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The Good Red Road... as seen in:
Woman in the Moon magazine Las Casas Newsletter Ohio Magazine
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The phrase - "The Good Red Road" is a term used by many different Native American tribals communities to represent one who is walking the road of balance, living right and following the rules of the Creator. Many of us at The Good Red Road (press) hope that you will walk the path with us - or you will share in our journey.
The Good Red Roads - Code of Ethics
1. Search for yourself, by yourself. Do not allow others to make your path for you. It is your road, and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you.
2. Treat the guests in your home with much consideration. Serve them the best food, give them the best bed and treat them with espect and honor.
3. Do not take what is not yours. Whether from a person, a community, the wilderness or from a culture. It was not earned nor given. It is not yours. You cannot enjoy what it not yours.
4. Respect all things that are placed upon this Earth.
5. Rise with the sun to pray. Pray alone. Pray often. The Great Spirit will listen, if only you speak.
6. Honor other people’s thoughts, wishes and words. Never interrupt another or mock or mimic them. Allow each person the right to a freedom of opinion. Respect that opinion.
7. Never speak of others in a bad way. The negative energy that you put out into the universe will multiply when it returns to you.
8. All persons make mistakes. No matter how small or how large the mistake is, it can still be forgiven.
9. Bad thoughts cause illness of the spirit, the mind and the body. Keep bad thoughts at bay. Practice optimism.
10. Nature is not FOR us, it is a PART of us. Treat all natural beings as a member of your family.
11. Children are the seeds of our future. Plant love in their hearts and water them with wisdom and life’s lessons. When they are grown, allow them find their own place.
12. Keep yourself balanced. Your Mental self, Spiritual Self, Emotional Self and Physical self all need to be strong, pure and healthy. Work out the body, to strengthen the mind. Grow rich in spirit to cure emotional ails.
13. Make conscious decisions as to who you will be and how you will react. Be responsible for your own actions.
14. Treat the elders as special gems - their wisdom will shine.
15. Be true to yourself first.
" The interest in Native art, culture and history is, if anything, overdue. This nation, in fact this entire western hemisphere, is built on a Native American foundation. I also think that much of contemporary "modern" life is lacking in the meaning and the spiritual focus that was at the center of many, if not all, of our traditional American Indian cultures. People feel lost and they are turning to Indians for answers. Sadly, many Native Americans are having just as hard a time as anyone and may not have the time or the balance to help non-Indians. Without forgetting the good things that are part of today’s world, I firmly believe we all need to look back to the things that have been wrongly abandoned. Native American cultures and traditions can offer powerful positive examples. But the real challenge for everyone, Indian and non-Indian alike, is to being human, to accept our responsibilities and to embrace community, in the fullest sense of the word." Said by Joseph Bruchac - in a Good Red Road interview and author of over 60 books on Native American Indians and cultures - when asked "What, in your opinion, is behind the sudden surge in people who are interested in Native American art, culture and history?"
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