I think that I recall hearing that this letter was created by a fairly
modern writer rather than from Chief Seattle.
James Michael Craven wrote:
Letter from Chief Sealth to President Franklin Pierce--1855
" The Great Chief in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our
land. How can you buy or sell the sky--the warmth of the land. The
idea is strange to us. Yet we do not own the freshness of the air or
the sparkle of the water. How can you buy them from us. Every part of
this earth is sacred to my people.
We know that the White Man does not understand our ways. One portion
of the land is the same to him as the next, for he is a stranger who
comes in the night and takes from the land whatever he needs. The
earth is not his brother but his enemy, and when he has conquered it
he moves on. He leaves his father's graves and his children's
birthright is forgotten.
There is no quiet place in the White Man's cities. No place to hear
the leaves of spring or the rustle of insect wings. But perhaps
because I am savage and do not understand--the clatter only seems to
insult the ears. And what is there to life if a man[sic] cannot hear
the lonely cry of the whipoorwill or the arguments of a frog around
the pond at night.
The Whites too, shall pass--perhaps sooner than other tribes.
Continue to contaminate your bed and you will one night suffocate in
your own waste. When the buffalo are all slaughtered, the wild horses
tamed, the secret corners of the forest heavy with the scent of many
men, and the view of the ripe hills blotted by talking wires. Where
is the thicket. Gone. Where is the eagle. Gone. And what is it to say
goodbye to the swift and the hunt. The end of living and the
beginning of survival. "
Chief Sealth 1855
*--*
* James Craven * " For those who have fought for it, *
* Dept of Economics* freedom has a taste the protected *
* Clark College* will never know." *
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--
Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
Chico, CA 95929
Tel. 916-898-5321
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