The Lakota was a true naturalist—a lover of
Nature. He loved the earth and all things of the
earth, and the attachment grew with age. The old
people came literally to love the soil, and they sat
or reclined on the ground with a feeling of being
close to a mothering power.
It was good for the skin to touch the earth, and
the old people liked to remove their moccasins
and walk with bare feet on the sacred earth.
Their tipis were built upon the earth and their
altars were made of earth. The birds that flew in
the air came to rest upon the earth, and it was the
final abiding place of all things that lived and grew.
The soil was soothing, strengthening, cleansing,
and healing.
—Chief Luther Standing Bear, Oglala Sioux