Chief Seattle Quotes

A collection of quotes by Chief Seattle.

Chief Seattle, also known as Chief Sealth, was a prominent leader of the Suquamish and Duwamish tribes in the Pacific Northwest during the 19th century. Born around 1786, he played a crucial role in maintaining peace between Native American tribes and European settlers in the region. Chief Seattle is famous for his eloquent speech in 1854, expressing concern about the impact of colonization on the environment. His words have since become a symbol of environmental activism and the need for ecological preservation. He passed away on June 7, 1866, leaving behind a legacy of diplomacy and environmental stewardship.

How can you buy or sell the sky, the warmth of the land? The

How can you buy or sell the sky, the warmth of 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 the earth is sacred to my people.

Property

You must teach your children that the ground beneath their f

You must teach your children that the ground beneath their feet is the ashes of your grandfathers. So that they will respect the land, tell your children that the earth is rich with the lives of our kin. Teach your children what we have taught our children, that the earth is our mother. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. If men spit upon the ground, they spit upon themselves.

World

Whatever befalls the earth befalls the son of the earth. Man

Whatever befalls the earth befalls the son of the earth. Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand of it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.

Spirituality

Take only memories, leave nothing but footprints.

Take only memories, leave nothing but footprints.

Memory

There is no quiet place in the white man's cities. No place

There is no quiet place in the white man's cities. No place to hear the unfurling of leaves in spring, or the rustle of an insect's wings. But perhaps it is because I am a savage and do not understand. The clatter only seems to insult the ears.

Cities

The white man's dead forget the country of their birth when

The white man's dead forget the country of their birth when they go to walk among the stars. Our dead never forget this beautiful earth, for it is the mother of the red man.

Death

We know that the white man does not understand our ways. One

We know that the white man does not understand our ways. One portion of land is the same to him as the next, for he is a stranger who comes in the night and takes from the land whatever he needs. The earth is not his brother, but his enemy, and when he has conquered it, he moves on.

America

What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone,

What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, man would die from a great loneliness of spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts, soon happens to man. All things are connected.

Animals