It is commonly supposed that there was no systematic means of education for Indian children. Nothing could be further from the truth. All the customs of our people were held to be divinely instituted, and customs involving the training of children were scrupulously adhered to and transmitted from one generation to another.

     It is true that we had no schoolhouses, no books, no regular school hours. Our children were trained in the natural world. In this way, they found themselves and became conscious of their relationship to all life. The spiritual world was real to them, and the splendor of life stood out above all else. and beyond all, and in all, was seen to dwell the Great Mystery, unsolved and unsolvable, except in those things that is good for one's spirit to know.

     We taught our children by both example and instruction, but with emphasis on example, because all learning is a dead language to one who gets it secondhand. Our physical training was thorough and intelligent, while as to moral and spiritual side of our teaching, I am not afraid to compare it with that of any race.

     We conceived the art of teaching as, first and foremost, the development of personality; and we considered the fundamentals of education to be love of the Great Mystery, love of nature, and love of people and country.