June 19, 2024
When we know humanity
to be one thread in the web of all life…
In 1854 Chief Sealth, leader of the Duwamish and Suquamish peoples of what is now western Washington State, gave a speech about the sanctity of the land and the need for careful stewardship of it. It included these words. Man did not weave the web of life – he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.
Except he didn’t. Though undeniably beautiful and stirring, the speech was actually written by screenwriter Ted Perry for a 1971 film about ecology. Chief Sealth died in 1866, more than a hundred years before the words that would be attributed to him were penned.
Yes. Chief Sealth did give a speech in 1854. But it bears no resemblance to the mythology of what we believe it was. And that mythology persists.
The mythic speech is the subject of a children’s book, Brother Eagle, Sister Sky: A Message From Chief Seattle, that sold 280,000 copies within the first six months of its 1991 publication. Al Gore quoted the speech in his book, Earth in the Balance. The speech is widely quoted and I admit to sharing those words many times myself.
So what’s going on here? Why have we, especially those of us from invading cultures, so enthusiastically embraced this myth? What is this longing for wisdom from indigenous cultures, especially cultures that in the United States we have historically disregarded, subjugated, and abused? I’m reminded of the following exchange from Across The Universe, one of my favorite movies. Recently arrived from England, Jude has been invited to share Thanksgiving with Max and Lucy.
Jude: “We don’t have it in England, is it-is it a big deal?”
Max: “Well, it’s a heart-warming American tradition.”
Lucy: “Yeah. It celebrates the time when the Indians shared their food with the early settlers. And how did we repay them? We slaughter them in thousands then ship them off to the shittiest bits of real estate.”
Our indigenous longing. Perhaps it arises from knowing instinctively and intuitively that authentic sacred wisdom comes through a connection with the genius loci, the distinctive spirit and character, of a place. A connection indigenous peoples have cultivated and nurtured for generations upon generations. A connection we long for.
Beannacht,
Judith
Did not know this. Thank you for this wisdom and correcting misinformation!
I’m unsure what to say, being one of the invading. There was a time when we thought in the family that we were part Native American. Turned out not to be the case (maybe an indigenous person married into the family), but while it was true it was exciting. I guess we do long for primal connections. I do.