Chief Seattle
Chief Seattle
Chief Seattlewas a Dkhw'Duw'Abshchief. A prominent figure among his people, he pursued a path of accommodation to white settlers, forming a personal relationship with "Doc" Maynard. The city of Seattle, in the U.S. state of Washington, was named after him. A widely publicized speech arguing in favor of ecological responsibility and respect of Native Americans' land rights had been attributed to him. However, what he actually said has been lost through translation and rewriting...
ProfessionLeader
earth man merely son spirit-and-spirituality strand weave web whatever
Whatever befalls the earth befalls the son of the earth. Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand of it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.
men air white-man
The air is precious to the red man, for all things share the same breath-the beast, the tree, the man, they all share the same breath. The white man does not seem to notice the air he breathes. Like a man dying for many days, he is numb to the stench.
spring men white-man
There is no quiet place in the white man's cities. No place to hear the unfurling of leaves in spring, or the rustle of an insect's wings. But perhaps it is because I am a savage and do not understand. The clatter only seems to insult the ears.
animals beasts die great happens loneliness man soon whatever
What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, man would die from a great loneliness of spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts, soon happens to man. All things are connected.
die great man
What is man without the beasts? For if all the beast were gone, man would die of a great loneliness of the spirit.
alone among dead deal earth invisible kindly last man men red shall shores white
When the last red man shall have perished from the earth and his memory among the white men shall have become a myth, these shores will swarm with the invisible dead of my tribe. The white man will never be alone. Let him be just and deal kindly with my people, for the dead are not powerless.
approach cannot dwell man mist morning night red white
Day and night cannot dwell together. The Red Man has ever fled the approach of the White Man, as the morning mist flees before the morning sun.
native-american people earth
Every part of the earth is sacred to my people.
father voice water
The water's murmur is the voice of my father's father.
earth-day earth
There is no such place as away.
men doe earth
Man belongs to the Earth, Earth does not belong to man
native-american heart earth
Your religion was written on tablets of stone, ours on our hearts. 8. We are part of the earth and the earth is part of us.
regret native-american sea
Tribe follows tribe, nations follow nations like the tides of the sea. It is the order of nature, and regret is useless.
strong children hate
Your God loves your people and hates mine; he folds his strong arms lovingly around the white man and leads him as a father leads his infant son, but he has forsaken his red children; he makes your people wax strong every day, and soon they will fill the land; while my people are ebbing away like a fast-receding tide, that will never flow again. The white man's God cannot love his red children or he would protect them. They seem to be orphans who can look nowhere for help.