We call him Chief Seattle because his true name "Seealth" is nearly unpronouncable in english.
Would I but dare to say Chief Seattle was a great man?
Of this I have no doubt. The words of his that have been preserved are both eloquent and most likely altered. The Speech of 1854 during the end of treaty negotiations has several forms. This version, CHIEF SEATTLE - THE SPEECH" */ Comes from the Seattle Sunday Star, published Oct 29, 1887. Suquamish Tribe This is the version kept on file by the Suquamish Tribe in Suquamish Washington, which is said to be from the same Seattle newspaper article.
What I consider important here, and what I am leading up to, is that to me the exact words are not as important as what was actually said. The intention. One can squabble over who actually said what and miss the whole message! A message that is still valid today!
Scroll to the bottom of this blog to the very first posted image. Lacamas lake. The last naturally wooded section of what is called "Prune Hill" (In Camas Washington) which drops down to the shores of this lake is currently under attack by buldozers and developers who do not understand concepts such as something this once great Native Chief would have said. I guess we all know every town that is situated across state lines from a big city in a state with a much higher property tax rate, that the growth of neighborhoods filled with half million dollar homes, and privately owned views, is inevitable. And I must be please when some small piece is developed and saved for us not so fortunate to enjoy, such as the Heritage trail.
This is part of a letter Chief Seattle wrote to President Franklin Pierce in 1855:
The Great Chief in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land. . . . But we will consider your offer, for we know if we do not . . . the white man may come with guns and take our lands. . . . 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. . . . Every part of this earth is sacred to my people. . . . When the buffaloes are all slaughtered, the wild horses all tamed, the secret corners of the forest heavy with the scent of many men, and the views of the ripe hills blotted by talking wires, where is the thicket? Gone. Where is the eagle? Gone.
And so it goes. Today we fight when we can, and learn to cope with the inevitable.
