Chief Seattle

I think this speech was a bit heartbreaking. Chief Seattle knew that the Native Americans were out numbered and that they had no choice but to listen to the Americans and do as they were told. Chief Seattle also knew that the time had come that the Native Americans could no longer live alongside the Americans, “No, we are two separate races, and we must stay separate.” He did not expect them to show the same hospitality that the Natives showed to the first pilgrims. He saw that they had lived their time, they no longer needed all of the land since there were only a few Native Americans left; large tribes along with small tribes got nearly wiped out because of illness and/or war. He saw the benefit in moving away from the Americans and to be giving land when the Americans could have easily just taken all the land and not given the Natives anything but bloodshed. In his speech Chief Seattle really showed the love for the land that he and his people had, the respect they showed to it, and how they truly relied on it for their way of living. His only hope was that the Americans would be fair in giving them good land that would let them continue their lives peacefully, his and his peoples only condition was that they would be allowed to visit the graves of their families and friends whenever they wanted. What they got was the raw end of the deal. I like the way he gave the warning to the Americans that even if they were dead they were not gone, that the Americans would never be alone, and how he ended his speech by saying, “So let him be just and deal kindly with my people. The dead have power too.”