This Sacred Soil

            I really enjoyed reading This Sacred Soil by Chief Seattle. While reading I got this sense that many Native Americans were feeling this way. Their land was being invaded and they all seem to have feelings of hopelessness and came to accept their "untimely decay."

            I found it interesting that Seattle said "The white chief says that Big Chief at Washington sends us greetings of friendship and goodwill. This is kind of him for we know he has little need of our friendship in return." It just goes to show that these people were never fooled. They knew what their "paleface brothers" were doing. They probably choose to cooperate and give up their land instead of risk being massacred. That is why the Big Chief didn’t need their friendship in return. It was as if he said “Since you guys are doing this without any struggle I’ll let you move to your assigned little corner without any harm done to you and don‘t think I‘ll be giving you anything more than that. I don’t care if you dislike me for that.”

             I also liked how even though he was agreeing to the treaty, and his people will move, there are still many whose spirits will be staying and roaming that land. He creates a picture of how unlike the “White Man” the “Red Man” choose to remember their diseased ancestors and they are still “alive” and they will always have a tie to the land they will be giving up. And how the White Man leaves such land were his ancestors are buried and does not regret forgetting it. When he talks about how when they think that they are alone there will be the spirits of this ancestors there, he pretty much is saying, “Even though we have agreed to move, we will never truly leave that place which was rightfully ours.” So in a way they get to keep their land.


P.S. I'm ACTUALLY liking these short stories.