clipped from: ncseonline.org   

In 1854, the “Great White Chief” in Washington made an offer for a large area of Indian land and promised a ‘reservation’ for the Indian people. Chief Seattle’s reply, here in full, has been described as the most beautiful and profound statement on the environment ever made.—Kyle Martin

This Earth is Precious

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?

All Sacred

Every part of this earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the woods, every clearing and humming insect is holy in the memory and experience of my people.

Not Easy

So, when the Great Chief in Washington send word that he wishes to buy our land, he asks much of us.

This We Know

The earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth. This we know.

Where is the thicket? Gone.

Where is the eagle? Gone.

The end of living and the beginning of survival.