Basic introduction of real name: Seattle ethnic group: birthplace of Indians: major achievements of the United States: giving Seattle to whites eased racial conflicts. Chief Seattle Chief Seattle was the chief of an Indian tribe in the northwestern United States about 100 years ago. At that time, his people had to leave their land and move to a reservation. The situation is very sad. I think you all know the story. At that time, white people crossed the American continent from the east coast to the west, and many regrettable events happened. At that time, the chief of Seattle said an unusual sentence, which will remain in my heart forever. He said, "All right! We will leave. " Because the Indians have tried everything, they fight, they run away, and finally there are only two ways left: to die or to move to the reservation. So the Seattle chief said, "All right! We will leave. But ... "But, he added," if I want to leave, I only have one request for the big leaders in Washington. " Now please think about it. What will he ask for? What would you ask if it were you? Put yourself in others' shoes. I may need more horses or blankets and food for a long journey. This is not what Chief Seattle wants. His requirements are different. He said, "What we really want, all we ask is that white people can treat the animals in this land like us, treat them like brothers and treat them like a family." Why did Chief Seattle make such a request? I think I know the answer. He saw that we white people had deep xenophobia. Our alienation and indifference to life; He saw the endless vicious circle of war in our lives. He wanted to help us, for nature, for each other, for his people and even for ourselves. For Chief Seattle and his people, life itself is sacred and needs mutual respect. Birds sing tactfully, which is tantamount to a chorus of poetry. The forest is a huge hall, and the breeze is like an active prayer. We are closely related to each other, and how we treat the environment and the life in the environment will eventually become our own destiny. How can you buy and sell the warmth of the sky and the earth? The idea is strange to us. If we don't have the freshness of air and the sparkle of water, how can you buy them? To my people, every part of the earth is sacred. In the memory and experience of our people, every shining pine needle, every beach, every mist in the dark forest, every clearing and buzzing insects are sacred. The sap flowing through the tree carries memories of the red people. When the white dead went to starwalk, they forgot the country where they were born. Our dead will never forget this beautiful earth, because it is the mother of the red race. We are a part of the earth, and the earth is a part of us. Fragrant flowers are our sisters; Deer, horses and eagles, these are our brothers. Rock peaks, grass juice, pony's body temperature, and humans-all belong to the same family. It's not easy, so when the big chief in Washington said he wanted to buy our land, he was very demanding of us. The great chief sent a message to us that he would reserve a place for us so that we could live a comfortable life. He will be our father and we will be his children. So we will consider your proposal to buy our land. But it's not easy. Because this land is sacred to us. The shining water flowing in streams and rivers is not just water, but the blood of our ancestors. If we sell you land, you must remember that it is sacred, and you must educate your children that it is sacred. Every ghostly reflection in the clear lake tells the events and memories of my people's life. The sound of water is my father's father's voice. All the sacred rivers are our brothers, and they quench our thirst. The river carries our canoes and nurtures our children. If we sell our land to you, you must remember and educate the children in your that the river is our brother and your brother, and you must treat the river as well as any other brother. We know that white people don't understand our way. One piece of land is the same to him as the next, because he is a stranger. He comes at night and takes anything he needs from this land. The earth is not his brother, but his enemy. When he conquered it, he moved on. He left his father's grave and he didn't care. He took the earth from his children and he didn't care. His father's grave and his children's birthright have been forgotten. He regards his mother, the earth, and his brother, the sky, as things that can be bought, plundered and sold, just like sheep and bright beads. His appetite will devour the earth, leaving only a desert. I don't know. Our way is different from that of your. Seeing the city of your will make the eyes of red people ache. But maybe it's because the red man is a savage and doesn't understand. There is no quiet place in a white city. There is no place to hear the spreading of leaves in spring or the rustling of insect wings. But maybe it's because I'm a savage and don't understand. Noisy sounds only seem to insult the ears. What's the point of life if one can't hear the lonely cry of the nighthawk or the quarrel of frogs by the pond at night? I am a red man, I don't understand. Indians prefer the gentle sound of the wind as it sweeps across the pond surface, and prefer the wind itself that is washed by the rain at noon or smells like pine trees. Air is precious to red people, because everything breathes the same air-beasts, trees, humans, they all breathe the same air ... The white man doesn't seem to notice the air he breathes. Like a person who is dying for many days, he is numb to the stench. But if we sell our land to you, you must remember that air is precious to us, and air shares its spirit with all the life it supports. The wind that gave our grandfather his first breath also received his last sigh. If we sell you our land, you must keep it independent and sacred. As a place, even white people can taste the wind sweetened by flowers on the grass. There is one condition, so we will consider your proposal to buy our land. If we decide to accept it, I will make a condition: white people must regard the wild animals in this land as their brothers. I am a savage, and I don't understand any other way. I have seen 1000 rotting buffaloes on the grassland, left by white people who were shot by passing trains. I am a savage, and I don't understand why the iron horse is more important than the buffalo we kill to survive. What is man without beasts? If all wild animals disappear, human beings will die of great spiritual loneliness. Because what happens to animals will soon happen to humans. Everything is connected. Ashes You must teach your children that the ground under their feet is your grandfather's ashes. In this way, they will respect the land and tell your children that the earth is rich and our loved ones live. Teach your children what we teach our children. The earth is our mother. Whatever comes to the earth will come to the son of the earth. If people spit on the ground, they spit on themselves. We know that the earth does not belong to human beings; Man belongs to the earth. We know that. Everything is connected, just like the blood that unites a family. Everything is connected. Whatever comes to the earth will come to the son of the earth. Man has not woven the web of life: he is just one of the ropes. No matter what he did to the internet, he did it to himself. Even a white man, whose God walks and talks with him like a friend, can't be exempted from the common fate. We may be brothers after all. We'll see. One thing we know, maybe one day white people will find out that our God is the same God. You may think you own him now, just as you want to own our land; But you can't. He is the god of mankind, and his compassion is equal to that of red people and white people. This earth is precious to him, and hurting it is contempt for its creator. White people will also pass; Maybe before all the other tribes. Contaminate your bed, and you will suffocate in your own excrement one night. But in your demise, you will shine and be ignited by the power of God, who brought you to this land and gave you the sovereignty of this land and the red man for a special purpose. Fate is a mystery to us, because we don't know when buffaloes are slaughtered, wild horses are tamed, the secret corners of the forest are filled with the smell of many people, and mature hills are polluted by talking wires. Where are the bushes? It's gone. Where is the eagle? It's gone. The end of being alive, the beginning of being alive. Seattle Declaration, Chief of Sogwamis, India, Seattle, how can you buy the warmth of the sky and the earth? We don't understand. If the air loses its freshness and the running water loses its crystal, can you still buy it? We reds regard every side of the earth as sacred. In our memory, in our life, every crystal pine board, every beach, every breath in the secluded forest, and every introspective insect are sacred. The fragrance of sap passes through the forest and permeates the memory of the red people since ancient times. When the white man roamed the interstellar space after his death, he forgot the land where he was born. Red people will never forget our beautiful birthplace after their death. Because the earth is our mother, and mother and child are one. The green and fragrant flowers are our sisters, the deer, the horse and the eagle are our brothers, and the rock cliffs, the dew on the grassland, and the body heat emitted by people and horses are all our family members. The commander-in-chief of the Washington capital sent word that he would buy our land. He wants more than land. The Grand Commander said to leave a protected area for us to live a comfortable life. In this way, the Grand Commander became our father and we became his children. We will consider your conditions, but this business is not easy, because this land is sacred. Crystal water in streams and rivers is not only water, but also the blood of our ancestors for generations. If the land is sold to you, please remember that this land is sacred. Please teach your children and grandchildren that this land is sacred. Every image in the clear lake represents a kind of spiritual significance, reflecting countless historical sites, various rituals and our way of life. The sound of running water is not loud, but it is the voice of our ancestors. Rivers are our brothers. They quench their thirst, transport our canoes and feed our children. If the land is sold to you, please remember and teach your children that rivers are our brothers. You should love it and be considerate of it, just as you love your own brother. White people can't understand our thoughts, I know. In the eyes of white people, any land is the same. You can rob at night, take what you need and leave. For a white man, the earth is not his brother, but his enemy, and he wants to conquer them one by one. White people can abandon their fathers' graves. The place where the father rests and the place where the child was born can be ignored by him. In his view, heaven, earth, mother and brother can buy, sell, plunder and sell at will like sheep and beads. He was insatiable. After devouring the land, he turned it into a desert. I don't understand. You and I have completely different lifestyles. Every time a red man sees your city, his eyes hurt. There is no peace in a white city. There is no place to hear the sound of leaves scattering and insects flapping their wings and playing in spring. The noise of the city makes our ears uncomfortable. At night, we can't hear frogs quarreling by the pond, and we can't hear nightingales whining. This life is alive? I am a red man, I don't understand. The sound of the breeze gently sweeps across the ground, and the fragrance of the breeze is washed away by the afternoon rainstorm or soaked in rosin, which is what the red people want to hear and smell most. Red people cherish the atmosphere: people, animals and trees have the right to share the air and breathe it. White people never seem to notice that people live by air, just like people who have been sitting dead for many days, they can't tell the stench. If we sell the land to you, please remember that we cherish the atmosphere. Air supports all life, and its spiritual strength is shared by all. The wind greeted his grandfather's first breath when he was born and sent away his last sigh. If the land is sold to you, please turn it into a sacred place so that white people can taste the enhanced flowers on the pasture with the wind. Ask your children to know that the bones of our ancestors are buried underground; Teach your children to respect the earth and tell them that the earth is nourished by the lives of our loved ones; Tell them how red people educate their children. The earth is our mother, and the fate of the earth is the fate of mankind. If people spit on the earth, they will spit on themselves. We know for sure that the earth does not belong to human beings; People belong to the earth, and everything works together. Maybe you and I are brothers. Wait and see, maybe, one day, white people will find that they believe in the same god as we do. Maybe you think you can have God, just like you buy a piece of land. Actually, you can't. God is the God of all mankind. God has equal sympathy for human beings and does not pay dividends. God regards the earth as the most precious thing, and hurting it is the creator who blasphemes the earth. White people will eventually disappear with the wind, perhaps faster than other races. If you defile your bed, you are bound to suffocate in your own filth. The physical body dies because of years, and only the power given by God can shine brilliantly in the world. It is God who leads you to live on the earth, and it is God's ignorant will that makes you manipulate white people. Why is there such a difficult fate? We don't understand. We don't understand why bison were slaughtered, wild horses became tame horses, the forest was full of the smell of people, and the beautiful mountain scenery was destroyed and defiled by wires. Where is the jungle? It's gone. Where's the eagle? It's gone Life comes to an end, which is the beginning of drag out an ignoble existence. For our country, every part of this land is sacred.
Every beach, every arable land, every mountain range, every river, every shining pine needle, every buzzing insect, mist in the dense forest and white clouds in the blue sky are sacred objects in our national memory and experience.
We are a part of the earth, and the earth is a part of us. Grass, green leaves and flowers are our sisters, while elk, steed and eagle are our brothers. Sap flows through the trunk just as blood flows through our blood vessels. We belong to the same home as the mountains, rivers, animals and plants on the earth.
Not only water shines in streams and rivers, but also the blood of our ancestors. Every reflection in the clear lake reflects our experiences and memories; The gurgling sound of running water echoed the cordial call of our ancestors. The river quenches thirst, nourishes our hearts and nurtures our children and grandchildren. The river is carrying our wooden boats, walking through the endless river, full of our hopes.
If we give up this land and transfer it to you, you must remember that this land is sacred. This river is our brother as well as yours. You should treat our river like your brother.
Indians like the smell of the breeze after the rain, the sound of it brushing the water, and the smell of rosin floating in the wind. Air is also precious to us, because all life needs it.
If we give up this land and transfer it to you, you must remember that this land is sacred. Air blends with the life it nourishes. The breeze gave our ancestors their first breath and sent away their last sigh. Similarly, air will bring life to our children and all living things. You should take good care of it so that you can taste the sweetness of the wind after crossing the grass.
If we give up this land and transfer it to you, you must remember that this land is sacred. You must take good care of the animals in this land. What will happen to human beings without animals? If all the animals die, so will human beings. What befalls animals will eventually befall humans.
Tell your children that the land under your feet is the ashes of our ancestors, and the land bears the lives of our loved ones. Tell your children that the earth is our mother, just as we educate our children. Anything that befalls the earth will eventually befall the children on the earth.
We love the earth, just like a newborn baby clinging to its mother's warm arms. You should love and cherish it as we do. For future generations, you should devote all your strength and emotion to protect the earth.
We know that the earth does not belong to human beings, but human beings belong to the earth. Recorded in lesson 15, Volume 1, Chinese People's Education Edition, Grade 6 primary school.