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
loneliness men gone
What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, men would die from great loneliness of spirit
ashes sacred native-american-indian
To us, the ashes of our ancestors are sacred and their resting place is hallowed ground.
native-american web-of-life earth-day
All things are bound together. All things connect.
native-american air water
We do not own the freshness of the air or the sparkle of the water. How can you buy them from us?
mother son men
The earth is our mother. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of earth. If men spit upon the ground, they spit upon themselves.
regret destiny men
Tribe follows tribe, and nation follows nation, like the waves of the sea. It is the order of nature, and regret is useless. Your time of decay may be distant, but it will surely come, for even the White Man ... cannot be exempt from the common destiny.
dream native-american heart
Our religion is the traditions of our ancestors - the dreams of our old men, given them in solemn hours of the night by the Great Spirit; and the visions of our sachems, and is written in the hearts of our people.
brother decay may
I will not dwell on, nor mourn over, our untimely decay, nor reproach my paleface brothers with hastening it, as we too may have been somewhat to blame.
rely-upon return sun
Whatever Seattle says, the great chief at Washington can rely upon with as much certainty as he can upon the return of the sun or the seasons.
stars never-change
My words are like the stars that never change.
night waste bed
Contaminate your bed and you will one night suffocate in your own waste.
god dream greatness
How can your God become our God and renew our prosperity and awaken in us dreams of returning greatness?
god brother men
The white man's God cannot love our people or He would protect them. They seem to be orphans who can look nowhere for help. How then can we be brothers?
god land people
Our God, the Great Spirit, seems also to have forsaken us. Your God makes your people wax stronger every day. Soon they will fill all the land.