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Chief Seattle'S Speech

Chief Seattle, leader of the Suquamish and Duwamish tribes, delivered a powerful speech addressing the American Colonists' offer to buy native land. He emphasized the importance of nature, the destructive consequences of war, and the spiritual connection his people have to their land and ancestors. Seattle's speech serves as a moral appeal to respect the environment and the rights of indigenous peoples.

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Manas Khosla
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118 views1 page

Chief Seattle'S Speech

Chief Seattle, leader of the Suquamish and Duwamish tribes, delivered a powerful speech addressing the American Colonists' offer to buy native land. He emphasized the importance of nature, the destructive consequences of war, and the spiritual connection his people have to their land and ancestors. Seattle's speech serves as a moral appeal to respect the environment and the rights of indigenous peoples.

Uploaded by

Manas Khosla
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

CHIEF SEATTLE’S SPEECH

Summary

Chief Seattle was an important figure in the early American History. He was the chief of the
Suquamish and Duwamish tribes, fighting for the rights of his native people in the face of
American Colonists.

This famous speech was given by him when the American Colonists aggressively offered to
buy the native land of his tribe and in return offered them the right to live there. His speech
has been described as one of the most beautiful and moralistic words on the environment's
value. In his speech, he stresses upon the importance of Nature and the need to respect it.
He makes use of satire while describing the offer from the Great Chief of Washington. He
says, that it is the benevolence of the Great Chief to offer their friendship, as the Americans
are much powerful than the Red Indians who were once great, but now reduced to a handful.
He reminds that the wars are destructive and they harm both, humans and nature. So they
should be avoided. He also mentions that the God of the Whites is partial and He only
protects them and not the Red Indians. He also points out at the difference of origin of both
the races. Seattle very emotionally emphasizes on the holiness of the ashes of their
ancestors, thus their land is very precious to them. Therefore, accepting the proposal of
acquisition of land from the Governor of Washington, he makes a request to grant them
permission to visit the land which contains the ashes of their forefathers. Concluding his
speech he says that, the Red Indians have such a strong attachment with their land that
even after the death of the Red Indians, their spirits will never leave the land and thus,
makes an appeal to the Whites to treat their land sympathetically as the dead people have
the power to change the world.

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