As the United States sought to expand its territory ever westward in accordance with the country’s belief in Manifest Destiny, the Native American tribes disrupted had but two options: fight a futile resistance or accept their disconsolate fate. While some chiefs formed uprisings resulting in much causality for the Indigenous people, others called for the end of hostilities with the government in Washington. Seattle, a Squamish and Duwamish chief, delivered a speech in 1847 that embraced the latter. In this oration, Seattle expresses his acceptance of what he considers to be his people’s preordained destiny, while also reminding the usurpers of the American West of the responsibility towards the land they now control. In doing so, Chief Seattle
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In some cases, these serve to instill in the listener a sense of respect for the land that the Native people once covered “as the waves of a wind-ruffled sea cover its shell-paved floor” (par. 3). In others, they are used to establish credibility for Seattle; he claims that his words “are like stars that never change” and that whatever he says “the great chief in Washington can rely upon (…)” (par. 2). The most important use of these devices is, however, is for Seattle to concede that his ancestor’s claim on the lands of America have eroded in the time since the first Europeans landed on the continent. He emphasizes that his people are few “like the scattering trees of a storm swept plain” (par. 2) and that “The Red Man has ever fled the approach of the White Man, as the morning mist flees before the morning sun” (par. 8). Seattle’s intent here is diplomatic; he makes peace with a powerful foe by acknowledging that his people have never been a threat to the “White Man” at all. After all, he states that “day and night cannot dwell together” (par. 8), so fighting is ultimately in vain. This masterful use of figurative language is one of the axes that Seattle’s musings revolve around. The execution makes his stance clear: this land has been inherited and enveloped by the spirit of the American Manifest
In some cases, these serve to instill in the listener a sense of respect for the land that the Native people once covered “as the waves of a wind-ruffled sea cover its shell-paved floor” (par. 3). In others, they are used to establish credibility for Seattle; he claims that his words “are like stars that never change” and that whatever he says “the great chief in Washington can rely upon (…)” (par. 2). The most important use of these devices is, however, is for Seattle to concede that his ancestor’s claim on the lands of America have eroded in the time since the first Europeans landed on the continent. He emphasizes that his people are few “like the scattering trees of a storm swept plain” (par. 2) and that “The Red Man has ever fled the approach of the White Man, as the morning mist flees before the morning sun” (par. 8). Seattle’s intent here is diplomatic; he makes peace with a powerful foe by acknowledging that his people have never been a threat to the “White Man” at all. After all, he states that “day and night cannot dwell together” (par. 8), so fighting is ultimately in vain. This masterful use of figurative language is one of the axes that Seattle’s musings revolve around. The execution makes his stance clear: this land has been inherited and enveloped by the spirit of the American Manifest