Topic > cheaf seattle - 1177

Summary: Chief Seattle was a Native American leader. He was the chief of the allied Suquamish, Duwamish, and Salish tribes. He wrote "Letter to President Pierce, 1855" as a response to President Pierce's actions. In the letter, Chief Seattle argues that white exploitation of the land will evidently lead to the destruction of the people and creatures that depend on the land for its resources. Furthermore, it supports the different visions of the land held by whites and Indians. For example, whites see the land as an enemy to be conquered and left behind, and Indians view cities created by whites as bad for the land. Furthermore, in cities white people distance themselves from quiet sounds and pleasant scents and from other living things. In contrast, Indians prefer the separation of nature and see all things as a connection with them. Seattle says the Indians, who once controlled the land, will soon become extinct, but warns that whites will suffer the same fate unless they learn to respect the land. Witnessing the actions of the whites, Chief Seattle does not understand what they expect from the future. He notes ironically that the barbarity of the Indians prevents them from understanding the ways of the whites. In the letter, Chief Seattle referred to himself, who is an Indian, as a “savage,” while he referred to President Pierce simply as a “white man.” Throughout the letter, Seattle argues against President Pierce's exploitation that President Pierce “is a stranger who comes in the night and takes from the land everything he needs” (299). In the letter Chief Seattle continues to show his anger and frustration towards the “white man”. Analysis: The earth has been around for thousands of years……middle of paper……Seattle uses emotional appeal to reach its audience. Furthermore, he talks about how the land is important to the people, but the foreigners who are coming are the ones who don't understand the land and the joy it offers to the people. In the letter Chief Seattle uses his words carefully so that all readers who read his letter understand that the land is essential to the people of the country. The lives that the Indians live are tied to the land and Chief Seattle tries to let the "white man" know that if they don't stop what they are doing, not only will they suffer, but the land will suffer too. (1373 words)Work CitedSeattle, Chief. "Letter to President Pierce, 1855." The Norton Reader: Shorter. 13th ed. Ed. Linda H. Peterson, Joseph Bizup, Anne Fernald, Melissa Goldthwaite and John C. Brereton. New York: W. W. Norton & Co, 2012. 299. Print.