Sitting Bull

I want to spend my time in my own way. I want to live in my own house. I want to be left alone.

Each man is good in his sight. It is not for me to judge.

If the Great Spirit had intended us to live in houses, he would have made us with roots.

I am a warrior. I have fought for my people. I have fought for my land. I will fight until I die.

The white man draws a circle around himself and calls it a fence. We draw a circle around ourselves and call it a nation.

I have killed, I have scalped, I have plundered, I have done all that is bad. But I have done it for my people, to defend my homeland.

My people, we have no blankets, no food. The white man has taken everything. He has left us nothing.

The white man is like a child. He does not know how to live. He does not know how to be happy.

I am a red man. I am proud of my people. I am proud of my heritage.

The white man is afraid of us. He is afraid of our power. He is afraid of our spirit.

I have heard the white man say that we are savages. But who are the savages? Those who steal land, or those who defend it?

The white man has a written history. We have a living history. It is in our hearts. It is in our minds. It is in our spirits.

I will not sell my heart. I will not sell my soul. I will not sell my land.

The white man came with a Bible in one hand and a gun in the other.

My heart is heavy. My spirit is sad. My people are suffering.

The white man thinks he is wise. But he does not know the wisdom of the earth. He does not know the wisdom of the animals.

I have seen the white man's civilization. It is a sickness. It is a disease.

The white man has many words. But he has no truth.

I am a free man. I was born free. I will die free.

The white man came, and the buffalo went.