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...
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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.
loneliness men gone
What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, men would die from great loneliness of spirit
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?
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.
ashes sacred native-american-indian
To us, the ashes of our ancestors are sacred and their resting place is hallowed ground.
earth-day earth
There is no such place as away.
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?
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.
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.
god strong father
Your God is not our God! Your God loves your people and hates mine! He folds his strong protecting arms lovingly about the paleface and leads him by the hand as a father leads an infant son.
night waste bed
Contaminate your bed and you will one night suffocate in your own waste.
stars never-change
My words are like the stars that never change.
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.