I'm sure that many people have already seen all or part of this. For
those who haven't, and for those who haven't seen it in a while, I believe
these words echo much of what this discussion thread has been about. It
speaks volumes to our many roles, as companions and friends, as employees
and co-workers, as citizens, and as seekers on our own paths -- in short,
as stewards, not only of the land, but of each other.
"The President in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land.
But how can you buy or sell the sky? 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 meadow,
every humming insect. All are holy in the memory and experience of my
people.
"We know the sap which courses through the trees as we know the blood that
courses through our veins. We are part of the earth and it is part of us.
The perfumed flowers are our sisters. The bear, the deer, the great
eagle, these are our brothers. The rocky crests, the juices in the
meadow, the body heat of the pony, and man, all belong to the same family.
"The shining water that moves in the streams and rivers is not just water,
but the blood of our ancestors. If we sell you our land, you must
remember that it is sacred. Each ghostly reflection in the clear waters
of the lakes tells of events and memories in the life of my people. The
water's murmur is the voice of my father's father.
"The rivers are our brothers. They quench our thirst. They carry our
canoes and feed our children. So you must give to the rivers the kindness
you would give any brother.
"If we sell you our land, remember that the air is precious to us, that
the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports. The wind that
gave our grandfather his first breath also receives his last sigh. The
wind also gives our children the spirit of life. So if we sell you our
land, you must keep it apart and sacred, as a place where man can go to
taste the wind that is sweetened by the meadow flowers.
"Will you teach your children what we have taught our children? That the
earth is our mother? What befalls the earth befalls all the sons of the
earth.
"This we know: the earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the
earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites us all. Man
did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he
does to the web, he does to himself.
"One thing we know: our god is also your god. The earth is precious to
him and to harm the earth is to heap contempt on its creator.
"Your destiny is a mystery to us. What will happen when the buffalo are
all slaughtered? The wild horses tamed? What will happen when the secret
corners of the forest are heavy with the scent of many men and the view of
the ripe hills is blotted by talking wires? Where will the thicket be?
Gone! Where will the eagle be? Gone! And what is it to say goodbye to
the swift pony and the hunt? The end of living and the beginning of
survival.
"When the last Red Man has vanished with his wilderness and his memory is
only the shadow of a cloud moving across the prairie, will these shores
and forests still be here? Will there be any of the spirit of my people
left?
"We love this earth as a newborn loves its mother's heartbeat. So, if we
sell you our land, love it as we have loved it. Care for it as we have
cared for it. Hold in your mind the memory of the land as it is when you
receive it. Preserve the land for all the children and love it, as God
loves us all.
"As we are part of the land, you too are part of the land. This earth is
precious to us. It is also precious to you. One thing we know: there is
only one God. No man, be he Red Man or White Man, can be apart. We are
brothers after all."
-- Chief Seattle, 1852
--"carlo.uchello" <carlo.uchello@ac.com>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>