There is one God looking down on us all. We are all children of one God. The sun, the darkness, the winds are all listening to what we have to say.
Geronimo (Goyathlay)
All the Children of One God
Topic: Justice, Vision, & Leadership
I was warmed by the sun, rocked by the winds and sheltered by the trees as other Indian babes. I was living peaceably when people began to speak bad of me. Now I can eat well, sleep well and be glad. I can go everywhere with a good feeling.
The soldiers never explained to the government when an Indian was wronged, but reported the misdeeds of the Indians. We took an oath not to do any wrong to each other or to scheme against each other.
I cannot think that we are useless or God would not have created us. There is one God looking down on us all. We are all children of one God. The sun, the darkness, the winds are all listening to what we have to say.
When a child, my mother taught me to kneel and pray to Usen [the Supreme Being, God] for strength, health, wisdom and protection. Sometimes we prayed in silence, sometimes each one prayed aloud, sometimes an aged person prayed for all of us… And to Usen.
I was born on the prairies where the wind blew free and there was nothing to break the light of the sun. I was born where there were no enclosures.
Geronimo (Goyathlay) (born June 16, 1829, near present-day Clifton, Arizona, USA - died February 17, 1909, at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, USA) was a Bedonkohe Apache leader, healer, and strategist known for his courage, resilience, and devotion to the freedom of his people. Born into the Chiricahua Apache community, Goyathlay- meaning "the one who yawns"- became a central figure in resistance against U.S. and Mexican military campaigns that sought to displace Indigenous peoples from their ancestral lands.
After enduring personal tragedy and witnessing the loss of Apache autonomy, Geronimo led a series of raids and defensive campaigns across the Southwest, becoming a symbol of resistance and endurance. His leadership was marked by both spiritual conviction and tactical skill, rooted in Apache traditions of honor, adaptability, and communal responsibility. Despite eventual surrender in 1886, his life remained a testament to the struggle for dignity, identity, and self-determination under oppressive circumstances.
Throughout his life, Geronimo exemplified courage, loyalty, and the moral strength that comes from defending one’s people and way of life. He embodied the values of perseverance, faith, and integrity, teaching through his actions the importance of courage tempered by spiritual insight. His legacy continues to inspire reflection on justice, freedom, and the enduring strength of Indigenous identity and moral leadership.
Geronimo (Goyathlay). Indians.org, indians.org/welker/geronimo.htm.
Geronimo (Goyathlay)
Theme: A Vision of America
About This Geronimo Quotation [Commentary]
Geronimo, born Goyathlay of the Bedonkohe Apache, speaks from a worldview shaped by reverence for creation and the Creator. “There is one God looking down on us all,” he says, affirming a shared source of life that includes every person and every part of the natural world. His words, “We are all children of one God,” reject division and affirm a deep kinship. “The sun, the darkness, the winds are all listening to what we have to say”—a statement that recognizes nature not as passive background, but as a sacred presence that hears and responds. For Geronimo, the divine is not removed or indifferent; it is near, watchful, and always listening.
In the full passage, Geronimo recalls learning to pray to Usen, the Supreme Being, “for strength, health, wisdom and protection.” His mother taught him to kneel. “Sometimes we prayed in silence, sometimes each one prayed aloud, sometimes an aged person prayed for all of us.” This practice was not confined to buildings or formal roles; it moved through family, elders, and the open sky. “I was born on the prairies where the wind blew free and there was nothing to break the light of the sun,” he says. “I was born where there were no enclosures.” His earliest formation was shaped by a landscape of freedom—without fences, without confinement—where the spirit was not separated from land or language.
“I cannot think that we are useless or God would not have created us.” These words reflect both resistance and dignity. Even after betrayal and loss, Geronimo insists on the worth of his people and of all people. “Now I can eat well, sleep well and be glad,” he says—not out of resignation, but from living with inner freedom. His voice carries the memory of a land that listened, and a Creator who does not forget. The wind still moves freely, and in it, our prayers are heard.
Context Passage For This Geronimo Quotation [Excerpt]
I was warmed by the sun, rocked by the winds and sheltered by the trees as other Indian babes. I was living peaceably when people began to speak bad of me. Now I can eat well, sleep well and be glad. I can go everywhere with a good feeling.
The soldiers never explained to the government when an Indian was wronged, but reported the misdeeds of the Indians. We took an oath not to do any wrong to each other or to scheme against each other.
I cannot think that we are useless or God would not have created us. There is one God looking down on us all. We are all children of one God. The sun, the darkness, the winds are all listening to what we have to say.
When a child, my mother taught me to kneel and pray to Usen [the Supreme Being, God] for strength, health, wisdom and protection. Sometimes we prayed in silence, sometimes each one prayed aloud, sometimes an aged person prayed for all of us… And to Usen.
I was born on the prairies where the wind blew free and there was nothing to break the light of the sun. I was born where there were no enclosures.
Geronimo (Goyathlay)
“Goyathlay” is an alternate name for the legendary Chiricahua Apache leader better known as Geronimo. Geronimo was his Spanish name, and the one that was most often used for him in public life. “Goyathlay” comes from his own name in the Apache language, Goyaałé, which means “one who yawns.”
—Geronimo (Goyathlay). Indians.org, indians.org/welker/geronimo.htm.
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