Graded In-Class Writing

When examining the speech "The Living Spirit of the Indian" by Luther Standing Bear, one can pick up on the theme of Indians verses Europeans in relation to ruling the land. He says that the white men are "too far removed from [Earth's] formative processes," so how can they have any say in the ruling of the land? Standing Bear points out that the Indians are and have always been deeply rooted in the Earth and all of its processes; they are the most in tune with the spirit of nature, so they should ultimately be there rulers instead of those of European descent.

Similarly, the speech supposedly given by Chief Seattle also depicts a theme of Indians verses Europeans; however, this theme of this piece compares the religions of the Indians and the Europeans, rather than land ownership. In this speech, Chief Seattle talks about how the European people's God has no interest in helping the Indians and He only cares about the interests of his "pale-faced children" as opposed to his "Red children." Chief Seattle goes on to say that since the European's God never cared for them, that they are of two completely separate and distinct origins. He goes on to list all of the blatant differences between the two cultures, such as how the Indians always stay near their buried ancestors while Europeans move away from them, or how their religion is based on their ancestors while the European’s religion is based on God’s law.

The controversy centered on Chief Seattle’s speech deals with the actual originator of the speech. According to the article, “Chief Seattle's Speech Revisited,” by Arnold Krupat, there are several reasons why Chief Seattle could not have given this speech as recorded by Henry Smith. One of the biggest reasons is because there is no record of Smith ever being present at the time Chief Seattle supposedly gave this speech. Another reason is because in two separate events, Smith describes Chief Seattle’s physical appearance in two radically different ways. According to Krupat, Smith described Seattle as “was the largest Indian I ever saw, and by far the noblest looking. He stood nearly six feet in his moccasins, was broad shouldered, deep chested and finely proportioned (Krupat np).” Another writer about 4 years later describes ‘"Seattle was short and heavy, weighing as much as 180 pounds. He was round-shouldered. . . . His face was refined and benevolent but not particularly strong.” (Krupat np)’ These are obiviously two completely different descriptions of supposedly the same person so this evidence, in addition to the lack of records confirming Smith’s attendance at Chief Seattle’s speech shows how Chief Seattle may not be the true author of the speech.

Krupat, Arnold. "Chief Seattle's Speech Revisited." The American Indian Quarterly 35.2 (2011): 192-214. Project MUSE. Web. 30 Mar. 2011. <http://muse.jhu.edu/>.