7* 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 think the use of the word proposition is interesting. This isnt a deal or an offer, it is a proposition to be maintained formally
It was most likely just Smith finding a way to make it sound nicer. This is the stealing of land, but if you say it’s a proposition then more people can go home at night and feel better about themselves.
I agree because it makes it sound like they aren’t even allowed to set foot on THEIR land!!!
the word ‘sacred’ shows how there was a special bond between the land and the Natives, and how they really depend on their environment
This word does show that the land has a special bond with the Natives.It shows the importance in their religion and belief in their culture.The Chief feels that the land belongs to his ethnicity.They’ve build all of that land and wants to have control because of their ancestors and memories they’re leaving behind.People should have an acknowledging and understanding attitude for what they’ve worked so hard for.The author wants the readers to know how it feels to have something that you’ve worked so hard for and that is what the overall message is.To be appreciative and you have to work hard for what you want in the world.
I think it shows an appreciation that was lost in the modern culture of ‘everyone for themselves to get wealthy’
As if they feel entitled to the land.
I feel like that the word sacred shows how highly valued and important their land is to them
In native culture, the earth seems to be more valued than in other cultures, where it is often exploited and polluted.
this definitely makes me think about the effects of white people’s actions on the land. I genuinely wonder what shape the land in America would be in if white people had not taken it all away from the people who had originally taken care of it.
there seems to be a connection to the past with rocks. In some rocks they can hold ancient fossils or other minerals. It can be from an area totally different from the original place. Also the rock itself can be 1,000 years old.
This type of diction is showing the meaning and philosophy behind the authors religion and culture.All of the belongings on the land is a reminder of all of his ancestors,and the land should belong and be acknowledged by the white men.The ground that the white men are stepping on is more important to the natives then it would ever be to the white men.The lands get celebrated and praised more by the natives and their ancestors.So it should belong to the people that really believe in the land and worships it.
Like the spirit of God, you can’t see him but he’s there, and I guess I’m connecting that to the sentence
The chief is saying that the spirits of his people and their beliefs will impact those who may even not share these beliefs.
its almost like he’s using it to show how the Europeans thought of them
To me the word “Red Man” means like evil man. Because Red usually means evil
The Chief believes that no matter what the White man does to him on earth he and his people will live on forever.
I agree with you because the author is showing how important his ancestors are and that their legacy will live on.The White men think that they’re alone but the ancestors will never give up their land and legacy.This is important because the roots and the land is being given to people who don’t care about the natives real legacy and roots.It should belong to people who will actually care for and have belief in what the natives really wanted our of this speed.To know the meaning behind the land and the memories that were built by the natives culture.
uses the words like ‘love’ and ‘beautiful’ and it tells hw much they cherish and admire their land
It also implies that it is a very personal place, and is not something they take lightly
I think that this sentence also shows the mistake of the governor’s choice; in the hands of the white people the land would probably be mistreated/taken for granted in contrast to the way that the natives would have appreciated and nurtured it.
Natives really know what the Land can really portray. they got the knowledge.
This does not seem to be a threat, but the chief seems to know what the fate of his people will be.
Definitely, the chief seems to know that his people will stand no chance. He’s not okay with that but it seems he believes, in the end, his people will be able to live on in different ways than just physical.
This sentence in particular makes me ponder a lot. It reminds me of the huge mass of lives lost, and makes me think about the fact that each and every person had their own feelings and memories and experiences and they were all just wiped out. I wonder what the hills and valleys would say if they could talk.
the future generations? Also the key word to me is “alone”.
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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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I’m not sure what the purpose is, but I feel that it was to express to the militant governor that his reservation idea was very wrong. It seems that rather than trying to convince the governor otherwise, the chief just wanted to make him aware of the very sad consequences of what he was doing.
I feel as this document is the natives way of saying that this was their land. And reminding the White man or anyone that lives in America to never forget that.
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