Subject: ** Chief Seattle : Sealth's Address ** ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Comments: I've packaged a commentary on the Chief Seattle issue by Joe Colwell from the Dixie National Forest (R04F07D05A), along with a version of Sealth's Address (pp.1,2). I also took another version of the address and commentary from a recent DI-GO-HWEL edition (pp.3-4). The two are similar--but do differ somewhat (it happens with historical accounts that are recorded differently and remembered differently by various observers). The message from both is similar (at least to me) and quite different in important ways from the popular version. Enjoy. Dve. PS.. For those who want the entire 6 pages of the DI-GO-HWEL, Native American Indian News 2/28/92, drop me a DG note and I'll forward it. -------========X========------- Eco-Watch 3/5/92 SOME THOUGHTS ON THE RECENT CHIEF SEATTLE EPISODE Joseph Colwell Much has been made recently of the fictionalized quote of Chief Seattle. I fear some have missed the point. There is a question why we are eager to believe something that is in error. The words as attributed to a person may be in error, but not the thought. I fear a rising fight by the dinosaurs of this agency to discredit those who are embracing New Perspectives and all it stands for. One thing it stands for is the foundation of land stewardship. That is respect for the land itself: the realization, and full understanding, that we are a humble part of the whole. Like it or not, this implies we must follow rules that are far beyond our power to control. Maybe we feel lessened by the fact we do not have the right to do what we have done in the last century. The power to harness nature?--maybe. The right?--that is the heart of the argument. The native Americans understood the issue of right. That is emerging now in our search to understand our role in "management" of nature. Those that choose to fight this by denial of such issues an native American religion or philosophy, or by cries of economics or jobs or whatever other form of Manifest Destiny are as doomed as the dinosaur. Unfortunately, this attitude will pull us all down, since we are tied to Mother Earth and her response to our treatment of her. I am not arguing that we revert to some form of druidism, neglecting the realities of our modern predicament. I am saying that there is much written on the philosophies of the original American inhabitants. They were certainly not perfect and we need not make the mistake of Rousseau. We do need to carefully consider the fact that some of their leaders tried to leave us a message of how we as a species fit in with all other species. Don't kill the messenger. Maybe the words attributed to Chief Seattle were made up. The ideas behind them are not. They are real and they offer a viewpoint that we cannot ignore. They understood the concept of land stewardship. We must carry on some form of their tradition. Modify it if we must, but be aware of the consequences. To set the record straight, I found one quotation from Chief Seattle. It is in a wonderful book, Touch the Earth, I have used quotes from for years. There are dozens of eloquent statements by native Americans that say much of the same thing. I highly recommend this book for anyone concerned about advice given by our predecessors. "Chief Seattle surrendered his land, on which the city of Seattle is now located, in 1856 and thereby doomed his people to reservation confinement. Seattle was an Indian of Salishan stock, and was chief of the Dwamish tribe of the Pacific Northwest, occupants of the Puget Sound Region. At the signing of the treaty, he addressed Governor Isaac Stevens. 'My people are few. They resemble the scattering trees of a storm swept plain...There was a time when our people covered the land as the waves of a wind-ruffled sea cover its shell paved-floor, but that time long since passed away with the greatness of tribes that are now but a mournful memory... 'To us the ashes of our ancestors are sacred and their resting place is hallowed ground. You wander far from the graves of your ancestors and seemingly without regret. Your religion was written on tables of stone by the iron finger of your God so that you could not forget. The Red Man could never comprehend nor remember it. Our religion is the traditions of our ancestors--the dreams of our old men, given them in the solemn hours of night by the Great Spirit; and the visions of our sachems, and is written in the hearts of our people. 'Your dead cease to love you and the land of their nativity as soon as they pass the portals of the tomb and wander away beyond the stars. They are soon forgotten and never return. Our dead never forget the beautiful world that gave them being... 'When the last Red Man shall have perished, and the memory of my tribe shall have become a myth among the white man, these shores will swarm with the invisible dead of my tribe, and when your childrens' children think themselves alone in the field, the store, the shop, or in the silence of the pathless woods, they will not be alone...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. 'Let him be just and deal kindly with my people, for the dead are not powerless. Dead--I say? There is no death. Only a change of worlds.'" _____________________________________________ An unauthorized quote from "Touch the Earth", a Self Portrait of Indian Existence, compiled by T.C. McLuhan, Outerbridge and Dienstfrey, 1971. This book is quotations from Native Americans dealing with their land ethic/religion/philosophy. I would assume these are accurate quotes, since they do give sources. DI-GO-HWEL Native American Indian News February 28, 1992 page 1 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<+>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>> CHIEF SEATTLE'S REAL SPEECH A couple editions ago, we ran an article in this newsletter that clarified the "Chief Seattle Hoax." Through the valued help of our friends, we have obtained a translation of the original talk spoken by Se?al. Amelia Sneatlum, a Susquamish tribal elder, recalled the chief's words. Her original recitation of the speech was given in Lipshoot and translated into Chinook Jargon, a trade language used widespread through out the Northwest. The Jargon was then eventually translated into English in the form that follows. Submitted by Rick McClure, GPNF SEALTH'S ADDRESS At a Reception For Governor Stevens at Seattle, 1854 Seattle's Speech Quoted By Amelia Sneatlum, Suquamish Elder This is what Seahth said when they were having the treaty at Mukilteo, what he said here. "You folks observe the changers who have come to this land. And our progeny will watch and learn from them now, those who will come after us, our children. And they will become just like, just the same as the changers who have come here to us on this land. You folks observe them well. "Your religion was written on tablets of stone by the iron finger of an angry God, lest you forget. The red man could never comprehend nor remember it. Our religion is the tradition of our ancestors, the dreams of our old men, given to them in the solemn hours of the night by the great spirit and the visions of our leaders, and it is written in the hearts of our people. "Your dead cease to love you and the land of their nativity as soon as they pass the portals of the tomb; they wander far away beyond the stars and are soon forgotten and never return. "Our dead never forget this beautiful world that gave them being. They always love its winding rivers, its sacred mountains, and its sequestered vales, and they ever yearn in tenderest affection over the lonely-hearted living and often return to visit, guide and comfort them. "We will ponder your proposition, and when we decide we will tell you. But should we accept it, I here and now make this the first condition that we will not be denied the privilege, without molestation, of visiting at will the graves where we have buried our ancestors, our friends and children. "Every part of this country is sacred to my people. Every hillside, every valley, every plain and grove has been hallowed by some fond memory or some sad experience of my tribe. Even the rocks which seem to lie dumb as they swelter in the sun along the silent seashore in solemn grandeur, thrill with memories of past events connected with the lives of my people. "And when the last red man shall have perished from the earth and his memory among the white men shall have become a myth, these shores will swarm with the invisible dead of my tribe; and when your children's children shall think themselves alone in the fields, the store, the shop, upon the highway, or in the silence of the pathless woods, they will not be alone. "At night when the streets of your cities and villages will be silent and you think them deserted, they will throng with returning hosts that once filled and still love this beautiful land. "The white man will never be alone. Let him be just and deal with my people, for the dead are not powerless. Dead, did I say? There is no death, only a change of worlds." ANCIENT PERSPECTIVES by the editor In this consumer-based society that now dominates our world, we are nowadays reminded about how finite "natural resources" are. Not too long ago, there was universal sentiment that everything would last forever. And that trees, water and clean air was something we could always find more of. From the times of long past, times of our grandfathers and our great grandfathers, we barely remember what they had to say to us about these things. We hear much today about "New Perspectives" and improved forestry practices. We are very leary of such things because of the track record. We see these things as new and different ways to get at the "commodities" and "targets." It seems that we need to look not at "New Perspectives" but Ancient perspectives. Our grandfathers still speak to us. And we still hear them as voices from the past. They were wise. They were teachers. They stood up for what they believed in and said it no matter the consequences. They spoke for our mother, the Earth. They were concerned for her and for us, their decendents. It seems as though they speak to us now about those "Ancient Perspectives" and caution us about what we are doing. I am concerned about our world...not for myself but for Her and for our children and their children who are to come. This is the heart of our grandfathers. This is that "Ancient Perspective": to hear with the heart and act from the heart in all that we do to the Earth and to one another.