Chief Seattle's Oration " Smith Scraps from a Diary: He stood 6 feet full in his moccasins, was broad-shouldered, deep-chested, and finely proportioned. His eyes were large, intelligent, expressive and friendly when in repose, and faithfully mirrored the varying moods of the great soul that looked through them.
In Chief Seattle gave a stirring speech about the sanctity of the land and the need for careful stewardship of it. The idea is strange to us. If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them? Every part of the Earth is sacred to my people.
Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every clear and humming insect is holy in the memory and experience of my people.
The sap which courses through the trees carries the memory and experience of my people. The sap which courses through the trees carries the memories of the red man. Our dead never forget this beautiful Earth, for it is the mother of the red man.
We are part of the Earth and it is part of us. The perfumed flowers are our sisters, the deer, the horse, the great eagle, these are our brothers. The rocky crests, the juices in the meadows, the body heat of the pony, and the man, all belong to the same family. So, when the Great Chief in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land, he asks much of us.
The Great White Chief sends word he will reserve us a place so that we can live comfortably to ourselves. He will be our father and we will be his children.
So we will consider your offer to buy land. But it will not be easy. For this land is sacred to us. This shining water that moves in streams and rivers is not just water but the blood of our ancestors.
If we sell you land, you must remember that it is sacred blood of our ancestors.
If we sell you land, you must remember that it is sacred, and you must teach your children that it is sacred and that each ghostly reflection in the clear water of the lakes tells of events in the life of my people.
The rivers of our brothers they quench our thirst.
The rivers carry our canoes and feed our children. If we sell you our land, you must remember to teach your children that the rivers are our brothers, and yours, and you must henceforth give the rivers the kindness that you would give my brother. We know that the white man does not understand our ways.
One portion of land is the same to him as the next, for he is a stranger who comes in the night and takes from the land whatever he needs. The Earth is not his brother, but his enemy and when he has conquered it, he moves on. He kidnaps the Earth from his children, and he does not care.
He treats his mother, the Earth, and his brother, the same, as things to be bought, plundered, sold like sheep or bright beads. His appetite will devour the Earth and leave behind only a desert. I do not know.
Our ways are different from yours ways. The sight of your cities pains the eyes of the red man. But perhaps it is because the red man is a savage and does not understand.
But perhaps it is because I am a savage and do not understand. The clatter only seems to insult the ears.Chief Seattle’s promise to adhere to the treaty, should one be ratified, was observed to the letter, for he was ever the unswerving and faithful friend of the white man.
The above is but a fragment of his speech, and lacks all the charm lent by the grace and earnestness of the sable old orator, and the occasion.
Chief Seattle, leader of the Duwamish tribe, was author of the famous speech to Washington Governor Stevens upon his arrival to Seattle in /5(1).
A children’s book, Brother Eagle, Sister Sky: A Message From Chief Seattle, sold , within the first six months of its issue. By most accounts, Chief Seattle was a great speaker and.
Apr 21, · April 21, , Page The New York Times Archives. Since his death in , Chief Seattle has grown in fame and stature to a point where he . Chief Seattle's Speech of is a powerful statement on the environment, culture, and the future of humanity. There is a great deal of controversy surrounding Chief Seattle's speech of There are many sources of information, various versions of the speech, and debates over its very existence.
Chief Seattle’s Speech — An Introduction Chief Seattle (Si’ahl) (c. – June 7, ) was a public leader, the chief of the native American (Red Indian) Suquamish and Duwamish tribes.