Module II – Sustainable Environment
THE END OF LIVING - THE BEGINNING OF SURVIVAL
Chief Seattle
Introduction
Chief Seattle (c 1780—June 7, 1866) was chief of Duwamish tribe of the Native Americans in western Washington and metropolitan Seattle. In 1854, the government of the United States of America made an offer for a large area of Indian land and promised a ‘reservation’ for the Indian people. Chief Seattle's reply to the proposal—the prose passage named ‘The End of Living and the Beginning of Survival’—remains a most beautiful and profound statement on environment and related issues. There is a great deal of controversy surrounding the speech of 1854. There are many conflicting pieces of information, various versions of the speech, different dates, and debates over its very existence.
Summary
This is an inspiring speech delivered by Chief Seattle, a Native American leader, as a response to an offer made by the President of the United States to buy their land. He feels and argues that it is impossible to buy or sell natural resources like air, water, and land because we do not own them. They are a gift. He says that every part of the earth is sacred to him and his people; they are a part of the earth and the earth is a part of them. Even the souls of the Native Americans do not leave their land. Instead, they make it their permanent residence, unlike in the belief systems of mainstream religions. In short, the earth is not an inanimate tract of land, but a living presence to be treated with love, care, respect, and fear. But the worldview of white men is entirely different. For them, it is an object to be tamed, conquered, and exploited to the full, until it ceases to be useful. For Native Americans, on the contrary, all-natural phenomena are their own siblings. It is true that the President has promised to take care of them like a father. He has also promised to give them a special area where they can continue living with all their rites, rituals and other cultural practices. But still, the sale is going to be difficult as the pangs of parting with such a dear and sacred place are excruciating. The Chief suggests some conditions. If at all the transaction takes place, white men should remember that land is sacred and inviolable. They should also teach their children the same. The Chief wants white men to treat rivers and beasts as their own brothers, not to be seen through a utilitarian perspective. They have seen white men pollute rivers and shoot animals for the sake of fun. The reality is that every object in nature is connected to each other. Whatever happens to animals and land will happen to us sooner or later. No one can escape this fate. The earth does not belong to us but we belong to the earth and all are bonded like family members. For his people, the din, frenzy and chaos of modern cities are a painful sight. The simple pleasures of nature are more precious and more important than anything else. They treat rain, wind, and land as living organisms just like humans. Unfortunately, the white man has neither the sense nor the sensibility to feel the pulse of nature. Chief Seattle ironically and sarcastically adds that perhaps the problem is with himself and his people—they are uneducated, uncultured and uncivilized!
The holistic vision of the speech is reiterated at the end within a theological framework. There is only one God and He does not discriminate between peoples. White or red, human beings are equal in His eyes. The earth is precious to Him and to harm the earth is to heap contempt on the creator. Destiny is a mystery to the Native Americans too, but they do realize that the changed environment marks the end of living and the beginning of survival.

Comments
It should be noted that from the 1860s to the 1930s, under the Federal Homestead Act, the American government allocated at low or no cost some 246 million acres of land of Native Americans for farm homesteads to about 1.5 million people, almost entirely from the white population. One can argue that animism—the belief that non-human entities have also souls—informs the speech though it is believed that the Chief embraced Roman Catholicism in 1848.
It is obvious that the beliefs of people almost directly impact their attitude to nature and other peoples. For example, sacred groves in India remain miniature forests not because people are alive to the dangers of deforestation and its accompanying evils but simply they do not want to incur the wrath of irascible snake gods! Whatever be the underpinning belief system, the net result is desirable: at least some parts of the land remain intact. Similar is the case of animals. Practically all religious groups consider certain animals holy or satanic. Irrespective of the attitudes, the final result is that these animals are shunned from habitats and carefully kept away from culinary habits. The speech raises some interesting questions that deserve deep contemplation. For example, it problematizes anthropocentric philosophies and theologies. Have we, the humans, been divinely authorized to dominate the earth and all other organisms? Predictably, we cannot come up with a tailor-made answer. Attitudes vary (often so subtly that we cannot tell one from the other) from culture to culture, from religion to religion. The Biblical god vests come privileges on mankind: “. . . have dominion over the fish and the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” How far is it logical to say that this view has permeated the gamut of western weltanschauung? On the other hand, in India many animals are closely associated with deities, as vehicles, servants or symbols. In Vedic literature, Dawn, a female deity, rides a chariot drawn by seven cows and the cow is treated as holy by many sects. The donkey is the vehicle of Shitala Devi, the goddess who is invoked to ward off smallpox, even as her anger can bring it on. Are we to understand that these animals are revered and feared because of their association with divine figures? Are Indians any better than westerners in treating animals?
Exercises
I. Answer the following questions
1. In which year did Chief Seattle make the address titled the End of Living and the beginning of survival?
a) 1866      b) 1854     c) 1887     d) 1845
Ans: 1854
2. In which language did Chief Seattle make his speech?
a) French   b) English     c) Lushootseed     d) Spanish
Ans: Lushootseed
3. Whose translation of Chief Seattle’s speech was published in Seattle Sunday star in 1887?
Ans: Henri A Smith
4. Whom does Chief Seattle mean by the great chief in Washington?
Ans: Great chief refers to the father of Chief Seattle
5. What does Seattle mean by the smoking iron horse?
Ans: The smoking iron horse refers to the train
6. To which tribe did Chief Seattle belong?
Ans: Suquamish tribe
II. Answer the following questions in a sentence or two:
1. Why does Chief Seattle say that buying or selling the land is strange to Native Americans?
Seattle says that buying their land will not be easy for the Great Chief in Washington, because this land is sacred to them. The shining water in the streams and rivers is the blood of their ancestors
2. What are the different attitudes of the whites and native Americans to the country of their birth?
The white treats his mother, the earth, and his brother, the sky as things to be bought, plundered sold like sheep or bright beads. But for Americans the country of their earth is sacred.
3. What does Seattle say about the cities of the white man?
The cities of the white man are full of din, frenzy, and chaos, and the sight of these cities pains their eyes.
4. What does the Native American see the rivers and the earth?
He says that every part of the earth is sacred to him and his people; they are a part of the earth and the earth is a part of them. For them rivers are brothers who quench their thirst.
5. What does Seattle want the white man to teach their children?
Seattle wants the white men to teach their children that the land is sacred and that each ghostly reflection in the clear water of the lakes tells of events and memories in the life of his people. The water's murmur is the voice of his father's father.
6. What is the difference between living and surviving?
Living is a meaningful existence with many activities including hopes for a bright future whereas survival is the bare minimum mode of existence in which a being struggles to remain alive somehow.
7.  Explain the sarcasm in the words of Seattle when he says’ I am a savage and do not understand,            
When Seattle says that he is a savage, he means that the Whiteman is a savage and he does not understand the sacred earth, trees, rivers, sky, and the beasts and birds, there is no quiet place in the Whiteman’s cities. He does not seem to notice the air he breathes, and like a man dying for many days, he is numb to the stench.
8. What will happen to man if all the beats are gone/
If all the beasts are gone man would die from a great loneliness of spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts, soon happens to man.
9. How does the Indian look upon water
According to them each ghostly reflection in the clear water of the lakes tells of events and memories in the life of their people. The water’s murmur is the voice of their fathers father.
10. What are the conditions laid by Seattle to sell his land to the great chief
The Great Chief must keep the land apart and sacred, as a place where the white man can go taste the wind. The Whiteman must treat the beasts of this land as his brothers. He must teach his children that the earth is the Redman’s mother
I. Answer the following questions in a paragraph
1. The different approaches of the Whites and the Native Americans to the environment
The speech of Seattle brings out the two world views on environment which are diametrically opposed to each other. The White settler is a representative of western outlook on environment which places man above everything. It is the anthropocentric or human-centered concept of ecology. According to this theory, living beings and nonliving exist for the sake of man. In other words, it is the concept of shallow ecology that the white hold on to. On the other hand, the Red Indian speaks through the author. Seattle strongly advocates the theory of all-inclusiveness or the concept of Deep Ecology. He says, "For whatever happens to the beasts, soon happens to man. All things are connected". He asks the white settlers to teach their children that the earth is our mother. Again, "the earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth...... all things are connected". This is a direct and convincing affirmation that both the Redman and the White man are the son s of God. Hence they are brothers.
2. Native American criticism of the white man’s treatment of mother earth
Speaking on behalf of the Red Indians, Seattle criticizes the Whiteman’s attitude towards Mother Earth. The Whiteman leaves his father's grave behind. He kidnaps the earth from his children. The earth is not his brother, but his enemy. His appetite devours the earth and leaves behind only a desert. He forgets his father's grave and his children's birthright. He treats his mother, the earth, and his brother, the sky as things to be bought, plundered, sold like sheep, or bright beads. There is no quiet place in the Whiteman’s cities. There is no place to hear the unfurling of leaves in spring or the rustle of an insect's wings. The Whiteman does not seem to notice the air he breathes. Like a dying man, he is insensitive to the stench.
3. Comment on the passion and feelings conveyed in chief Seattle speech
Chief Seattle feels and argues that it is impossible to buy or sell natural resources like air, water, and land because we do not own them. They are a gift. He says that every part of the earth is sacred to him and his people; they are a part of the earth and the earth is a part of them. Even the souls of the Native Americans do not leave their land. Instead, they make it their permanent residence, unlike in the belief systems of mainstream religions. In short, the earth is not an inanimate tract of land, but a living presence to be treated with love, care, respect and fear. But the worldview of white men is entirely different. For them, it is an object to be tamed, conquered and exploited to the full, until it ceases to be useful. For Native Americans, on the contrary, all natural phenomena are their own siblings.

II. Answer the following questions in about 300 words
1. Summarize the major arguments in Chief Seattle’s speech
Chief Seattle argues that it is impossible to buy or sell natural resources like air, water and land because we do not own them. They are a divine gift. Every part of the earth is sacred to him and his people; they are a part of the earth and vice versa. Even the souls of the Native Americans do not leave their land. Instead, they make it their permanent residence, unlike in the belief systems of mainstream religions. In short, the earth is not an inanimate tract of land, but a living presence to be treated with love, care, respect and fear. As far as the white man is concerned, land is a mere hostile territory to be tamed, conquered and exploited to the full until it ceases to be useful any longer. For them it is a buyable and sellable commodity unworthy of human emotions. He has no religious, spiritual, genealogical or eschatological associations to the land and naturally there is nothing that ties the white man down to it. Land is uniform all over the world and it is a surface to build noisy cities on. Chief Seattle justifiably fears that the white man’s appetite would devour the earth and reduce it into an arid dessert. It is true that the President has promised to take care of the Native Americans like a father. He has also promised to give them a special area where they can continue living with all their rites, rituals and other cultural practices. But still the sale is going to be difficult because the pangs involved in parting with such a dear and sacred place are acute. Seattle wants white men to teach their children that the land is sacred and inviolable. He wants them to treat rivers and beasts as their own brothers and to approach nature with moderation. Indians have seen White men pollute rivers and shoot animals for the sake of fun. The reality is that every object in the nature is connected to each other. Whatever happens to animals and land will happen to us sooner or later. No one can escape this fate. The earth does not belong to us but we belong to the earth and all are bonded like family members. For his people the din, frenzy and chaos of modern cities are a painful sight. For them simple pleasures of nature are more precious and more important than anything else. They treat rain, wind and land as living organisms. Unfortunately the white man has neither the sense nor the sensibility to feel the pulse of nature. Chief Seattle ironically and sarcastically adds that perhaps the problem is with himself and his people—they are uneducated, uncultured and uncivilized!
The holistic vision of the speech is reiterated at the end within a theological framework. There is only one God and He does not discriminate between people. White or red, human beings are equal in His eyes. The earth is precious to Him and to harm the earth is to heap contempt on the creator. Destiny is a mystery to the Native Americans too, but they do realize that the changed environment marks the end of living and the beginning of survival

2. Chief Seattle’s speech is a powerful plea for respect of Native Americans rights and environmental values. Substantiate
Seattle’s letter to the American Government is a passionate plea for respect on the part of humans for environment as it emphasizes the need for holistic vision, interconnected nature of living organisms, preservation of environment, unitary nature of the universe and a new vision of development. The anthropocentric, utilitarian, materialistic and parochial worldview of white settlers considers earth an inanimate object to be tamed, conquered, plundered and exploited with scant regard for posterity. Land is uniform everywhere with no spiritual values and associations. While one piece of land runs out its utility, they march ahead looking for another. But for Native Americans earth and natural resources are a divine gift—sacred and inviolable. They are a part of the earth and vice versa. Earth is a living presence to be treated with love, care, respect and fear. Everything is interconnected. Whatever happens to animals and land will happen to us sooner or later. For them rain, wind and land are living organisms just like humans. There is only one God and He does not discriminate between peoples. The earth is precious to Him and to harm earth is equal to scorn Him. According to Chief Seattle, even the souls of the Native Americans do not leave their land. Instead, they make it their permanent residence, unlike in the belief systems of mainstream religions. But the unscrupulous white settlers destroy it and deny his own children the graces of the earth and prevent them from enjoying the music of nature. Modern cites are full of din, frenzy and chaos and city dwellers are missing the simple pleasures of nature. White man, in his critical view, is incapable of sensing the subtle aspects and changes of nature. Chief Seattle makes it abundantly clear that all living and non-living beings are interconnected and depend on each other. To extinct one species is a crime to ourselves, future generations and to God. What we need is a new paradigm of development which takes into account the importance of nature and the delicate relations that structure the world.

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