answer:A google search turned up your question and a site by an Oklalhoma Native American with this response to the same queation: “Hi, Joe – I hope someone else helps my hypothesis out, but I’ll do my best. As you may know, we have one of the highest per capita populations of American Indians here in Oklahoma. I grew up next to a Cherokee family, have interviewed Poncas and Otoe-Missourias for my research projects, and have friends who are Chickasaws and Commanches. My best guess is that the quote reifies what every Native American knows – that “the tribe” is the great source of power and identity from which they can draw…that collectivism and human connection is always the greater frame for life than individualism, and that loyalty is one of the truest defining attributes of love. ~ RDK” Source