| For Native peoples the earth was special, the dwelling place of manitous and spirits and the repository of the bones of generations of ancestors. |
| Illinois men and women interacted with the supreme deity by way of personal spirits called manitous. |
| As guardians of the wards over which they were appointed, the manitous could withhold from hunters permission or opportunity to kill. |
| Shamans were considered to be closer to manitous than ordinary people and could gain power from them either to heal or to kill. |
| While I didn't share a belief in the manitous, I could still be awestruck by the power around me. |
| You and your people have forgotten the manitous, you have forgotten to respect the very things that give your people life. |
