Those who live closest to nature see God in it [Video]

The people who best understand the natural world — because their survival depends upon it — are aboriginal groups living close to the land, as the American Indian once did. A sampling of quotes from Native Americans illustrates their belief in one god whom nature revealed.

Edward S. Curtis, the photographer renowned for his 20-volume magnum opus completed in 1930, “The North American Indian,” included text with his photographs that described folk stories, religious rites, tribal histories and songs. In 1994, Running Press published a very small book (3 1/4 by 2 1/2 inches) called “Native American Wisdom,” with some of Curtis’ photos and text that quotes “statements of cultural value, beliefs, and attitudes from a number of Native Americans who lived and experienced tribal life in the years between the Civil War and 1930.”