waiting for your own flight to the sky.

(Tonia Scabby Face, student)”
― Timothy P. McLaughlin, Walking on Earth and Touching the Sky: Poetry and Prose by Lakota Youth at Red Cloud Indian School