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School Library Journal Review
January - 2014

Our Fires Still Burn: The Native American Experience. 57 min. Dist. by Visions. 2013. ISBN unavail. $99.95. Gr 6 Up-The enduring struggle for Native Americans to regain spiritual and tribal ways dominates this one-hour documentary situated on the Isabela Indian Reservation in Michigan. Saginaw Chippewa leaders describe their contemporary successes and struggles in light of their ancestors' traumatic history. Living between two worlds is the norm for this community; balancing Euro-American culture and traditional Native American worldviews. Fourteen chapters describe today's opportunities for Indian youth in light of history. The central sections involving elders and keeping the sacred fire are most informative relative to spiritual awareness. As a result of the devastating cultural effects of Indian boarding schools, communities are still seeking ways to reclaim their ancestral ways. Renewed vigor in traditional language and teachings are helped by devoted leaders. Saginaw Chippewa represent a pan-Indian trend of forgiveness and spiritual resurgence. Hope for a healthier future is the focus, grounded in the ancient wisdom that survives despite aggressive federal policies to "Kill the Indian, Save the Man."

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Chief Oren Lyons
“I do not see a delegation for the Four-Footed. I see no seat for the Eagles. We forget, and we consider ourselves superior. But we are, after all, a mere part of Creation. And we must consider to understand where we are. And we stand somewhere between the mountain and the Ant. Somewhere and only there as part and parcel of the Creation.”
Chief White Eagle
“Go forward with courage. When you are in doubt, be still, and wait; when doubt no longer exists for you, then go forward with courage. So long as mists envelop you, be still; be still until the sunlight pours through and dispels the mists – as it surely will. Then act with courage.”
Chief Maquinna
“Once I was in Victoria, and I saw a very large house. They told me it was a bank and that the white men place their money there to be taken care of, and that by and by they got it back with interest. We are Indians, and we have no such bank; but when we have plenty of money or blankets, we give them away to other chiefs and people, and by and by they return them with interest, and our hearts feel good. Our way of giving is our bank.”
Chief Luther Standing Bear
"Kinship with all creatures of the earth, sky, and water was a real and active principle. In the animal and bird world there existed a brotherly feeling that kept us safe among them… The animals had rights – the right of man’s protection, the right to live, the right to multiply, the right to freedom, and the right to man’s indebtedness. This concept of life and its relations filled us with the joy and mystery of living; it gave us reverence for all life; it made a place for all things in the scheme of existence with equal importance to all.”