Native American Faith Resources

Many Native American and Indigenous traditions include prayers for peace, healing, gratitude, and comfort. However, it is important to recognize that there is no single Native American religion or prayer tradition. There are hundreds of distinct Indigenous nations across North America, each with its own language, ceremonies, and spiritual practices. For an interfaith service, it is best either to use a prayer from a specific nation (with attribution) or to use a carefully worded Indigenous-inspired blessing that does not claim to represent all Native peoples.

Native American  Faith Resources

Lakota Prayer

A well-known traditional Lakota prayer says:

Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ

All My Relations.

This phrase expresses the belief that all people, animals, plants, the earth, and the Creator are interconnected. It is often spoken as a reminder of kinship with all creation and is frequently included in prayers for peace and healing.

The Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address (often called “The Words That Come Before All Else”) is a traditional expression of gratitude rather than a prayer in the Western sense. 

Native American  Faith Resources

Navajo (Diné) Blessing

One of the best-known Indigenous prayers is the “Blessing Way” from the Blessingway:

In beauty may I walk.

With beauty before me, may I walk.

With beauty behind me, may I walk.

With beauty above me, may I walk.

With beauty all around me, may I walk.

It is finished in beauty.

In Navajo thought, “beauty” (hózhó) encompasses harmony, balance, peace, health, and right relationship.

Native American  Faith Resources

A Contemporary Indigenous-Inspired Blessing

For interfaith settings, many communities use wording such as:

May we walk gently upon the earth.
May we honor all living beings.
May wisdom guide our steps.
May healing come to those who suffer.
May peace dwell among all peoples,
and may we care well for the generations yet to come.

This reflects common Indigenous values without claiming to be a traditional prayer from a particular nation.