The Importance of Preserving Cultures

Quote from Jamie Sams book entitled "Earth Medicine":

"Human life on our planet is a shared dream. When the legends, myths, and stories are allowed to die, the basic values of life deteriorate. The dreams of any culture are based upon the role models of legend. Not having any larger-than-life role models when the tales vanish, the following generations of any culture lose their drive to excel. When there is nothing to aspire to, dreams die hard, leaving the shared planetary dream resembling a night mare.

The tales of harmony and honesty, sharing and valor, loving and forgiving, come alive when the Medicine Stories are told. When the basic values of harmonious living are told and retold, heroes and heroines come to life, becoming treasured teachers and friends. When the Wise Ones go silent, the dreams of the young wither, being replaced by the unhealthy values on the street. Without the storytellers, entire cultures can pass into oblivion."