WHITE SHELL WATER PLACE
An Anthology of Native American Reflections on the 400th Anniversary of the Founding of Santa Fe
Blessing
On this place
May blessings abound
Among these valleys and mountains
Along ancient trails of trade and pilgrimage
Where the waters of the sky fall
In fringes of rain and grain rises from the fields
Where animals graze in the meadows
And run wild in the forests
Where ravens and hawks have dominion
Over the blue and purple summits
On this place
May blessings abound
Bless our ancestors, may we honor them
Bless our children, may we be ever thankful for them
Bless the unborn, may they inherit the good in us
Bless us who make this prayer, may we be worthy
On this place
May blessings abound
Here in this house of art and learning
May our bodies be strong
Here in this house of art and learning
May our minds be open and clear
Here in this house of art and learning
May our spirits be one with Creation
On this place
May blessings abound
All our lives may we know truth
All our lives may we know the beautiful
All our lives may we know inspiration
All our lives may we know the sacred within us
On this place
May blessings abound
Let us live happily inside these words
Let us live peacefully inside these words
Let us live thankfully inside these words
Let us be wholly alive inside these words
In holiness do we make our prayer
In holiness do we make our prayer
—N. Scott Momaday