How Can You Buy Or Sell The Sky?

Short extract from speech by Chief Seattle, chief of the Suquamish and other Native American Indian tribes when forced to sell their lands around Puget Sound, Washington, USA

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.

Location

Indian Tribal Lands, Puget Sound, Washington State, United States.

Requester's preferences

Preferably read by a Native American Indian looking over their tribal lands. A separate translation/ reading into the original language would be a wonderful addition.

Requested by

RuralBloke57

Keywords

chief seattle, suquamish, puget sound

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