Chief Seattle's Speech to Governor Stevens

This was a very sad speech. It had the feeling like something really really special was coming to an end, and there was no way to stop it. He has some very wise words to say even amidst this sad speech. While the young men viewed war based on revenge as gain, while losing their own lives, the elders and families that are left behind to pick up the pieces know better than that. Especially this small tribe who puts value in every member. He also had a good point of how the white man’s god is not the same as theirs since the white man’s god loves them, but hates the red man. If this god loved the red man he would actually protect them. And then he goes into this whole analogy of the red men’s spirits walking the earth, while the white men are going about their day in the same place the red men used to be. They feel so connected to this earth and to their ancestors that they believe that these spirits will roam this earth forever. So even though the white men may be taking their land away from them, they won’t be getting rid of the red men since their spirits will be there. And this sad speech ends with almost a threat when Chief Seattle claims “The dead have power too.” How powerful is that. He is not lying down and say “take our land” and that’s it. He is saying “you will take our land because we have no choice, but we will be powerful when dead and come back to be destructive”