NEXT UP! 2 188 Chief Seattle’s letter Throughout history, millions of people have lost their homes and been displaced. Many people feel connected with the land they call home, and to lose this can cause great grief. From the time Europeans first came to North America to the beginning of the 20th century, Native Americans have lost most of their land. In 1855, a Native American leader, Chief Seattle, allegedly wrote a letter to the American President, Franklin Pierce, when the authorities wanted to buy his tribe’s land. 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. 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 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. The white man’s dead forget the country of their birth when they go to walk among the stars. Our dead never forget this beautiful earth, for it is the mother of the red man. We are part of the earth and it is part of us. The perfumed flowers are our sisters; the deer, the horse, the great eagle, these are our brothers. The rocky crests, the juices in the meadows, the body heat of the pony, and man all belong to the same family. So, when the Great Chief in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land, he asks much of us. […] Before reading Do you feel connected with the place you come from? How do you feel about your home, the place you live and the country you live in or come from? displaced – hrakinn allegedly – að sögn a sparkle – glampi sacred – heilagt a pine needle – furunál mist – þoka a clearing – rjóður sap – plöntusafi to course – renna a rocky crest – grýttur fjallakambur a meadow – engi Chief Seattle (1786–1866), Suquamish Native American chief. Oil over a photograph.
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