Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Blessing

"To be a human being is an honor, and
we offer thanksgiving for all the gifts of life.

Mother Earth, we thank you for giving us everything we need.

Thank you, deep blue waters around Mother Earth, for you are the force that takes thirst away from all living things.

We give thank to green grasses that feel so good against our bare feet, for the cool beauty you bring to Mother Earth's floor.

Thank you, good foods from Mother Earth, our life sustainers, for making us happy when we are hungry.

Fruits and berries, we thank you for your color and sweetness. We are all thankful to good medicine herbs, for healing us when we are sick."

---

Chief Jake Swamp

Swamp, a respected and honored Haudenosaunee leader of the Mohawk Wolf Clan, was a diplomat, author, teacher, and chief. He founded the international organization Tree of Peace Society to promote peace and conservation around the world. He traveled around the world sharing the Thanksgiving Message and Haudenosaunee Peacemaker Principles.

Erwin Printup,Jr.

Printup is a member of the Bear Clan, Cayuga Nation. His early painting inspired by the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) culture led to his work for Giving Thanks, his first picture book. Printup's artistic preference is to work with acrylic on canvas, but has also created soapstone and metal sculptures, traditional pottery, and silver jewelry. His work has been shown internationally.

---

Relevance

At first look, this book is a deceptively simple choice for middle chapter book readers. It is short, the art tends towards colorful iconography, and the prayer is easily memorized. But the book rests on the Haudenosaunee's ancient cultural understanding of peace and an appreciation of Mother Earth and all her inhabitants. 

Learning Links

• Giving Thanks: Teacher's Guide, Lee and Lowe Publishers
  
• Giving Thanks Narrated by Chief Jake Swamp, YouTube
• Iroquois and the Founding Fathers, TeachingHistory.org
• Iroquois or Haudenosaunee? | Native America in Upstate New York, video & lesson plan, PBS Learning Media
  

Middle chapter book readers, 24 pages. The traditional Iroquois Thanksgiving Address to Mother Earth adapted for younger readers by Chief Jake Swamp.