Chief Seattle (–1866)

"[In this book] a Suquamish Indian chief describes his people's respect and love for the earth, and concern for its destruction." Source: Summary from the title page. "Chief Seattle lived from approximately 1790 to 1866, in the Pacific Northwest region of what is now the United States. He was a chief of the Suquamish and Duwamish Indians and was present at treaty negotiations that took place with the dominant white settlers in the 1850s. It was at one of those negotiations that Chief Seattle delivered a speech in his native tongue, a speech which has since--in a variety of forms--served as the basis of ecological movements around the world and from which 'Brother Eagle, Sister Sky' is drawn." Source: Book's dust jacket. " Susan Jeffers's paintings for [this book] combine the beauty of nature with the wisdom of Native American philosophy. 'My aim,' says Ms. Jeffers, 'was to portray people and artifacts from a wide array of nations because the philosophy expressed in the text is one shared by most Native Americans. . ." Source: Book's dust jacket… (more)

There's no reliable transcript of what Si'ahl said to his gathered people in March 1854. He was a Native American though, so we should just assume it was all about bears and deers, and leaping spirits, and the importance of harnessing renewable energy for a sustainable future. He didn't ride a horse, as he wasn't a plains Indian, but what kind of boring illustration would that make? I'd like to think that Chief Seattle invented the environmental movement with a searing vision-warning about our industrialised future and that he didn't just have a moan about being shuffled off to a reservation. Reading this, I can believe that he did.… (more)