A simple Philosophy (Cheif Seathel) Contemporary English

THE LETTER OF CHIEF SEATHL OF THE SUWAMISH TRIBE

To the President, Franklin Pierce, 1854

The Great Chief in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land. The Great Chief also sends us words of friendship and good will. This is kind of him, since we know he has little need of our friendship in return. But we will consider your offer. For we know that if we do not sell, the white man may come with guns and take our land. How can you buy or sell the sky, the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us. If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them? Every part of this earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every clearing, and every humming insect is holy in the memory and experience of my people. The sap which courses through the trees carries the memories of the red man. So, when the Great Chief in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land, he asks much of us... 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. But we will consider your offer to go to the reservation you have for my people. We will live apart, and in peace. It matters little where we spend the rest of our days. Our children have seen their fathers humbled in defeat. Our warriors have felt shame, and after defeat they turn their days in idleness and contaminate their bodies with sweet foods and strong drinks. It matters little where we spend the rest of our days. They are not many. A few more hours, a few more winters, and none of the great tribes that once lived on this earth or that roam now in small bands in the woods will be left to mourn the graves of a people once as powerful and hopeful as yours. But why should I mourn the passing of my people: Tribes are made of men, nothing more. Men come and go, like the waves of the sea. Even the white man, whose God walks and talks with him as friend to friend, cannot be exempt from the common destiny. One thing we know, which the white man may one day discover­ our God is the same God. You may think now that you own Him as you wish to own our land; but you cannot. He is the God of man; and his compassion is equal for the red man and the white. This earth is precious to Him and to harm the earth is to heap contempt on its Creator. The whites too shall pass; perhaps sooner than all other tribes. Continue to contaminate your bed, and you will one night suffocate in your own waste. But in your perishing you will shine brightly, fired by the strength of the God who brought you to this land and for some special purpose gave you dominion over this land and over the red man. That destiny is a mystery to us, for we do not understand when the buffalo are all slaughered, the wild horses are all tamed, 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 pony and the hunt? The end of living and the beginning of survival. So we will consider your offer to buy the land. If we agree, it will be to secure the reservation you have promised. There, perhaps, we may live out our brief days as we wish. When the last red man has vanished from this earth, and his memory is only the shadow of a cloud moving across the prairie, these shores and forests will still hold the spirits of my people. For they love this earth as a new­ borne loves its mother's heartbeat. So, if we sell our land, love it as we've loved it. Care for it as we've cared for it. Hold in your mind the memory of the land as it is when you take it. And with all your strength, with all your mind, with all your heart, preserve it for your children, and love it...as God loves us all. One thing we know, Our God is the same God. This earth is precious to him. Even the white man cannot be exempt from the common destiny. We may be brothers after all. We shall see...

1.      Who is the ‘Great Chief in Washington? Why does Chief Seathl address him in this way?

President Franklin Pierce of the United States is the Great Chief in Washington. Seathl addresses Franklin in this way because he wants to show the smallness of the great chief. He is sarcastic of the people of America who are bent upon disturbing Nature’s balance.

2.      What offer does the President of the United States make to Seathl?

President Franklin Pierce of the United States wishes to buy the land belonging to the Red Indian people.

3.      Why is the Chief puzzled about someone ‘buying’ land?

Red Indian Chief Seathl is puzzled at the very idea of buying land. Every part of the earth is sacred, holy and precious to them. Moreover, they are not the owners of the land. God alone is its owner. So, the idea of buying land is new to him.

4.      What are the ways of the white man that Chief Seathl does not understand?

The Red Indian Chief Seathl does not understand the white man’s unlimited hunger for earth. The white man lacks all fine emotions. He treats the earth as his enemy. Seathl does not appreciate this view.

5.      What do ‘fathers’ graves’ and children’s birthright’ represent?

‘fathers’ graves’ stands for the graves which contain the fore-fathers of the white man. They want to demolish (destroy, rksM+uk) those graves for their expansion programmes. They are equally insensitive to their children’s future. They are destroying their ‘children’s birthright’ to live in a beautiful world. If they spoil nature’s balance, how will their children enjoy their life? They will leave their children a barren and colourless earth.

6.      What does Chief Seathl mean by the word ‘savage’? Why does he use the word here?

The Red Indian Chief uses the word’ savage’ ironically. The white man calls the Red Indian race uncultured, uncivilized and unrefined. The Red Indians are savages from their point of view. The Red Indians, in turn call the whites savages because they don’t have fine human feelings towards Nature, the forefathers and the children’s future. Throughout his letter, he condemns the white man’s excessive hunger for land.

7.      What does Chief Seathl mean by saying, ‘All things are connected?’

Seathl makes a profound (meaningful) statement. All things – men, birds, beasts, trees etc. are made by the same God. Loss of one category is the loss of others. Their joys and sorrows are inter-dependent. Loneliness will kill us if all birds, beasts and objects of Nature were destroyed. So, he is right when he says that all things, living and non-living are inter-connected.

8.      Why will the white man also pass away, according to Chief Seathl?

Seathl feels that the same God has given life to all creatures. There is essential oneness amongst all men, birds, and beasts. If the white man slaughters all birds and beasts, tame the living animals, then he will meet the same fate one day. He cannot live in peace in a world where there is no other species. He warns the white man to leave his mad lust for land otherwise he will be wiped out from the face of the earth.

9.      Why does the Chief surrender?

The Chief says that the redmen will agree to sell their land only to secure the reservation the government has promised them. They have no other reason to sell their land.

10.  What is the Chief’s message or advice to the new owners of America?

The Chief advises the new owners of America to preserve the land, to love it, to respect it, to maintain its beauty, and to treat it as their mother and brother. He tells them to keep the land’s beauty for the sake of their children’s happiness. He tells them to remember that God lives in all the objects – men, birds, and beasts.

11.  Chief Seathl uses the phrase ‘Our God is the same God’ in two places. Where? What does the phrase means?

The Red Indian Seathl uses the phrase ‘Our God is the same God’ in paragraph seven and in paragraph eight. The phrase means that God has made all men, birds, beasts equal. Man has no right to kill animals and birds. The white man has no right to dismiss redmen as savages. The earth is dear to God. Those who disturb earth’s balance and beauty are God’s enemies. Those who love God, never disturb Nature’s balance. They never kill birds, beasts and men. The phrase establishes that men are equal. No man is better than the other. Seathl repeats the phrase to impress upon the white man that they are no way superior to redmen. If they destroy Nature’s and her creatures, they will themselves be wiped out one day. The phrase is a warning, a message, and an advice for the white man.