The Life Of Chief Seattle Essay, Research Paper

When narratives are told about the American Indian it is normally the Indians that are looked upon as the pagans. They are portrayed as barbarians who spent most of their clip busting waggon trains and scalping the white colonists merely for merriment. The media has lead us to believe that the American authorities was forced to take the land from these barbarian Indians. We should set the incrimination where it belongs, on the U.S. Government who lied, cheated, and stole from the Indians coercing many Indian leaders to give up non merely their folks but their state in order to salvage the lives of their people.

Among the Indians of the Pacific Northwest, possibly the best known may be Chief Seattle. Chief Seattle ( more right known as Seathl or Sealth ) was born sometime between 1786-1790 on Blake Island at the campground of his ascendants. Blake Island lies south and a small E of Bainbridge Island and west and a small South of Seattle. Seattle was the boy of Suquamish leader named Schweabe and a Duwamish adult female named Scholitza. He became Chief of the Suquamish, Duwamish, and allied Salish speech production folks by turn outing his leading qualities in a war that pitted his and other seawater folks against those of the Green and White Rivers. ( 1 ) He was considered to be Duwamish since his female parent was the girl of a Duwamish head and the line of descent passed matrilineally. This was sometimes the instance when male parents died while their boy & # 8217 ; s were was still immature and the female parent would return to her folk to raise the kids. The Duwamish lived on the Duwamish River and assorted islands across the Puget Sound. Seattle was married twice, his first married woman Ladaila, died after bearing one girl, Kiksomlo, known as & # 8220 ; Angeline & # 8221 ; . His 2nd married woman, Oiahl, had three girls all of whom died immature and two male childs, George and Seeanumpkin. ( 2 )

In 1792, Captain George Vancouver anchored off Restoration Point on Bainbridge Island in Puget Sound. Seattle, harmonizing to the remembrances of assorted veterans, frequently spoke of seeing the ship and being impressed with the guns, steel, and other goods. Seattle was known for his bravery, make bolding and leading during his young person. Throughout the violent periods, Seattle remained a steadfast and loyal friend of the colonists and encouraged the Indians to stay peaceable. He gained control of six of the local folk and continued the friendly dealingss with the local Whites that had been established by his male parent. Seattle learned early in his life that peace was preferred to war. Seattle moved to Port Madison Reservation and lived in Old Man House, merely across from Bainbridge Island ; & # 8220 ; This was a community house mensurating some 60 & # 8242 ; x 900 & # 8242 ; pess easy the largest Indian made wooden construction in the part & # 8221 ; . ( 4 ) When colonists foremost came to America they were meet by Indians. Once the colonists were able to do it on there ain, they no longer needed Indian aid. Then they began to seek to alter the ways and beliefs of the Indian. One of the facets that the colonists spent much clip on seeking to alter of the Indians was their faith. Influenced by missionaries, Seattle decided to change over to Christianity and was subsequently baptized in 1838 by Father Modest Demers, at which clip Seattle adopted the Christian name & # 8220 ; Noah & # 8221 ; . One of the major differences I noticed while researching information about Chief Seattle is that in Catholicism there is one book, I & # 8217 ; m certain that we all have heard of it, the Bible. In Catholicity it is made up of the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament is made up of Bibles before the coming of Jesus. The New Testament is made up of Bibles written up after the coming of Jesus. These Bibles are written up reasonably consecutive frontward and they are read twelvemonth in and twelvemonth out. There is no room for single reading by the reader, it is set in construction. In the Indian faith everything is told through myths and fables. Because of this everything is passed down from head to head and individual to individual. By this exchange of information and narrative relation there is great room for single reading. Every coevals these narratives will alter and the myths will be told in a different tone, manner or version. When white colonists came to the Northwest after the California Gold Rush, the Indians gave them a warm welcome and, in 1852, the Whites named their little Puget Sound Settlement Sealth or Seattle after the head. Because the native pronunciation of his name was excessively hard for English speech production people to state, the name Sealth or Seattle was suggested by a local doctor, Dr. David ( & # 8221 ; Doc & # 8221 ; ) Maynard. Dr. Maynard had left his married woman of 20 old ages in Ohio to come West and do his luck.

On January 22, 1855, 2,300 Indians assembled at Point Elliot where Chief Seattle and 82 headmans signed the Port Elliott Treaty. Thymine

he council began and ended in a individual twenty-four hours, which may be attributed to the fact that it is unknown whether or non the pact was of all time explained to Seattle or any of the other signers. This pronounced Chief Seattle’s functionary credence of life on a reserve for his people, specifically the Port Madison reserve. The Port Elliott Treaty was made with the Duwamish, Etakmur, Samish, Skagit, and Lummi Indians which set apart four reserves for Indian usage. “The Tulalip or Snohomish Reservation is comprised of 22,490 estates. The Swinomish reserve consists of 7,170 Estates. The Lummi Reservation, which lies at the oral cavity of the Nooksack River, non far from the northern boundary of Washington district, is comprised of 12,312 estates for which the Indians received patents in 1884. The Port Madison reserve lies on the opposite side of the Bay from the town of Port Madison. There are 7,284 estates in it.” ( 1 ) For the following 15 old ages, warfare took topographic point between other Indian folks and the U.S. Army as Indians resisted being moved onto reserves. Chief Seattle nevertheless, was determined non to allow his people’s blood be shed over something he felt was traveling to be inevitable. It was difficult to believe that merely a decennary earlier Chief Seattle and his people roamed freely runing, delving boodles, building bird weirs, picking berries, fishing, and edifice canoes.

Even though the authorities was acquiring the best portion of the pact, they were non satisfied with advancement. In 1871 the Indian Appropriation Bill was passed which stated & # 8220 ; afterlife no Indian state or folk within the United States shall be acknowledged or recognized as an independent state, folk or power with which the U.S. may contract by pact & # 8221 ; . ( 5 )

Chief Seattle spent the last old ages of his life at the Fort Madison Reservation and Agate Point on Bainbridge Island where he died on June 7, 1866 from febrility or ague, at the Old Man House in Port Madison. & # 8220 ; By his deathbed were his household and his best & # 8220 ; Boston & # 8221 ; friend, George A. Meigs, proprietor of the Port Madison lumber mill & # 8221 ; . ( 1 ) He was buried in the Suquamish Indian graveyard near Seattle harmonizing to the rites of the Catholic Church and with Indian imposts added. Today there is merely one known exposure of Chief Seattle. This exposure has seemingly been doctored legion times over the old ages. In the original exposure Chief Seattle & # 8217 ; s eyes were closed. Later versions were retouched so that his eyes appeared unfastened. In the one of the latest versions, he carries a cane and in yet another his caput has been grafted onto the organic structure of another adult male.

I & # 8217 ; m glad I chose Chief Seattle as my subject to compose approximately. The research I & # 8217 ; ve completed has decidedly opened my eyes about the & # 8220 ; History of the Pacific Northwest & # 8221 ; . Having been born and raised my whole life in Washington State, ( Monroe, Oak Harbor, Bremerton, and Tacoma ) I ne’er truly stopped and noticed the figure of metropoliss, rivers, landmarks and waterways in Washington State that have been named after Indians and Explorer & # 8217 ; s to the Pacific Northwest. Particularly that the Skagit folk that lived in Penn Cove on Whidbey Island. Penn Cove is less than five proceedingss off from my female parent & # 8217 ; s house. I remember siting my motorcycle at that place as a kid.

This paper has brought new penetration about the manner I think non merely about people of Indian descent, but about reserves and Indian rights. I can non get down to depict the figure of brushs I have had with this topic while turning up. While populating in Monroe as a male child I remember playing small league baseball against two squads from the Lummi Indian Reservation. The lone memories I have were that they were the two squads that didn & # 8217 ; Ts have any uniforms. Now I look back and for all I know possibly they couldn & # 8217 ; t afford any. While I was in high school I remember driving with my friends to the Indian reserves to purchase illegal pyrotechnics. I ne’er truly gave it much thought beyond the fact that they were topographic points to acquire illegal pyrotechnics. Anyhow, like I wrote earlier & # 8220 ; this is merely two illustrations that I have experienced while turning up in Washington State & # 8221 ; . This category truly has been a learning experience.

( 1 ) Ells, Myron. The Indians of Puget Sound. University of Washington

Imperativeness: Seattle, 1985

( 2 ) Jeffers, Susan. Brother Eagle, Sister Sky. Dial Books: New York, 1991

( 3 ) Sturtevant, William. Handbook of North American Indians. Smithsonian Institution: Washington, 1990

( 4 ) Dockstader, Frederick. Great North American Indians. Litton Educational Publishing: New York, 1977

( 5 ) Ruby, Robert. Indians of the Pacific Northwest. University of Oklahoma Press: Norman, 1981

( 6 ) Deloria, Vine. Indians of the Pacific Northwest. Double Day And Company: New York, 1977

( 7 ) Schwantes, Carlos. The Pacific Northwest. University of Nebraska Press: Lincoln, 1989