In the 1850’s Americans were trying to purchase the Native Americans’ lands and push them into designated reserves, and even tried to integrate them into society through assimilation. Many Native Americans tried to fight back and regain their lands—the very source of their culture. However, in his oration to Governor Isaac I. Stevens, Chief Seattle recognizes that the intention of the Americans is to stay. He addresses Stevens to discuss the tensions and differences between their races, predicting that the attempted integration of his people’s culture will fail—which ultimately brings him to warn Stevens of the consequences of the extinction of the Native American race. For the first part of the oration Chief Seattle points out the differences between American and Native American cultures and describes how these affect their interactions. He recognizes the authority that the “Big Chief” has now established with his people and the generous offer to allow the Native Americans to live comfortably …show more content…
As religion is important to any culture, Chief Seattle sadly believes “[God] has forsaken his red children” as well as their own deity, “the Great Spirit, seems also to have forsaken us.” In addition to being forsaken by both deities, he reminds Stevens that he believes the ancestors “never forget this beautiful world”—but they also remember to “visit, guide, console, and comfort the lonely hearted living”—unlike their dead who forget about their land and “wander away beyond the stars.” He continues to foresee the extinction of his people’s race. He sadly describes their future as “night promises to be dark [with] Not a single star of hope.” Just as other tribes cease to exist, the future holds the same for any tribe or