THE RAINBOW WARRIORS
CHIEF SEATTLE
EARTH DAY 2002: The "IT" Factor
by LOUISE "WIND WALKS WOMAN" BARTON (Cherokee/Mohawk)
The Earth does not belong to man.
Man belongs to the Earth.
Native people, who are The Keepers of the Earth and The Keepers of the Animals, shake their heads. These Newcomers just don't get the message - or as a tribal grandfather used to say, "The wheel is spinning, but the hamster is gone!"
Today's historians and those peppering their own opinions on the Net refuse to believe an "ignorant savage" could be responsible for the wisdom and ecological foresight contained in the speech and letter credited to this legendary chief, known as Sealth, of the Duamish and Squamish tribes. They insist Seattle couldn't have known of buffalo being slaughtered 1,000 from his home in Puget Sound or of a railroad yet to come.
Most Non-Natives don't realize that while their own history encompasses little more than 2,000 years, many Native nations and tribes have an oral history which traces back 40,000 years. These "simple savages" were politicians, spiritual leaders, great orators, and ecologists long before outsiders recognized such a concept. Like Joseph of biblical fame, Native people were especially famous for their accurate, prophetic dreams.
Over time, so many people have heavily edited Chief Seattle's words that there are those who believe he should no longer be credited for his controversial speech or letter. Certainly, he would not have said, "I am a savage," since all Native people consider themselves as Wisdomkeepers of special knowledge that their conquerors did not possess.
Seattle's famous speech was delivered in his Native tongue, which was not understood by the Non-Natives present. No matter if the translation of his now-famous words are not a direct quote, for they are certainly based on his original concepts. Consider how much time is spent attempting to discredit Seattle on the Net. Now consider how much better off we'd be if that time had been devoted to saving our planet.
Just as John G. Neihardt sets forth the wisdom of an Oglala Sioux Holy Man in BLACK ELK SPEAKS, it is admittedly not Neihardt's words, but "as told through" the author. This famous book and the subsequent play simply carries on the Native message of good wisdom.
All Native people believe our Earth is an organism and everyone and everything on it is part of the same animal. They believe if we harm any living creature or plant, the whole organism suffers. Each time we kill off any creature or plant species, it is akin to amputating our own fingers or limbs. When we have done enough damage, this organism called Earth will eventually die.
In Seattle's speech, his basic message spoke of this belief that all life on this planet is a web, every strand is connected, and Homo sapiens have the technical ability to alter and destroy - or protect - the sum total and its many parts. If we, as a species, fail to heed this message, our punishment will be terrible.
This is clearly illustrated by man's intrusion into the Earth's rain forests. The terrible diseases Nature has hidden in the heart of these forests -- the fail safes to stop those who would destroy our planet, have been released and, thanks to jet travel, have emigrated around the globe.
Innocent people, residing thousands of miles from any rain forest, may now contract Ebola and there are still those who can't grasp the message. It is as if they stood on a burning deck far out to sea with someone yelling, "Fire!" These holdouts haughtily refuse to respond to the emergency since, to their minds, the wrong person has raised the alarm.
There are those on the Net who have taken a moral imbecile stance, terming Seattle's message "ecobabble." They compare Chief Seattle to Elvis and Marilyn, believing after-death notoriety eclipsed his fame in life. They are unaware that, for Native people, such wisdom passes from generation to generation, until the end of time, without need for validation by outsiders. The public would be better served if these self-anointed asked themselves, where we will live when the Earth becomes uninhabitable? When we have succeeded in killing the life chain, will we be able to eat our highly prized gold, silver, paper money, or floppy disks? Shouldn't we focus instead, not on the World Wide Web, but on the Web of Life? (continued...)
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Chief Seattle
Earth Day 2002:
The "IT" Factor
Frank Cipriani
Taylor Banaszak
Sybil Erden
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When it comes your time to die,
be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death,
so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time
to live their lives over again in a different way;
sing your death song and die like a hero going home.
Chief Tecumseh, Shawnee Nation 1768 - 1813