5* Excerpt from Chief Seattle's speech
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At some point, maybe in 1854, a Suquamish chief named Seathl visited Seattle, Washington. According to several of the people present, he gave a speech to the militant governor of the state of Washington, who had proposed that the Suquamish move to a reservation. Seathl spoke in Lushootseed, which was translated into Chinook Trade Language, then into English. Dr. Henry Smith published a “reconstruction” of that possible speech in the Seattle Sunday Star on Oct. 29, 1887. It was concocted from Smith’s “admittedly incomplete” notes. This is an excerpt from what was published:
AUTHENTIC TEXT OF CHIEF SEATTLE'S
TREATY ORATION: 1854
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We will ponder your proposition and when we decide we will let you know. But should we accept it, I here and now make this condition that we will not be denied the privilege without molestation of visiting at any time the tombs of our ancestors, friends, and children. Every part of this soil is sacred in the estimation of my people. Every hillside, every valley, every plain and grove, has been hallowed by some sad or happy event in days long vanished. Even the rocks, which seem to be dumb and dead as the swelter in the sun along the silent shore, thrill with memories of stirring events connected with the lives of my people, and the very dust upon which you now stand responds more lovingly to their footsteps than yours, because it is rich with the blood of our ancestors, and our bare feet are conscious of the sympathetic touch. Our departed braves, fond mothers, glad, happy hearted maidens, and even the little children who lived here and rejoiced here for a brief season, will love these somber solitudes and at eventide they greet shadowy returning spirits. And when the last Red Man shall have perished, and the memory of my tribe shall have become a myth among the White Men, these shores will swarm with the invisible dead of my tribe, and when your children's children think themselves alone in the field, the store, the shop, upon the highway, or in the silence of the pathless woods, they will not be alone. In all the earth there is no place dedicated to solitude. At night when the streets of your cities and villages are silent and you think them deserted, they will throng with the returning hosts that once filled them and still love this beautiful land. The White Man will never be alone.
I feel that he is describing like him in this picture of a land and how it is important to their tribe
Yes, I agree with you. He definitely gives a list of the objects and feelings that is present in that territory
He used the word “rich” to describe the land. In this context, the word “rich” really captures the deep and strong meaning behind the land. In other words, the land was full of their history and culture, which was why it was so important.
He uses the word “sacred.” This is effective in showing just how important the land is to them while creating a serious/somber tone. Had he used another word such as “important” or “valuable”, the effect would have been different.
I agree with you uses a lot of toner and uses words to describe and create
I agree that it makes the tone a lot more somber. Although he describes the beauty of the earth throughout this passage, he is telling the white man that their land is special to them, and they need to be taken seriously.
I definitely agree. The use of the word “sacred” has a lot more depth. It also adds a more spiritual meaning to how they feel about the land. This amplifies the importance of the land.
I agree with what everyone is saying. I think the use of the word sacred really shows how deeply rooted the land is to their culture. There is so much weight that is held by the land.
yes i agree with you, this land is very important to his people.
The narrator also uses the word “thrill”, which makes us think they are excited. He uses this to show how the natural things on the land, such as the rocks, even reminds him of happy memories.
I agree! I think that he uses “thrill” to say that even though abiotic things such as rocks seem to be lifeless, if you look closely and become more in touch with your environment, you could see that everything holds memories
I agree with what you said. Everything in nature is so heavily tied into their culture that even things like a rock, that we might see as meaningless, have lots of meaning to these people
I agree with how he made sure he put sacred because adding that made the soil special and important
The use of this word shows how many memories and how much history was made here and shows that it happened over a long period of time, so they have grown attached to the land.
The word “lovingly” emphasizes how the narrator feels about the land.
I agree with this. I think this diction really shows how important this land is to his people. It shows that they respect their environment and treat it as a living entity.
I agree when you enjoy something that much it shows you how much they connected to their land.
I agree as well. It is showing how connected and how much they care for the land. The land that they have is special to them and the word choice that the author uses shows that. Using the word loving shows how they feel and how they take care of the land and what it means to them. The land is irreplaceable and they would never want to leave because all the memories and love they have for it and you can really understand that from these first sentences and the rest of the passage.
personally, stirring is a very energetic adjective to me. One that describes a lively action and in this case, describing the events of the tribe as exciting, thrilling. This word choice to me shows the importance of the culture’s events to the chief
I liked how you described it as an energetic adjective. I think that word really fits with that. That also shows that their events were every bit as lively and energetic as a white mans. There is nothing lesser about them.
This is an interesting use of the word “conscious” because it is personifying their feet. He’s basically saying that their feet are aware and knowledgeable of the land. This emphasizes the overall point that they know land. The land is a part of them and their culture.
Saying the rich with the blood of the ancestors emphasizes the legacy and importance they hold. It shows how important their ancestors are to them and how they have impacted their history.
The use of the word thrill in this sentence show you how much the land means to them. They are talking about rocks which are normally boring and dirty, but since the land means so much they think of the rocks in a whole different way.
I agree, they personify the rocks to show their importance. The author uses descriptive detail in things that are usually straightforward, in order to show how these things, even if they don’t seem like much, hold a lot of importance in the writing.
The land is so filled with their people’s history that they find meaning in things like rocks, which may seem strange to us, but is really a beautiful thing. It is incredible that humans can find so much meaning in inanimate objects. When the author looks at these rocks, he sees not a simple stone, but the land on which his forefathers lived and perished, and on which his children play. He clearly is resentful of the settlers who likely do not appreciate these details of the land the way that he does.
The author uses “returning,” suggesting that because this is their land, his people will always reside here, even after they are gone.
I agree with what you said because people will always come back to a place that the have history at
I wonder if when he says “return,” he means returning from the spirit world. He speaks about the land in such a heartfelt manner, emphasizing that their spirits will continue to return to the places that are important to them. This is a reflection of human nature since we all have a tendency to long for the places which are close to our hearts. It is also powerful to consider that this phenomenon could continue to occur after our deaths, almost as if our connection to these places transcends life and death.
He uses the term “red skin.” I wonder if this is actually how he would have described himself, or if this is the work of the translator.
I agree with you. It’s hard to tell if these words were actually the chief’s or something altered by someone else
I did some research and I found that most people who are native americans found this as offensive, and that many white leaders began addressing native americans with the term “red skins”. So I do believe that this is something that the translator did.
I wondered the same thing. I think he probably did not refer to himself as “Red Man.” Most likely it was a translation from a white person. It is still an incredibly offensive comment, even back then.
The author uses the words of memory as a way of showing that the “white men” won’t remember them on when they are gone and the land that was once theirs will never be credited to them.
i agree with you, it’s like the natives know what will happen
I think this still holds true today. They predicted it and now we have white washed history where the stories of the people of color or the oppressed are forgotten and in turn so are they. Its bizarre they saw this coming so early on.
I agree with you as well. The natives know that the “white men” are pushing them out and don’t want anything to do with them. Even though this is their land after they are gone they won’t have anything to do with it. Their memory and history will be forgotten and nobody will know who really took care of the land.
when using the word “invisible” it shows that just because they’re dead, doesn’t mean that the departed aren’t with us anymore (spiritually). we just can’t see them since they are “invisible”
I agree. The use of the word “invisible” reminds the reader that just because you cannot see them, does not mean that their spirit or presence is not with you. This is probably something that the governor did not consider.
The way he refers to the future and how people will feel like cities are cold and lifeless but then reminds the audience to remember what once was his culture roaming the lands. This makes it seem like all they want is to me remembered for what they were instead what what the “white men” made them out to be.
He uses the word alone here, which is a pretty powerful word. It really helps to develop the somber and foreboding tone. The word “alone” is very effective in evoking powerful feelings in the reader, as it is human nature to fear loneliness. However, what is interesting to note here is that the word is being used in a much more abstract manner that we are used to. When he says that we will never be alone, he means this in a more spiritual sense. Deceased natives will not literally be beside us, however, there presence will take on a more metaphysical expression that we cannot escape so long as we dwell on this continent.
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Chief Seathl Dr. Henry Smith
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One of the most interesting things about this document is the tension between the unbelievably unreliable nature of the text itself and the diction choices Dr. Smith employs on Chief Seathl’s behalf. Think about the layers of intention behind this text as you read. Whose words are these, how can you tell, what is the tone created, and what is the purpose of the document as a whole?
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This piece of diction shows how important their land is to their tribe. It really illustrates how connected they are with the earth and everything around them, and how they treat it with care.
Agree its like u can picture the whole story in your head just by reading
I agree when something is sacred to you it means that it is very important and it shows they are very connected to it.
I really like how you included in the end that “they treat it with care” because the text isn’t only showing how they feel, but also how they show their feelings through their actions, like where it says “and our bare feet are conscious of the sympathetic touch”
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