Chief Seattle and Luther Standing Bear

In Chief Seattles Speech he discusses how the European "white people" are different from their "red brothers" in different ways. He argues that how can both sets of people can exist when the Europeans constantly spread and destroy the culture and lives of the Native Americans. At the end of his speech he states he will ponder the Europeans offer of living together if they decide to not harm the sacred land and burial grounds. In Luther Standing Bear, the Chief is describing how it is important to be proud and respectful of your ancestry, and how he would raise his own children to become Lakota Indians. He then goes on to say that unlike the current American, the lakota respect and cherish and nature and all its inhabitants. The chiefs parting words are somber, in which he states if the way of people is forever gone, then the Indian is trulyy dead.

There is controversy over the "Chief Seattle Speech" , as in which people have debated whether or not he actually even presented this speech. American translators supposedly have recorded the speech in books and diaries. Many people have different dates for when the speech actually occurred, and even Dr. Henry Smith, who was one of the people to have claimed to recorded the speech, said he only wasn't able to get the whole speech down. Which draws the question did he make it up? Many other people have claimed to have written down the speech, and each although smiler has different words or phrases in each. This is the main issue with the controversy, who can really offer the truth to the debate?

http://www.ecopsychology.org/journal/gatherings2/scull.htm