Meal Blessing by Tony Adams

     I am a cousin of someone in the Spirit Journey Youth and have eaten with them when they bless the food by thanking the Creator for the animals and other stuff that have given up their lives to feed us. Since we usually eat hamburgers and fries, this means giving thanks for the cow, the chicken and potatoes. At first I thought it was funny but then it touched something

     So my cousin and I wrote out a meal blessing we could give at our family meeting this last summer in Utah. So I am offering it to this Native youth blog so other Natives can see that we honor the old ways and some new ones. We use it at all our meals now and even my younger brothers can say it.

     “Thank you great Creator of all you have given us; of that which flies or crawls or swims, of all growing things, and of all that makes up the earth and seas. We thank you for those animals who give up their lives to give us food; the cow, chicken, turkey, sheep and pig. We thank you for the growing plants that give us grains, vegetables, and fruits. We thank you for the water that falls from the sky and into the ground and rivers. We thank you for the wood and rocks and other things we use from Mother Earth. We thank you for all things we use daily. We promise to use them with respect that we may be proud to be your people. Amen.”