From Chief Seattle Speech 1854
“…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. But if we sell you our land, you must remember that the air is precious to us, that the air shares its Spirit with all life it supports. The wind that gave our grandfather his first breath also receives his last sigh. And the wind must also give our children the spirit of life. And if we sell you our land, you must keep it apart and sacred, as a place where even the white man can go to take the wind that is sweetened by the meadow's flowers.
So we will consider your offer to buy our land. If we decide to accept, I will rank one condition: The white man must treat the beasts of this land as his brothers.
I am a savage and do not understand any other way. I have seen a thousand rotting buffaloes on the prairie, left by the white man who shot them from a passing train. I am a savage and I do not understand how the smoking iron horse can be more important than the buffalo that we kill only to stay alive.
What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, men would die from a great loneliness of spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts, soon happens to man. All things are connected.
You must teach your children that the ground beneath their feet is the ashes of our grandfathers. So that they will respect the land, tell your children that the earth is rich with the lives of our kin. Teach your children what we have taught our children, that the earth is our mother. Whatever befalls the earth, befalls the sons of the earth. If men spit upon the ground they spit upon themselves.
This we know. The earth does not belong to man. man belongs to the earth. This we know. All things are connected like the blood which unites one family, All things are connected.
Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself. All things are bound together. All things connect.”
Commentary: Chief Seattle’s 1854 speech is a rare and complete articulation of the orally transmitted Native American mystical perspective. Their cultural outlook has been largely misunderstood by the West, as you see that he realizes that he is but a “savage” in their eyes. Here in this speech is a profound understanding of the Interbeing of creation that informs Native American social structure. This speech recasts the Native American culture, not as primitive, but as deeply spiritually evolved, as a precious manifestation of a civiization which was ordered by a deep understanding.
So we will consider your offer to buy our land. If we decide to accept, I will rank one condition: The white man must treat the beasts of this land as his brothers.
I am a savage and do not understand any other way. I have seen a thousand rotting buffaloes on the prairie, left by the white man who shot them from a passing train. I am a savage and I do not understand how the smoking iron horse can be more important than the buffalo that we kill only to stay alive.
What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, men would die from a great loneliness of spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts, soon happens to man. All things are connected.
You must teach your children that the ground beneath their feet is the ashes of our grandfathers. So that they will respect the land, tell your children that the earth is rich with the lives of our kin. Teach your children what we have taught our children, that the earth is our mother. Whatever befalls the earth, befalls the sons of the earth. If men spit upon the ground they spit upon themselves.
This we know. The earth does not belong to man. man belongs to the earth. This we know. All things are connected like the blood which unites one family, All things are connected.
Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself. All things are bound together. All things connect.”
Commentary: Chief Seattle’s 1854 speech is a rare and complete articulation of the orally transmitted Native American mystical perspective. Their cultural outlook has been largely misunderstood by the West, as you see that he realizes that he is but a “savage” in their eyes. Here in this speech is a profound understanding of the Interbeing of creation that informs Native American social structure. This speech recasts the Native American culture, not as primitive, but as deeply spiritually evolved, as a precious manifestation of a civiization which was ordered by a deep understanding.