Book excerpt: We, the Elders, have done our best to represent our Red Nation as Ojibway, Cree, and Dakota. We present this story knowing it is an attempt to capture the richness and beauty of the Red Nation—a people of the heart and the land. We are an oral people. We cannot transfer our way of life through written words alone. Sacred law must be spoken and heard. Our way of life is meant to be lived and experienced. Our words are meant to inspire and guide our fellow human beings to follow the path of the heart. We believe that there is one Creator for all, that there is one Mother Earth that sustains all of us. We do not own the Earth. How can anyone own their mother? We owe our existence to Mother Earth. We believe that the spirit of the original Red Man was lowered to Mother Earth and our spirit chose to be born on Turtle Island. This story tells of our human life and journey until our return back to the spirit world. We believe the Creator has always been within our reach and that we have to return to the Earth to be guided to our true purpose.