Luther Standing Bear is very clear in showing that he and his people are respectful of nature. He believes that every living thing has right, especially the animals. He specifically states that animals have " the right of man's protection, the right to live, the right to multiply, the right to freedom, and the right to man's indebtedness." One of the main themes that is present in the majority of the quotes from Luther Standing Bear is that man must be respectful of nature because all forms of life were created by the same "Great Mystery."
Similarly the Chief Seattle speech talks about the same ideas. Chief Seattle points out the he and his people respect the land. His reason for this is slightly different. Chief Seattle's people honor the dead and as a result of this the land that they once inhabited is very sacred to them. They honor the land because of the memories they have had there, good or bad. They also love the land of their "nativity." Chief Seattle says that the dead will return to their native lands, which in turn is another reason to be respectful of the land. "To us the ashes of our ancestors are sacred and their resting place is hallowed ground."
Chief Seattle's speech talks mainly about how his people are dying and will soon no longer exist, but he makes remarks about how his people are respectful of the land. He warns that the dead are not powerless.
As I have noted in the previous post, much controversy surrounds the authenticity of Chief Seattle's speech. After reading this article I found another article commenting on the validity of this speech. The author of the speech, Henry A. Smith gives a place where he encountered Chief Seattle and recorded this entry. The controversy starts here. When was this speech actually given? Was Smith even present when the speech was given? Arnold Krupat investigates the validity of Smiths summary of Chief Seattle's speech. Krupat talks about the discourse in dates and gives reason why he thinks the speech was given in January, and also notes that he thinks Smith supplemented the speech with information that he had heard was said at the Point Elliot talks. This is just one of many discourses in the speech and Krupat investigates many of them. Smith says "they gave him a demonstrative reception in front of Dr. Maynard’s office, near the waterfront on Main Street." This alone tells the reader the origin of the speech. After reading Krupat's article it is clear to me that Smith identified with Chief Seattle in the sense that he felt his "middle class" was going to die out just as Chief Seattle thought the same about his people. The authenticity of Chief Seattle's speech is only slightly altered by the fact that it is more of a summary of multiple speeches supplemented by imagery from Smith.
Arnold Krupat writes the he thinks the speech was real, however it should be noted that there are numerous people who disagree completely. Krupat notes distinct facts from the summary by Smith that, in his opinion, proves the authenticity. Krupat has many arguments and reasons why he thinks this speech is authentic, regardless of the different versions of the speech that have been published. I feel that Krupat gives me reason to believe this speech is authentic.
