1 00:00:02,320 --> 00:00:06,039 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday everyone. Coming up next week on the podcast, 2 00:00:06,080 --> 00:00:08,760 Speaker 1: we have a two parter on Sojourner Truth, and one 3 00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:10,520 Speaker 1: of the things that we are going to talk about 4 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:14,600 Speaker 1: is the background of her most famous speech and questions 5 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:17,680 Speaker 1: about how accurate the most well known version of it is. 6 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:19,560 Speaker 1: That is the speech that is known today as ain't 7 00:00:19,560 --> 00:00:22,040 Speaker 1: Ile Woman. And along the way in that two parter, 8 00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:25,599 Speaker 1: we mentioned parallels to a similarly famous speech attributed to 9 00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:28,360 Speaker 1: Chief Seattle, and we talked about that back in March 10 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:31,400 Speaker 1: of two thousand thirteen in one of the very first 11 00:00:31,400 --> 00:00:33,560 Speaker 1: episodes that the two of us did together on the show, 12 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:36,320 Speaker 1: So this seems like a good time to revisit it. Also, 13 00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:39,720 Speaker 1: this is a really great example of how much we 14 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:43,600 Speaker 1: have learned and how much we have forgotten since we 15 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:47,840 Speaker 1: started working on this show. Like, for example, we talked 16 00:00:47,880 --> 00:00:51,920 Speaker 1: about a cooking technique of using heated rocks inside baskets, 17 00:00:52,040 --> 00:00:56,000 Speaker 1: and that came up again in Unearthed in July, and 18 00:00:56,080 --> 00:00:58,319 Speaker 1: by that point it sounds as though we've never heard 19 00:00:58,360 --> 00:01:00,800 Speaker 1: of such a thing. Well, by the time my brain 20 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:02,520 Speaker 1: pushed it out, it's like I've never heard of it. 21 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:10,560 Speaker 1: So it's fine, So enjoy. Welcome to stuff you missed 22 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:21,000 Speaker 1: in history class From how Stuff Works dot com. Hello 23 00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:24,120 Speaker 1: and welcome to the podcast. I'm Tracy V. Wilson and 24 00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:26,760 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry. We are going to talk today about 25 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:29,240 Speaker 1: something you may have learned about in school that you 26 00:01:29,319 --> 00:01:33,759 Speaker 1: may have learned about wrongly, and that is Chief Seattle 27 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:36,720 Speaker 1: in a very famous oration that he made allegedly in 28 00:01:36,760 --> 00:01:40,800 Speaker 1: eighteen fifty four. Except except probably not. The reality is 29 00:01:40,840 --> 00:01:43,800 Speaker 1: a little different from what people are usually taught. Very true, 30 00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:47,760 Speaker 1: so Chief Seattle really was a real person. He was 31 00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:51,120 Speaker 1: chief of the Suquamish and other related tribes around the 32 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:54,960 Speaker 1: area now known as Seattle through the mid eighteen hundreds 33 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:59,200 Speaker 1: when settlers were moving into the area, and what many 34 00:01:59,240 --> 00:02:01,720 Speaker 1: people remember him for, in addition to the city of 35 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:05,640 Speaker 1: Seattle being named after him, is a speech that he gave, 36 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:09,960 Speaker 1: although many versions of the speech that circulate are absolutely 37 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:13,040 Speaker 1: not by him at all. We will talk a little 38 00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:16,440 Speaker 1: bit more about that and just a bit so for 39 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:20,800 Speaker 1: a little bit of background about the Suquamish people. Suquamish, 40 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:24,520 Speaker 1: which is an Americanized pronunciation of their name, actually means 41 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:27,800 Speaker 1: a place of clear salt water, and that they and 42 00:02:27,880 --> 00:02:32,880 Speaker 1: other nearby tribes were primarily fishers, hunters, and gatherers at 43 00:02:32,919 --> 00:02:37,640 Speaker 1: the time before American settlement of that part of the world. 44 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:40,680 Speaker 1: They lived in cedar plank long houses in the winter, 45 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:42,799 Speaker 1: and then in the rest of the year they would 46 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:46,639 Speaker 1: travel around using dugout cedar canoes and stay in temporary 47 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:50,440 Speaker 1: camps that were made of structures made from tree sap 48 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:54,000 Speaker 1: saplings that were covered with mats made of woven cattail. 49 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:57,239 Speaker 1: And they also were really well known for making these 50 00:02:57,280 --> 00:03:01,079 Speaker 1: hard watertight baskets from coiled cedar roots, and they could 51 00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:03,960 Speaker 1: actually use these baskets for cooking. They would heat rocks 52 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:05,960 Speaker 1: up in the fire and drop them into liquid filled 53 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:10,000 Speaker 1: baskets to create a very heated water source which they 54 00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:12,760 Speaker 1: could then drop other things into you and cook them. Yes, 55 00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:16,040 Speaker 1: this is a tribe that still exists today. It has 56 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:19,200 Speaker 1: about nine and fifty members and about half of those 57 00:03:19,240 --> 00:03:24,240 Speaker 1: members live on a reservation up in the Pacific northwest UM. 58 00:03:24,320 --> 00:03:29,320 Speaker 1: The most notable famous person from this tribe is Chief Seattle. 59 00:03:29,880 --> 00:03:34,440 Speaker 1: And that also is an Americanized pronunciation, like many non 60 00:03:34,520 --> 00:03:38,240 Speaker 1: English names, and includes characters and phonemes that don't exist 61 00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:43,120 Speaker 1: in English. UM and an approximation of the actual pronunciation 62 00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:47,120 Speaker 1: of it. Is seat, and we don't really end words 63 00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:51,080 Speaker 1: with in that way, and so it's sort of gradually 64 00:03:51,120 --> 00:03:55,760 Speaker 1: became softened to Seattle. According to the Sequamish Foundation, the 65 00:03:55,800 --> 00:03:59,880 Speaker 1: tribe doesn't really object to him being called Seattle all. 66 00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:03,119 Speaker 1: He did himself have some misgivings about the city being 67 00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:06,800 Speaker 1: named for him at various points in his life. He's 68 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:10,400 Speaker 1: sort of worried that, because of the importance of names 69 00:04:10,520 --> 00:04:13,720 Speaker 1: in his culture, that having people repeatedly use his name 70 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:16,720 Speaker 1: in a context that was not about him and kind 71 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:21,000 Speaker 1: of a casual, possibly dismissive way, might cause problems after 72 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:24,000 Speaker 1: he was gone. But before his death, reportedly he had 73 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:25,839 Speaker 1: come to think of it as a mark of honor. 74 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:31,320 Speaker 1: Now we don't know a whole lot about Seattle's early 75 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:33,880 Speaker 1: years because he doesn't really appear in the historical record 76 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:37,960 Speaker 1: until he's an adult, right there. There are a few 77 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:42,799 Speaker 1: official UH and tribal records from various points in his life. 78 00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:45,520 Speaker 1: A lot of the earliest part. You have really a 79 00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:48,719 Speaker 1: lot of different sources that contradict each other. Even when 80 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:53,000 Speaker 1: you look at tribal sources, some of them contradict each other. UH. 81 00:04:53,279 --> 00:04:56,279 Speaker 1: By his own account, he was born on Blake Island 82 00:04:56,360 --> 00:04:59,760 Speaker 1: and central Puget Sound and his mother was named Sholiza. 83 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:03,400 Speaker 1: She was a Duwamish woman from Green River, and his 84 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:07,760 Speaker 1: father was shwi Abe from the Suquamish village and Agate Pass. 85 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:10,359 Speaker 1: So he had a mother who was Duwamish and a 86 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:14,279 Speaker 1: father who was Suquamish, and so his his bloodline sort 87 00:05:14,279 --> 00:05:17,839 Speaker 1: of united those two tribes. Um When he was born, 88 00:05:17,960 --> 00:05:20,440 Speaker 1: it was a time when huge amounts of illness were 89 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:24,680 Speaker 1: spreading through the Native American population. About thirty percent of 90 00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:28,799 Speaker 1: the population in that area died within eighty years after 91 00:05:28,880 --> 00:05:32,920 Speaker 1: first contact with the white settlers because of introduced diseases, 92 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:37,120 Speaker 1: and by Seattle's own account, he witnessed the first contact 93 00:05:37,200 --> 00:05:40,880 Speaker 1: between the Pacific Northwest and settlers when George Vancouver reached 94 00:05:40,880 --> 00:05:44,800 Speaker 1: Bainbridge Island in sevento in the h M. S Discovery. 95 00:05:45,120 --> 00:05:50,400 Speaker 1: Yes Uh Seattle had two important events that led to 96 00:05:50,480 --> 00:05:53,240 Speaker 1: his becoming chief. The first was that he went on 97 00:05:53,279 --> 00:05:56,000 Speaker 1: a vision quest for spirit power as a youth and 98 00:05:56,080 --> 00:05:59,640 Speaker 1: he received thunderbird power. Um thunder and lightning had a 99 00:05:59,680 --> 00:06:03,279 Speaker 1: really strong spiritual significance, and thunderpower was said to give 100 00:06:03,839 --> 00:06:07,280 Speaker 1: a person power as a warrior and as speaker. There 101 00:06:07,279 --> 00:06:09,280 Speaker 1: are accounts of Seattle, saying that he had a great 102 00:06:09,320 --> 00:06:11,920 Speaker 1: boom booming voice, and that if he yelled at you, 103 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:15,160 Speaker 1: the ground would physically tremble, and that when he gave 104 00:06:15,160 --> 00:06:18,080 Speaker 1: speeches he could be heard like half a mile away. 105 00:06:18,279 --> 00:06:20,400 Speaker 1: Like there was a lot tied to him, this idea 106 00:06:20,400 --> 00:06:25,080 Speaker 1: of voice and speech and very powerful speech. And the 107 00:06:25,160 --> 00:06:28,000 Speaker 1: second other thing that is an important part of the 108 00:06:28,680 --> 00:06:31,560 Speaker 1: story of him becoming chief is that while defending a 109 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:34,800 Speaker 1: settlement from raiders traveling down the White River, he had 110 00:06:34,800 --> 00:06:39,719 Speaker 1: warriors chopped down trees just downriver of a particularly dangerous bend, 111 00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:43,279 Speaker 1: and the incoming raiders canoes crashed and they couldn't get through, 112 00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:46,359 Speaker 1: so their water their riders were spilled into the water. 113 00:06:46,920 --> 00:06:50,240 Speaker 1: And it's fairly easy to defend yourself against people who 114 00:06:50,240 --> 00:06:54,440 Speaker 1: are floundering in the waters coming at you rapidly on boats. Right, 115 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:57,920 Speaker 1: The incoming raiders were handily dispatched when they came around 116 00:06:57,960 --> 00:07:00,800 Speaker 1: this like treacherous curve and crashed to a tree, which 117 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:04,120 Speaker 1: is pretty ingenious. Right. Word spread of that he was 118 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:07,640 Speaker 1: named to be an important chief, and he became known 119 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:12,520 Speaker 1: in his leadership as an intelligent and formidable leader. There 120 00:07:12,520 --> 00:07:15,200 Speaker 1: are several sources that say that he owned slaves who 121 00:07:15,320 --> 00:07:18,840 Speaker 1: he either freed after signing treaties with the settlers or 122 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:23,360 Speaker 1: after the emancipation Proclamation. There sources kind of contradict each 123 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:26,720 Speaker 1: other on when he's freed the slaves that belonged to him, 124 00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:30,000 Speaker 1: but owning slaves is a pretty common practice in many tribes. 125 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:33,320 Speaker 1: Often people from the opposing tribe would kind of be 126 00:07:33,880 --> 00:07:37,600 Speaker 1: spoils of war and would become the slaves of the 127 00:07:37,600 --> 00:07:41,320 Speaker 1: conquering tribe, which is pretty common throughout all history and 128 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:44,480 Speaker 1: many cultures. Yeah, I think I think some people have 129 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:49,080 Speaker 1: the mistaken idea identity idea. Uh, there's only one culture 130 00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:51,880 Speaker 1: that enslaved other people, and there are many cultures that 131 00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:56,560 Speaker 1: have enslaved other people. But onto his wives. So his 132 00:07:56,640 --> 00:08:00,600 Speaker 1: first wife, Ladelia, he was really quite deeply in love with, uh, 133 00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:03,520 Speaker 1: and she died shortly after giving birth to their first child, 134 00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:07,400 Speaker 1: Kiki so Blue, who was also known to the settlers 135 00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:10,880 Speaker 1: as Princess Angeline. She's a notable historical figure in that 136 00:08:10,960 --> 00:08:15,200 Speaker 1: area and the area as well. Um Seattle was really 137 00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:17,600 Speaker 1: grief stipped stricken when his wife died, and he only 138 00:08:17,600 --> 00:08:20,800 Speaker 1: talked about her openly much much later in his later years. 139 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:24,960 Speaker 1: He got married again to Uh, and I am going 140 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:29,440 Speaker 1: to have trouble with this pronunciation um YoY ill. And 141 00:08:29,520 --> 00:08:33,040 Speaker 1: they had two daughters and three sons together. Now, an 142 00:08:33,040 --> 00:08:35,960 Speaker 1: interesting part of his story is that he was actually 143 00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:41,000 Speaker 1: baptized into the Catholic Church. I think sometimes it's easy 144 00:08:41,040 --> 00:08:43,760 Speaker 1: to forget that there really was some blending of culture 145 00:08:43,800 --> 00:08:46,960 Speaker 1: going on. Uh. And after the death of one of 146 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:49,160 Speaker 1: his sons was when he was baptized, and he took 147 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:52,120 Speaker 1: the name Noah Seattle at that time, and his children 148 00:08:52,160 --> 00:08:55,920 Speaker 1: were raised in the Catholic faith. And after Seattle's conversion, 149 00:08:55,960 --> 00:08:59,559 Speaker 1: he focused less on defending and occupying his territory and 150 00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:03,480 Speaker 1: more on building peaceful relations within the tribe and with 151 00:09:03,720 --> 00:09:07,280 Speaker 1: the settlers that were coming in right. The American settlers 152 00:09:07,280 --> 00:09:11,120 Speaker 1: had gotten to the Puget Sound area around eighteen forty six, 153 00:09:11,800 --> 00:09:15,320 Speaker 1: and Seattle established himself from the very start as a 154 00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:19,680 Speaker 1: welcoming and peaceful presence. He tended to make friends with settlers. 155 00:09:20,200 --> 00:09:23,960 Speaker 1: He instructed the people in his tribes to try to 156 00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:29,760 Speaker 1: help people. They established fisheries in conjunction with the settlers, 157 00:09:30,200 --> 00:09:32,760 Speaker 1: and in particular, he was very close friends with a 158 00:09:32,760 --> 00:09:35,320 Speaker 1: man named doctor David S. Maynard, who was known as 159 00:09:35,400 --> 00:09:39,640 Speaker 1: Doc Doc Maynard was the first doctor and merchant in Seattle, UM, 160 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:42,320 Speaker 1: and he was a prominent person. He owned most of 161 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:46,719 Speaker 1: the land that is Pioneer Square in Seattle today, and 162 00:09:46,800 --> 00:09:50,720 Speaker 1: the settlement that actually became known as Seattle was established 163 00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:52,920 Speaker 1: in eighteen fifty two, which is just six short years 164 00:09:52,960 --> 00:09:57,000 Speaker 1: after the American settlers landed in the Puget Sound area. 165 00:09:57,600 --> 00:10:01,319 Speaker 1: So in March eighteen fifty three, WHI Shington was separated 166 00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:05,559 Speaker 1: out from the Oregon Territory and in October Governor Isaac Stevens, 167 00:10:05,559 --> 00:10:07,880 Speaker 1: who was thirty five at the time, arrived in Olympia, 168 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:11,160 Speaker 1: the capital of Washington. In addition to being governor of 169 00:10:11,160 --> 00:10:14,200 Speaker 1: the territory, he was also the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 170 00:10:14,720 --> 00:10:17,920 Speaker 1: and one of his jobs as the governor and as 171 00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:21,160 Speaker 1: the Commissioner for Indian Affairs was to secure land for 172 00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:25,040 Speaker 1: the Transcontinental Railroad, and that was going to require the 173 00:10:25,080 --> 00:10:28,200 Speaker 1: local tribes to see their land to him. So it's 174 00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:31,360 Speaker 1: in this context that Seattle has met Stevens for the 175 00:10:31,400 --> 00:10:34,760 Speaker 1: first time and Stephen wants to secure the land. That 176 00:10:34,840 --> 00:10:39,400 Speaker 1: Chief Seattle reportedly gave a speech. Allegedly this was delivered 177 00:10:39,480 --> 00:10:42,440 Speaker 1: to Stevens or in the presence of him on the 178 00:10:42,480 --> 00:10:45,760 Speaker 1: steps of Doc Maynard's office after he was introduced to 179 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:48,760 Speaker 1: Stevens and heard that Stevens wanted to to get the 180 00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:54,000 Speaker 1: local land from the native population. Um. According to what 181 00:10:54,160 --> 00:10:57,880 Speaker 1: has been reported, this happened on Steven's first visit into 182 00:10:57,920 --> 00:11:03,080 Speaker 1: the town. But that's a little hard to concretely verify 183 00:11:03,440 --> 00:11:07,200 Speaker 1: because we only have a few situations in that the 184 00:11:07,320 --> 00:11:09,480 Speaker 1: history of the area when we know that Seattle and 185 00:11:09,480 --> 00:11:11,400 Speaker 1: Stevens were in the same place at the same time. 186 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:14,960 Speaker 1: So there's been a lot of speculation about when exactly 187 00:11:15,120 --> 00:11:18,760 Speaker 1: this speech may have taken place, and it in many 188 00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:22,160 Speaker 1: of the accounts where it happened very um, almost immediately 189 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:25,040 Speaker 1: after they met. It's a little bit tricky to get 190 00:11:25,080 --> 00:11:28,240 Speaker 1: your head around the idea of this great speech being 191 00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:30,640 Speaker 1: made pretty quickly after, like a handshake in a quick 192 00:11:30,679 --> 00:11:34,400 Speaker 1: discussion right there there. Yeah, we'll talk about that as 193 00:11:34,480 --> 00:11:37,400 Speaker 1: we talk about the text of the speech a little bit. Uh. 194 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:39,760 Speaker 1: This is a speech that some people may have read 195 00:11:39,920 --> 00:11:42,240 Speaker 1: in school. What they read in school may not have 196 00:11:42,400 --> 00:11:46,959 Speaker 1: been remotely accurate. And here's why. Um. The first speech 197 00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:51,160 Speaker 1: was purportedly recorded by a doctor Henry Smith, as notes 198 00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:56,760 Speaker 1: as the address was was delivered. Um. He then reconstructed 199 00:11:57,120 --> 00:12:00,680 Speaker 1: that speech from his notes and published it in the 200 00:12:00,720 --> 00:12:03,920 Speaker 1: Seattle Sunday Star in seven so it was thirty two 201 00:12:04,040 --> 00:12:09,480 Speaker 1: or thirty three years after it was reportedly delivered. Occasionally 202 00:12:09,600 --> 00:12:12,320 Speaker 1: people say that this speech was made at the signing 203 00:12:12,360 --> 00:12:15,120 Speaker 1: of the Point Elliott Treaty. We know for sure this 204 00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:19,800 Speaker 1: is not the case because, uh, Smith says pretty specifically, 205 00:12:19,800 --> 00:12:23,800 Speaker 1: this happened in Seattle on the steps of Doc Maynard's office. 206 00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:26,600 Speaker 1: That is not where the Point Elliott Treaty was signed. 207 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:29,600 Speaker 1: And Smith was also not present at Point Elliott's and 208 00:12:29,600 --> 00:12:33,320 Speaker 1: he would have not been able to make notes. No. Uh. 209 00:12:33,360 --> 00:12:37,080 Speaker 1: The second version is basically an edited, rewritten version of 210 00:12:37,200 --> 00:12:40,200 Speaker 1: Smith's that was published in the Seattle Sunday Star, which 211 00:12:40,240 --> 00:12:43,440 Speaker 1: was done by a poet named William Aerosmith. This is 212 00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:46,280 Speaker 1: the same content, but the grammar and structure are different, 213 00:12:46,280 --> 00:12:50,920 Speaker 1: so it's sort of like updating the Victorian English record 214 00:12:51,320 --> 00:12:54,640 Speaker 1: to be a little bit more modernized in its tone invoice. 215 00:12:55,360 --> 00:12:58,360 Speaker 1: And then the third and most famous iteration of the 216 00:12:58,360 --> 00:13:02,280 Speaker 1: speech that's attributed to chiefs Seattle is reported to be 217 00:13:02,320 --> 00:13:05,160 Speaker 1: a letter that Chief Seattle Seattle wrote to the President, 218 00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:08,080 Speaker 1: which would have been either Polk or Pierce, depending on 219 00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:11,800 Speaker 1: who you're looking at in terms of who cites this speech. 220 00:13:12,240 --> 00:13:15,680 Speaker 1: But it was actually written not at all by Seattle. 221 00:13:15,880 --> 00:13:19,480 Speaker 1: It was written so much later seventies by a guy 222 00:13:19,559 --> 00:13:22,360 Speaker 1: named Ted Perry for an environmental film called Home, which 223 00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:26,959 Speaker 1: was written for the Southern Baptist Convention. Uh, it's this 224 00:13:27,040 --> 00:13:29,280 Speaker 1: is where it just this is a lot of people 225 00:13:29,320 --> 00:13:31,880 Speaker 1: really dwell on the speech and whether it was authentic. 226 00:13:32,240 --> 00:13:35,440 Speaker 1: It's pretty clearly was not. But this speech has been 227 00:13:35,520 --> 00:13:38,720 Speaker 1: quoted in numerous anthologies. It was made into a children's 228 00:13:38,720 --> 00:13:42,200 Speaker 1: book called Brother Eagle Sister Sky. Joseph Campbell talked about 229 00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:45,160 Speaker 1: it in the Power of Myth. It's like made it 230 00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:48,360 Speaker 1: onto bumper stickers and T shirts all over the place. 231 00:13:48,520 --> 00:13:50,400 Speaker 1: It took on a life of its own, it really did. 232 00:13:50,559 --> 00:13:53,120 Speaker 1: And it sort of starts with this, uh, this thing 233 00:13:53,120 --> 00:13:55,480 Speaker 1: that was published in the Seattle Sunday Star. It starts 234 00:13:55,480 --> 00:13:57,880 Speaker 1: with some similarities to that, and then it veers off 235 00:13:57,960 --> 00:14:03,160 Speaker 1: in a very environmental direction with very bumber sticker quotable 236 00:14:03,240 --> 00:14:07,160 Speaker 1: quotes in it. Um, we know for sure that this 237 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:10,080 Speaker 1: was not a letter to the president. Um. In addition 238 00:14:10,120 --> 00:14:12,040 Speaker 1: to the fact that James K. Polk was dead in 239 00:14:13,120 --> 00:14:16,280 Speaker 1: there's not any record of any such letter going from 240 00:14:16,320 --> 00:14:19,360 Speaker 1: Seattle to the president, and a letter from a Native 241 00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:22,400 Speaker 1: American chief to the President would have made several bureaucratic 242 00:14:22,440 --> 00:14:24,440 Speaker 1: stops on the way, and there's no record of it 243 00:14:24,480 --> 00:14:27,320 Speaker 1: in any of those places. There's also no record of 244 00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:31,040 Speaker 1: Chief Seattle asking anyone to write a letter for him, 245 00:14:31,040 --> 00:14:32,960 Speaker 1: and since he was illiterate, he would have needed to 246 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:35,680 Speaker 1: do that. And then the cherry on top, Ted Perry 247 00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:37,480 Speaker 1: wrote it, and he says he wrote it. He says 248 00:14:37,480 --> 00:14:48,880 Speaker 1: he wrote it, He acknowledges authorship of it. Right. So 249 00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:50,520 Speaker 1: I'm going to take a minute and just sort of 250 00:14:50,600 --> 00:14:54,800 Speaker 1: read a little snippet of the Seattle Sunday Star version 251 00:14:54,880 --> 00:14:57,560 Speaker 1: and the Ted Perry version, and the there's a twofold 252 00:14:57,560 --> 00:14:59,560 Speaker 1: purpose here wants to give you an idea of the 253 00:14:59,600 --> 00:15:04,040 Speaker 1: tone of the speech that was allegedly given originally, and 254 00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:05,960 Speaker 1: the other is to give you an idea of how 255 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:09,880 Speaker 1: completely different from that the Ted Perry version is. And 256 00:15:09,920 --> 00:15:11,880 Speaker 1: we're gonna talk a little bit more about the Sunday 257 00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:16,000 Speaker 1: Star version in a minute. So this is a snippet 258 00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:20,080 Speaker 1: from the Seattle Sunday Star version. Chief Seattle says Your 259 00:15:20,160 --> 00:15:23,800 Speaker 1: God is not our God. Your God loves your people 260 00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:28,000 Speaker 1: and hates mine. He folds his strong, protecting arms lovingly 261 00:15:28,240 --> 00:15:30,800 Speaker 1: about the pale face and leads him by the hand 262 00:15:30,840 --> 00:15:33,720 Speaker 1: as a father leads an infant son. But he has 263 00:15:33,800 --> 00:15:37,640 Speaker 1: forsaken his red children, if they are really his our God, 264 00:15:37,960 --> 00:15:41,800 Speaker 1: the Great Spirit, seems also to have forsaken us. Your 265 00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:45,240 Speaker 1: God makes your people wax stronger every day. Soon they 266 00:15:45,240 --> 00:15:48,640 Speaker 1: will fill all the land. Our people are ebbing away 267 00:15:48,760 --> 00:15:52,120 Speaker 1: like a rapidly receding tide that will never return. The 268 00:15:52,160 --> 00:15:55,240 Speaker 1: white man's God cannot love our people, or he would 269 00:15:55,280 --> 00:15:58,080 Speaker 1: protect them. They seem to be orphans who can look 270 00:15:58,120 --> 00:16:01,680 Speaker 1: nowhere for help? How and can we be brothers? It's 271 00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:04,800 Speaker 1: very sad, it is, But it's also very weird when 272 00:16:04,800 --> 00:16:08,080 Speaker 1: you remember that he was a Catholic. Yes, it's it's 273 00:16:08,120 --> 00:16:10,320 Speaker 1: weird with a lot of context that we'll talk about 274 00:16:10,880 --> 00:16:13,880 Speaker 1: in more detail. Um the the whole of it has 275 00:16:13,920 --> 00:16:17,320 Speaker 1: been categorized into this idea of of a farewell speech. 276 00:16:17,840 --> 00:16:20,960 Speaker 1: There are several speeches delivered by Native Americans within that 277 00:16:21,080 --> 00:16:25,080 Speaker 1: era that that sort of lament the death of Native 278 00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:29,680 Speaker 1: American culture and the face of white settlement. Another really 279 00:16:29,840 --> 00:16:34,640 Speaker 1: famous one would be chief Chief Joseph gave such an address. Um, 280 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:36,920 Speaker 1: we'll talk a little bit more about why that interpretation 281 00:16:36,960 --> 00:16:39,560 Speaker 1: of this is kind of problematic in a few minutes. 282 00:16:39,640 --> 00:16:42,600 Speaker 1: But here's a piece of the Ted Perry version. Uh, 283 00:16:42,640 --> 00:16:45,360 Speaker 1: and it's it does start off following some similar points 284 00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:46,960 Speaker 1: to what I just read, but then it goes into 285 00:16:46,960 --> 00:16:51,000 Speaker 1: this environmental direction, with things like you must teach your 286 00:16:51,040 --> 00:16:53,680 Speaker 1: children that the ground beneath their feet is the ashes 287 00:16:53,760 --> 00:16:56,840 Speaker 1: of our grandfathers, so that they will respect the land. 288 00:16:57,080 --> 00:16:59,240 Speaker 1: Tell your children that the earth is rich with the 289 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:02,200 Speaker 1: lives of our in Teach your children that what we 290 00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:05,160 Speaker 1: will have taught our children, that the earth is our mother. 291 00:17:05,720 --> 00:17:08,639 Speaker 1: Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. 292 00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:12,240 Speaker 1: If men spit upon the ground, they spit upon themselves. 293 00:17:12,760 --> 00:17:15,560 Speaker 1: This we knew. The earth does not belong to man. 294 00:17:15,840 --> 00:17:19,280 Speaker 1: Man belongs to the earth. This we knew. All things 295 00:17:19,359 --> 00:17:22,560 Speaker 1: are connected, like the blood which unites one family. All 296 00:17:22,600 --> 00:17:26,520 Speaker 1: things are connected. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons 297 00:17:26,560 --> 00:17:29,359 Speaker 1: of the earth. Man did not weave the web of life. 298 00:17:29,400 --> 00:17:32,160 Speaker 1: He is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does 299 00:17:32,240 --> 00:17:36,239 Speaker 1: to the web, he does to himself. That has two 300 00:17:36,280 --> 00:17:39,040 Speaker 1: bits of it that often show up on T shirts 301 00:17:39,040 --> 00:17:41,320 Speaker 1: and bumper stickers and that kind of thing. Well, and 302 00:17:41,359 --> 00:17:43,360 Speaker 1: it's easy to see why. I mean, it is very 303 00:17:44,119 --> 00:17:48,639 Speaker 1: moving and you know, really quotable, very quotable, sort of 304 00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:54,080 Speaker 1: poignant from an ecological standpoint, which I think part of 305 00:17:54,080 --> 00:17:57,720 Speaker 1: the reason that myth grows and you know, continues this 306 00:17:57,800 --> 00:18:01,439 Speaker 1: attribution of these words with Chief Seattle is that we 307 00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:06,320 Speaker 1: normally associate that sort of awareness of the earth and 308 00:18:07,240 --> 00:18:11,520 Speaker 1: the planet as something bigger than just what we're you know, 309 00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:15,239 Speaker 1: sort of running on day to day. We associate that 310 00:18:15,320 --> 00:18:18,040 Speaker 1: closeness more with Native Americans than we do with the 311 00:18:18,040 --> 00:18:21,840 Speaker 1: European settlers. Right, it really did take on a weird 312 00:18:21,920 --> 00:18:24,280 Speaker 1: life of its own. Um And the reason it's so 313 00:18:24,359 --> 00:18:27,480 Speaker 1: quotable is because it was written for a film. It 314 00:18:27,520 --> 00:18:31,280 Speaker 1: was written to be quotable. Yes, So I've read lots 315 00:18:31,280 --> 00:18:33,480 Speaker 1: of things that kind of dissect all the ways in 316 00:18:33,560 --> 00:18:37,080 Speaker 1: which that particular version of the address does not make 317 00:18:37,119 --> 00:18:39,639 Speaker 1: any sense in the context of the time. But we're 318 00:18:39,680 --> 00:18:41,840 Speaker 1: not going to really get into them, because we know 319 00:18:41,920 --> 00:18:44,679 Speaker 1: the real story already that Ted Perry wrote it, Like, 320 00:18:44,680 --> 00:18:46,560 Speaker 1: we don't really need to go and dissect all the 321 00:18:46,560 --> 00:18:48,560 Speaker 1: ways in which it was not would not make sense 322 00:18:48,600 --> 00:18:50,760 Speaker 1: for Chief Seattles who have said something about trains when 323 00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:53,360 Speaker 1: he never saw a train, because we know that Ted 324 00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:55,639 Speaker 1: Perry wrote it. So for the really the rest of 325 00:18:55,640 --> 00:18:57,960 Speaker 1: this podcast, the the version of the address that we're 326 00:18:57,960 --> 00:19:00,399 Speaker 1: talking about is the one that was printed in the 327 00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:04,639 Speaker 1: Seattle Sunday Star. Um. It was reprinted many times throughout 328 00:19:04,640 --> 00:19:06,879 Speaker 1: the year. Was reprinted, not not as many times as 329 00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:09,600 Speaker 1: the ten Berry version, but it did get it got 330 00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:15,119 Speaker 1: its share of attention. UM. At various points that text 331 00:19:15,480 --> 00:19:18,560 Speaker 1: was reprinted in pamphlets and books and histories and things 332 00:19:18,600 --> 00:19:21,399 Speaker 1: like that. At some point along the line, somebody added 333 00:19:21,440 --> 00:19:24,919 Speaker 1: a thirteen word finish. Um. He he ends with the 334 00:19:24,960 --> 00:19:27,960 Speaker 1: idea of not to dismiss the dead because the dead 335 00:19:27,960 --> 00:19:31,320 Speaker 1: are not powerless. And somebody added a sort of thirteen 336 00:19:31,359 --> 00:19:35,560 Speaker 1: word word coda that says dead. I say there is 337 00:19:35,600 --> 00:19:38,400 Speaker 1: no death, only a change of worlds. And that's not 338 00:19:38,720 --> 00:19:41,919 Speaker 1: in the original Sunday Star version. So that got added 339 00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:44,000 Speaker 1: in and then sort of picked up and passed along 340 00:19:44,040 --> 00:19:47,320 Speaker 1: as it was reprinted. Um. We're going to sort of 341 00:19:47,359 --> 00:19:50,520 Speaker 1: talk now about how even when we have this text 342 00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:52,639 Speaker 1: that came from the Seattle Sunday star. We're still not 343 00:19:52,720 --> 00:19:54,800 Speaker 1: really sure how authentic it is or how well it 344 00:19:54,880 --> 00:19:58,160 Speaker 1: actually represents the words that were spoken at the time. 345 00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:01,960 Speaker 1: And it begins with the guy who wrote it down. Dr. 346 00:20:02,040 --> 00:20:05,280 Speaker 1: Henry Smith was a scholar and sources said that he 347 00:20:05,359 --> 00:20:08,280 Speaker 1: was bilingual in English and Duwamish. And that is a 348 00:20:08,320 --> 00:20:12,919 Speaker 1: little weird because what the Duwamish tribes actually spoke was 349 00:20:13,040 --> 00:20:15,840 Speaker 1: a language called lu showed Seed and I apologize if 350 00:20:15,840 --> 00:20:19,359 Speaker 1: I have pronounced that wrongly. Um. Any address that Chief 351 00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:22,159 Speaker 1: Seattle gave would have been made in this language and 352 00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:25,480 Speaker 1: then translated to the Chinnook jargon, which was sort of 353 00:20:25,480 --> 00:20:28,359 Speaker 1: a common tongue uniting all of the people that lived 354 00:20:28,359 --> 00:20:30,960 Speaker 1: in that in that area, then it would have been 355 00:20:30,960 --> 00:20:34,320 Speaker 1: translated into into English. We don't really know which of 356 00:20:34,320 --> 00:20:36,680 Speaker 1: the versions Dr Smith was listening to when he took 357 00:20:36,720 --> 00:20:39,199 Speaker 1: his notes. Um. And it is worth noting that the 358 00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:42,159 Speaker 1: fact that Seattle either didn't speak at the jargon or 359 00:20:42,960 --> 00:20:45,720 Speaker 1: said he didn't speak the jargon jargon kind of sets 360 00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:48,679 Speaker 1: him apart from other people in the area, Like, that's 361 00:20:48,760 --> 00:20:51,119 Speaker 1: kind of a weird decision to make to say, I 362 00:20:51,320 --> 00:20:53,199 Speaker 1: just I don't speak this common tongue. I lead all 363 00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:56,240 Speaker 1: of these tribes who speak a language I do not, right. Um, 364 00:20:56,240 --> 00:20:58,560 Speaker 1: but that meant that he had to have an interpreter everywhere, 365 00:20:58,600 --> 00:21:01,399 Speaker 1: which sort of became mark of status. Like, if we 366 00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:04,880 Speaker 1: are going to entertain this, this diplomat from these tribes, 367 00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:06,840 Speaker 1: we're going to need to make sure that we do 368 00:21:06,920 --> 00:21:10,639 Speaker 1: this thing of getting an interpreter for him. So we 369 00:21:10,680 --> 00:21:13,040 Speaker 1: don't really know which of these three versions that were 370 00:21:13,040 --> 00:21:17,640 Speaker 1: probably being delivered was the one that Dr Smith took 371 00:21:17,640 --> 00:21:20,680 Speaker 1: his notes from. And we do know, I mean, he 372 00:21:20,720 --> 00:21:23,399 Speaker 1: is a fairly reliable figure in that he was a 373 00:21:23,440 --> 00:21:26,480 Speaker 1: superintendent of local schools, he was a member of the legislature. 374 00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:30,720 Speaker 1: So it's not like he was just a self proclaimed 375 00:21:30,760 --> 00:21:33,080 Speaker 1: scholar who swooped in and claimed to understand these things. 376 00:21:33,080 --> 00:21:38,040 Speaker 1: He really was pretty ingrained in the area. Um, you know, 377 00:21:38,119 --> 00:21:42,800 Speaker 1: he wasn't just a someone claiming to be knowledgeable about 378 00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:44,920 Speaker 1: these things. He was an established part of the community. 379 00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:47,800 Speaker 1: But the place where it gets a little weird, though, 380 00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:50,040 Speaker 1: is that the column and the Sunday Star where he 381 00:21:50,119 --> 00:21:53,600 Speaker 1: published this speech, in addition to it being thirty two 382 00:21:53,680 --> 00:21:56,200 Speaker 1: or thirty three years after the fact, was part of 383 00:21:56,240 --> 00:22:00,560 Speaker 1: an eleven part series that was celebrating the pioneers of Seattle. Um, 384 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:04,400 Speaker 1: it was, as we often see generational divides happening. There 385 00:22:04,440 --> 00:22:07,479 Speaker 1: was this generational divide happening between the people known as 386 00:22:07,520 --> 00:22:10,640 Speaker 1: the Old Seattle, which were the pioneers that had settled 387 00:22:10,640 --> 00:22:14,080 Speaker 1: the area and established the city, and New Seattle, which 388 00:22:14,119 --> 00:22:17,840 Speaker 1: was the young entrepreneurs who were gradually taking those people's 389 00:22:17,880 --> 00:22:21,399 Speaker 1: places in society. So the fact that he was trying 390 00:22:21,440 --> 00:22:24,920 Speaker 1: to put Old Seattle in its best light might have 391 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:30,200 Speaker 1: influenced the way Smith reinterpreted and reconstructed his notes when 392 00:22:30,280 --> 00:22:31,879 Speaker 1: he was making the version that he put in the 393 00:22:31,920 --> 00:22:37,000 Speaker 1: Seattle Sunday Star. And even his description of Seattle at 394 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:41,000 Speaker 1: the address kind of exemplifies this. He describes the chief 395 00:22:41,080 --> 00:22:43,240 Speaker 1: as putting his hand on the head of a visible 396 00:22:43,240 --> 00:22:46,080 Speaker 1: nobleman and then taking up a posture that resembles what 397 00:22:46,119 --> 00:22:50,159 Speaker 1: we think of in ancient Roman senators. Yeah, Like if 398 00:22:50,280 --> 00:22:52,960 Speaker 1: if you look at old pictures of people giving orations, 399 00:22:52,960 --> 00:22:55,320 Speaker 1: like paintings of people giving orations in Rome, and they 400 00:22:55,359 --> 00:22:57,240 Speaker 1: have this very noble bearing and they have sort of 401 00:22:57,240 --> 00:23:00,879 Speaker 1: a hand lifted up, That's that's the trade that Smith 402 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:06,119 Speaker 1: paints when he's introducing this speech. Um, it definitely comes 403 00:23:06,119 --> 00:23:08,800 Speaker 1: off as prophetic because it talks a lot about the 404 00:23:08,800 --> 00:23:11,480 Speaker 1: decline of the Native American population in the face of 405 00:23:11,480 --> 00:23:15,720 Speaker 1: white settlers. It's possible that the reason that it comes 406 00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:20,840 Speaker 1: off as prophetic is because Smith reconstructed it with knowledge 407 00:23:20,840 --> 00:23:23,560 Speaker 1: of what happened in the next thirty years, which really 408 00:23:23,680 --> 00:23:27,320 Speaker 1: was an orchestrated attempt by the government and lots of 409 00:23:27,359 --> 00:23:32,399 Speaker 1: places to push Native Americans out of land and to 410 00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:36,320 Speaker 1: break up tribes so that their original culture would be 411 00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:40,520 Speaker 1: less prevalent or or just removed from their way of life. 412 00:23:40,560 --> 00:23:43,560 Speaker 1: Like he knew about all that stuff because it had 413 00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:46,560 Speaker 1: happened in the interim, right, it had happened in the interim. 414 00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:49,159 Speaker 1: Another thing that had happened in the interim was the 415 00:23:49,320 --> 00:23:51,960 Speaker 1: what we mentioned a little earlier, which was Chiefs Joseph's 416 00:23:51,960 --> 00:23:55,800 Speaker 1: sort of farewell speech that happened in eighteen seventy seven. 417 00:23:55,960 --> 00:23:58,719 Speaker 1: So it's possible that some of the fatalism in the 418 00:23:58,760 --> 00:24:03,439 Speaker 1: tone is influenced by its Smith's knowledge of what happened 419 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:05,760 Speaker 1: later and of the kind of speeches that other Native 420 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:11,200 Speaker 1: Americans we're making elsewhere in the United States. And additionally, 421 00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:14,800 Speaker 1: it's we should note that Seattle already had a reputation 422 00:24:14,880 --> 00:24:18,119 Speaker 1: for being really friendly and welcoming to the white settlers 423 00:24:18,119 --> 00:24:22,200 Speaker 1: that were coming long before Governor Stephen's arrival. So it's 424 00:24:22,240 --> 00:24:27,240 Speaker 1: pretty uncharacteristic that he would suddenly have this sort of negative, um, 425 00:24:27,560 --> 00:24:31,480 Speaker 1: very dark speech. It was full of pessimism and mourning 426 00:24:31,560 --> 00:24:34,080 Speaker 1: and it's a sense of impending doom. But he had 427 00:24:34,080 --> 00:24:38,760 Speaker 1: a pretty favorable relationship with a lot of white settlers 428 00:24:38,760 --> 00:24:41,639 Speaker 1: in the area, so it seems that he may have 429 00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:46,560 Speaker 1: been concerned about about land being removed from his tribe. 430 00:24:46,680 --> 00:24:52,119 Speaker 1: But the overwhelming sense of sadness um seems possibly not 431 00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:58,400 Speaker 1: characteristic of his other encounters with white settlers. And there's 432 00:24:58,400 --> 00:25:01,480 Speaker 1: also no record of this speech in the Smithsonium, it's 433 00:25:01,480 --> 00:25:03,359 Speaker 1: none in the National Archives, it's not in the Library 434 00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:06,680 Speaker 1: of Congress. The primary source that we have is something 435 00:25:06,680 --> 00:25:09,879 Speaker 1: that was written down in the note form in note starting, 436 00:25:09,880 --> 00:25:12,000 Speaker 1: a note form more than more than thirty years after 437 00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:15,760 Speaker 1: the fact. We do though have as a reference to 438 00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:19,959 Speaker 1: short speeches that Seattle made at the Point Elliott Treaty Council, 439 00:25:20,040 --> 00:25:25,080 Speaker 1: which was from December eight fifty four UM. And these 440 00:25:25,119 --> 00:25:27,520 Speaker 1: are from the record of the proceedings and the Bureau 441 00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:30,760 Speaker 1: of Indian Affairs and the National Archives. They are so 442 00:25:30,880 --> 00:25:34,520 Speaker 1: dissimilar in style and wor wording to the Seattle Sunday 443 00:25:34,520 --> 00:25:37,840 Speaker 1: Star piece. They're so different. I can read you both 444 00:25:37,880 --> 00:25:40,720 Speaker 1: of them, which I am going to do. Um. The 445 00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:44,240 Speaker 1: first is I look upon you as my father, I 446 00:25:44,400 --> 00:25:46,800 Speaker 1: and the rest regard you as such. All of the 447 00:25:46,840 --> 00:25:49,760 Speaker 1: Indians have the same good feeling toward you, and we'll 448 00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:52,520 Speaker 1: send it in paper to the Great Father. All of 449 00:25:52,560 --> 00:25:55,919 Speaker 1: the men, old men, women and children rejoice that he 450 00:25:56,000 --> 00:25:59,040 Speaker 1: has sent you to take care of them. My mind 451 00:25:59,240 --> 00:26:02,040 Speaker 1: is like yours. I don't want to say more. My 452 00:26:02,119 --> 00:26:05,720 Speaker 1: heart is very good towards Dr Maynard. I want always 453 00:26:05,760 --> 00:26:09,600 Speaker 1: to get medicine from him. That's the thing. One. The 454 00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:14,639 Speaker 1: other is is presumably after the treaty was signed, and 455 00:26:14,680 --> 00:26:17,080 Speaker 1: he says, now by this we make friends and put 456 00:26:17,080 --> 00:26:20,320 Speaker 1: away all bad feelings, if ever we had any. We 457 00:26:20,400 --> 00:26:23,320 Speaker 1: are the friends of the Americans. All the Indians are 458 00:26:23,359 --> 00:26:26,000 Speaker 1: of the same mind. We look upon you as our father. 459 00:26:26,440 --> 00:26:28,639 Speaker 1: We will never change our minds, but since you have 460 00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:31,600 Speaker 1: been to see us, we will always be the same. Now, 461 00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:36,239 Speaker 1: now do you send this paper so vastly different in 462 00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:41,920 Speaker 1: tone from from this other address that was supposedly delivered. 463 00:26:42,480 --> 00:26:46,520 Speaker 1: You know, within a year or so of this. Um, 464 00:26:46,560 --> 00:26:48,919 Speaker 1: we could get into things that are kind of trouble 465 00:26:48,960 --> 00:26:51,400 Speaker 1: like the the deferential tone that that people might think 466 00:26:51,480 --> 00:26:54,840 Speaker 1: is is troubling in this particular set of addresses. But 467 00:26:54,960 --> 00:26:59,720 Speaker 1: I'm more interested in looking at how that sounds so 468 00:26:59,800 --> 00:27:02,159 Speaker 1: much different from this thing that was allegedly delivered on 469 00:27:02,440 --> 00:27:07,320 Speaker 1: Documentard's office steps. Yes, and several people that were supposedly 470 00:27:07,600 --> 00:27:10,880 Speaker 1: there have no had no memory of such an address 471 00:27:10,920 --> 00:27:14,359 Speaker 1: that was that longer impassioned. A local interpreter by the 472 00:27:14,400 --> 00:27:16,439 Speaker 1: name of BF Shaw was there, he didn't remember it. 473 00:27:16,800 --> 00:27:19,960 Speaker 1: David S. Maynard's widow, Catherine, was there, and she had 474 00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:23,160 Speaker 1: no recollection of a long impassioned speech. Uh. And there 475 00:27:23,160 --> 00:27:26,800 Speaker 1: aren't any other contemporary records of Seattle delivering any speeches 476 00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:29,879 Speaker 1: like it. Uh. You know, the newspaper in Olympia did 477 00:27:29,960 --> 00:27:34,080 Speaker 1: not report any similar things. There's really no historical record 478 00:27:34,520 --> 00:27:38,160 Speaker 1: of speeches of that nature being made by him, right. Uh. 479 00:27:38,280 --> 00:27:41,320 Speaker 1: One of the primary chroniclers of the history of the 480 00:27:41,359 --> 00:27:46,240 Speaker 1: Pacific Northwest from that time is a man named Clarence B. Bagley. 481 00:27:46,320 --> 00:27:49,120 Speaker 1: He moved with his family to the Pacific Northwest when 482 00:27:49,119 --> 00:27:51,719 Speaker 1: he was nine, and, in addition to working a lot 483 00:27:51,760 --> 00:27:54,280 Speaker 1: of other jobs from painting to running minds. He was 484 00:27:54,320 --> 00:27:58,680 Speaker 1: a newspaperman, and he became like a really prominent local historian. 485 00:27:59,520 --> 00:28:01,960 Speaker 1: He was part of the founding of the Washington State 486 00:28:02,040 --> 00:28:05,479 Speaker 1: Historical Society, and he wrote two three volume histories, one 487 00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:08,239 Speaker 1: of Seattle and one of King County, which is the 488 00:28:08,280 --> 00:28:10,680 Speaker 1: county that Seattle is in UM, and both of these 489 00:28:10,680 --> 00:28:13,560 Speaker 1: are still looked on as achievements in the documenting of 490 00:28:13,600 --> 00:28:17,800 Speaker 1: the Pacific Northwest history. UM. He mentions more than once 491 00:28:17,840 --> 00:28:21,280 Speaker 1: in his book that Chief Seattle and Doc Maynard were 492 00:28:21,280 --> 00:28:25,040 Speaker 1: great friends. UM, and this speech supposedly happened on Doc 493 00:28:25,080 --> 00:28:28,280 Speaker 1: Maynard's office steps. So it seems sort of odd too 494 00:28:28,280 --> 00:28:33,720 Speaker 1: many historians today that the friendship between Seattle and UH 495 00:28:33,760 --> 00:28:36,520 Speaker 1: and Doc Maynard would have been important enough to mention 496 00:28:36,600 --> 00:28:39,440 Speaker 1: more than once in these histories, but that a speech 497 00:28:39,640 --> 00:28:44,360 Speaker 1: of that length with that tone would not be UM. 498 00:28:44,400 --> 00:28:47,600 Speaker 1: The last thing that kind of makes people question how 499 00:28:47,640 --> 00:28:51,720 Speaker 1: authentic this recording from the Seattle Sunday Star is is 500 00:28:51,800 --> 00:28:54,400 Speaker 1: that Smith said on his deathbed that the account was 501 00:28:54,480 --> 00:28:58,800 Speaker 1: true and accurate, which seems a little strange to people 502 00:28:59,280 --> 00:29:02,560 Speaker 1: that that would be what you spend your death, your 503 00:29:02,640 --> 00:29:06,160 Speaker 1: dying breath, UH reiterating that thing that I wrote in 504 00:29:06,200 --> 00:29:09,760 Speaker 1: the Seattle Sunday Star was really a thing that happened, Yes, 505 00:29:09,920 --> 00:29:15,000 Speaker 1: especially since there's really no corroborating evidence for it. It's 506 00:29:15,080 --> 00:29:18,040 Speaker 1: just it's an, as you said, it's an odd last 507 00:29:18,320 --> 00:29:31,080 Speaker 1: words scenario. The general consensus, I mean, there's there's a 508 00:29:31,280 --> 00:29:33,880 Speaker 1: surprising maybe not surprising, there's a there's a fair amount 509 00:29:33,880 --> 00:29:37,200 Speaker 1: of debate about lots of aspects of this speech, and 510 00:29:37,680 --> 00:29:41,720 Speaker 1: that the general consensus is probably there was an address 511 00:29:41,760 --> 00:29:45,280 Speaker 1: of some sort, probably that happened when Chief Seattle was 512 00:29:45,320 --> 00:29:49,160 Speaker 1: introduced to Governor Stevens. But that probably what we have 513 00:29:49,320 --> 00:29:52,320 Speaker 1: today is a record of it is not a hundred 514 00:29:52,400 --> 00:29:55,200 Speaker 1: percent what actually was said. It just it's not quite 515 00:29:55,920 --> 00:29:59,920 Speaker 1: feasible for something to be reconstructed from notes thirty years 516 00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:03,040 Speaker 1: for the fact to be accurate to what had happened 517 00:30:03,080 --> 00:30:05,760 Speaker 1: at the time. Well, and it's also important to take 518 00:30:05,800 --> 00:30:10,920 Speaker 1: into account that we were still early on in our relationship, 519 00:30:11,920 --> 00:30:15,080 Speaker 1: you know, in terms of Native Americans and the settlers 520 00:30:15,080 --> 00:30:18,200 Speaker 1: and pioneers coming in. That relationship was still very early. 521 00:30:18,520 --> 00:30:23,400 Speaker 1: It was so the linguistic development between them, like learning 522 00:30:23,400 --> 00:30:27,240 Speaker 1: each other's languages, was probably you know, still in its 523 00:30:27,240 --> 00:30:29,440 Speaker 1: infancy in many ways, so there were probably lots of 524 00:30:29,520 --> 00:30:32,000 Speaker 1: nuances of language that were not clear to each side. 525 00:30:32,560 --> 00:30:38,400 Speaker 1: So in terms of interpretation, there's some great area. Right. 526 00:30:38,760 --> 00:30:43,120 Speaker 1: It continues to be an important address. I think it's importance. 527 00:30:43,520 --> 00:30:45,280 Speaker 1: Some of it has to do with this whole backstory 528 00:30:45,320 --> 00:30:49,200 Speaker 1: of understanding better, uh, the context in which it may 529 00:30:49,240 --> 00:30:52,080 Speaker 1: have happened, and the relationships among the people involved, and 530 00:30:52,120 --> 00:30:55,720 Speaker 1: a lot of that leads into the legacy of Chief 531 00:30:55,760 --> 00:30:59,480 Speaker 1: Seattle and of this speech. Um. He had a pretty 532 00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:04,800 Speaker 1: well coming attitude toward settlers for his entire life really 533 00:31:04,840 --> 00:31:07,760 Speaker 1: and especially his time as chief, and this didn't really 534 00:31:07,800 --> 00:31:09,680 Speaker 1: make him popular with all of the rest of the 535 00:31:09,760 --> 00:31:13,520 Speaker 1: Native American population, especially when he signed the Point Elliott 536 00:31:13,560 --> 00:31:17,480 Speaker 1: Treaty in eighteen fifty five. That treaty relinquished all of 537 00:31:17,520 --> 00:31:20,360 Speaker 1: the tribal claims to most of the land in the area. 538 00:31:21,280 --> 00:31:23,560 Speaker 1: What was supposed to happen was that the tribes would 539 00:31:23,560 --> 00:31:28,320 Speaker 1: get access to hunting and fishing grounds, healthcare, education, and 540 00:31:28,360 --> 00:31:32,280 Speaker 1: a reservation in exchange for doing all of that. Uh. 541 00:31:32,320 --> 00:31:35,360 Speaker 1: That is, as we all know, not really what happened. 542 00:31:35,720 --> 00:31:39,800 Speaker 1: And it took three years for the treaty to be 543 00:31:39,920 --> 00:31:42,480 Speaker 1: ratified and by the time it was ratified, it was 544 00:31:42,600 --> 00:31:45,440 Speaker 1: very different from what people had originally agreed to you, 545 00:31:45,480 --> 00:31:49,600 Speaker 1: So there was a whole lot of unrest among the 546 00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:53,400 Speaker 1: Native American people. Um it's it's pretty telling when you 547 00:31:53,440 --> 00:31:57,880 Speaker 1: look at historical accounts. A lot of the most mainstream 548 00:31:57,960 --> 00:32:01,280 Speaker 1: ones talk about how Seattle was always a friend to 549 00:32:01,320 --> 00:32:05,080 Speaker 1: the settlers and he signed this this treaty out of friendship. 550 00:32:05,320 --> 00:32:07,520 Speaker 1: When you look at tribal records, the tone is more 551 00:32:07,560 --> 00:32:10,040 Speaker 1: that he was afraid of a military conflict that he 552 00:32:10,120 --> 00:32:13,240 Speaker 1: knew there was no way to win. So it's something 553 00:32:13,240 --> 00:32:16,440 Speaker 1: that you can definitely look at from multiple angles thinking 554 00:32:16,480 --> 00:32:19,360 Speaker 1: about the relationships between these two people, which from this 555 00:32:19,520 --> 00:32:23,000 Speaker 1: point was definitely not as positive as it had been 556 00:32:23,040 --> 00:32:25,560 Speaker 1: in the very earliest days of the founding of Seattle. 557 00:32:26,320 --> 00:32:31,640 Speaker 1: Well and the Native Americans did accuse Seattle of uh duplicity, 558 00:32:31,680 --> 00:32:35,080 Speaker 1: and it really led to a lot of ongoing problems, 559 00:32:35,960 --> 00:32:38,560 Speaker 1: especially because of how the treaty actually played out once 560 00:32:38,600 --> 00:32:41,960 Speaker 1: it was in effect. There were wars between the native 561 00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:45,239 Speaker 1: tribes and the settlers in the mid eighteen fifties all 562 00:32:45,720 --> 00:32:48,840 Speaker 1: through those lots of things, lots of areas of the 563 00:32:48,880 --> 00:32:52,720 Speaker 1: Pacific Northwest where they were wars between the Native Americans 564 00:32:52,720 --> 00:32:55,920 Speaker 1: and the settlers, and Seattle continued to remain an ally 565 00:32:55,960 --> 00:32:59,240 Speaker 1: and tried to keep his tribes out of the battle 566 00:32:59,800 --> 00:33:03,560 Speaker 1: um at. In some points he would warn the American 567 00:33:03,600 --> 00:33:07,680 Speaker 1: settlers of incoming attacks by other tribes. So he continued 568 00:33:07,760 --> 00:33:12,720 Speaker 1: to stand by the white settlers, even as a lot 569 00:33:12,760 --> 00:33:15,600 Speaker 1: of the other Native tribes nearby, and the ones that 570 00:33:15,640 --> 00:33:20,560 Speaker 1: were maybe not part of his his particular collection of tribes, 571 00:33:21,520 --> 00:33:26,280 Speaker 1: really fled back against the settlers. And after the town 572 00:33:26,280 --> 00:33:29,959 Speaker 1: of Seattle was incorporated in eighteen sixty five, ordinance actually 573 00:33:29,960 --> 00:33:33,800 Speaker 1: forbade permanent Indian houses within the city limits, so he 574 00:33:33,840 --> 00:33:37,840 Speaker 1: had to give up his home, yeah, which he had not. 575 00:33:37,920 --> 00:33:40,840 Speaker 1: They had already, you know, already figuratively there had been 576 00:33:40,840 --> 00:33:43,240 Speaker 1: of giving up of the homeland. And then he literally 577 00:33:43,320 --> 00:33:46,720 Speaker 1: had to move out of the city. He moved to 578 00:33:46,760 --> 00:33:50,320 Speaker 1: the Port Madison Sequamash Reservation, and he died there after 579 00:33:50,400 --> 00:33:53,560 Speaker 1: a brief illness in June of eighteen sixty six, at 580 00:33:53,600 --> 00:33:56,160 Speaker 1: about the age of eighty. Since we're not completely sure 581 00:33:56,200 --> 00:33:59,520 Speaker 1: exactly when he was born, that's an estimate. We know 582 00:33:59,640 --> 00:34:03,360 Speaker 1: that his funeral involved both Catholic and Native rights, but 583 00:34:03,440 --> 00:34:05,800 Speaker 1: there wasn't a record of it in the newspapers at 584 00:34:05,800 --> 00:34:09,240 Speaker 1: the time, not really involved in any of the records 585 00:34:09,239 --> 00:34:13,319 Speaker 1: of the local white settlers. Uh to our knowledge. No 586 00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:16,920 Speaker 1: leaders who had known him and who had helped found 587 00:34:17,000 --> 00:34:21,080 Speaker 1: the city with his assistants attended his funeral, so by 588 00:34:21,120 --> 00:34:22,920 Speaker 1: that point, by the point of his death, he was 589 00:34:22,960 --> 00:34:25,880 Speaker 1: not well known in the area anymore, at least among 590 00:34:26,000 --> 00:34:31,320 Speaker 1: the settlers. The Seattle Weekly Intelligent Intelligencer printed an article 591 00:34:31,360 --> 00:34:34,360 Speaker 1: about his funeral in eighteen seventy, so it was some 592 00:34:34,480 --> 00:34:37,560 Speaker 1: years after it happened, and then the Seattle Sunday Star 593 00:34:37,800 --> 00:34:40,799 Speaker 1: with his speech, came out in eighteen eighty seven. He 594 00:34:40,840 --> 00:34:43,560 Speaker 1: started to become a folk hero at that point, and 595 00:34:43,600 --> 00:34:46,479 Speaker 1: the Ted Perry speech from the seventies made him into 596 00:34:46,480 --> 00:34:50,520 Speaker 1: more of a household name, and some history minded people 597 00:34:50,560 --> 00:34:53,560 Speaker 1: put up a marker in eighteen ninety that read Seattle, 598 00:34:53,719 --> 00:34:57,160 Speaker 1: Chief of the Suquamps and Allied tribes died June seventh, 599 00:34:57,400 --> 00:35:00,600 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty six, from friend of the Whites, and for him, 600 00:35:00,680 --> 00:35:04,160 Speaker 1: the city of Seattle was named by its founders. The 601 00:35:04,239 --> 00:35:08,960 Speaker 1: reverse side Read's baptismal name. Noah's self age probably eighty years, 602 00:35:10,120 --> 00:35:13,040 Speaker 1: so there is a marker, but it didn't go up 603 00:35:13,160 --> 00:35:16,680 Speaker 1: for I didn't go up until some people decided that 604 00:35:16,719 --> 00:35:18,400 Speaker 1: there should be one. It was sort of marked with 605 00:35:18,440 --> 00:35:21,800 Speaker 1: a rough year twenty four years later. Yes, it was 606 00:35:21,920 --> 00:35:25,840 Speaker 1: roughly marked before that point. The Suquanas tribe opened a 607 00:35:25,920 --> 00:35:30,080 Speaker 1: museum in Seattle in September, which is about the tribe's 608 00:35:30,120 --> 00:35:33,520 Speaker 1: history and culture. Chief Seattle does play a small part 609 00:35:33,600 --> 00:35:37,160 Speaker 1: in the overall museum, but he's not the center focus 610 00:35:37,239 --> 00:35:41,280 Speaker 1: of it. The Seattle Times quotes the museum director as saying, 611 00:35:41,520 --> 00:35:44,080 Speaker 1: I think the tribe is consciously trying to move away 612 00:35:44,160 --> 00:35:48,120 Speaker 1: from Chief Seattle being the beginning, middle, and end of 613 00:35:48,160 --> 00:35:51,480 Speaker 1: the tribe. It's in no way a reflection of less 614 00:35:51,600 --> 00:35:55,080 Speaker 1: esteem or less respect. It was not there yet the 615 00:35:55,120 --> 00:35:58,160 Speaker 1: last time I was in Seattle. Nope, now I want 616 00:35:58,160 --> 00:36:01,960 Speaker 1: to go either. It's quite recent. Uh so, yeah, I 617 00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:06,239 Speaker 1: want to go to Yeah. It's it's so interesting to 618 00:36:06,280 --> 00:36:11,080 Speaker 1: see how history treats him, right, you know, in terms 619 00:36:11,080 --> 00:36:14,480 Speaker 1: of him having it once been. I mean, I know, 620 00:36:14,960 --> 00:36:18,480 Speaker 1: for me growing up in the seventies in just outside 621 00:36:18,480 --> 00:36:21,200 Speaker 1: of Seattle, there was lots of Chief Seattle talk. So 622 00:36:21,239 --> 00:36:25,600 Speaker 1: it's very interesting now to know that in the museum, 623 00:36:25,600 --> 00:36:28,200 Speaker 1: at least, his role is played down a little bit 624 00:36:28,400 --> 00:36:31,160 Speaker 1: right well, and I can imagine it being since the 625 00:36:31,200 --> 00:36:34,400 Speaker 1: city was named after him, growing up in the area, 626 00:36:34,480 --> 00:36:37,440 Speaker 1: growing up in the Pacific Northwest, I think that people's 627 00:36:37,440 --> 00:36:40,759 Speaker 1: exposure to Chief Seattle and who he was and what 628 00:36:40,880 --> 00:36:43,960 Speaker 1: his legacy was, and what the Native Americans in the 629 00:36:44,000 --> 00:36:48,319 Speaker 1: area are like is probably vastly different from much of 630 00:36:48,360 --> 00:36:51,360 Speaker 1: the rest of the United States. I would imagine, yes, 631 00:36:51,440 --> 00:36:53,200 Speaker 1: having not grown up in the rest of the United 632 00:36:53,200 --> 00:36:58,439 Speaker 1: States to compare, I guess I love Seattle. I think 633 00:36:58,440 --> 00:37:02,840 Speaker 1: it's an awesome, beautiful part of the world, and I 634 00:37:02,840 --> 00:37:05,440 Speaker 1: am glad that we have the records that we do 635 00:37:05,600 --> 00:37:09,279 Speaker 1: have of what the settlement there was like. It is 636 00:37:09,400 --> 00:37:12,359 Speaker 1: as many parts of American history are. When it comes 637 00:37:12,400 --> 00:37:16,360 Speaker 1: to the relationship between settlers and Native Americans, is very distressing, 638 00:37:17,560 --> 00:37:21,080 Speaker 1: especially when you consider that after the time period that 639 00:37:21,120 --> 00:37:23,719 Speaker 1: we've talked about, there were some pretty orchestrated efforts by 640 00:37:23,719 --> 00:37:26,960 Speaker 1: the government to try to basically breed out in quotes, 641 00:37:27,840 --> 00:37:31,319 Speaker 1: Native Americans. That was like sending Native American children to 642 00:37:31,360 --> 00:37:33,759 Speaker 1: boarding schools so that they wouldn't be exposed to their 643 00:37:33,840 --> 00:37:36,600 Speaker 1: native culture, uh, that type of thing. So the fact 644 00:37:36,640 --> 00:37:40,080 Speaker 1: that the Squamish tribe has been able to survive in 645 00:37:40,120 --> 00:37:42,680 Speaker 1: the face of all that is is noted as an achievement. 646 00:37:43,480 --> 00:37:47,560 Speaker 1: Uh that there are still nine fifty members after all 647 00:37:47,600 --> 00:37:51,440 Speaker 1: of that. Indeed, I feel like we're ending on a 648 00:37:51,520 --> 00:37:53,640 Speaker 1: sad note. I know, I'm trying to think of a 649 00:37:53,680 --> 00:37:56,919 Speaker 1: way to make it happy. But there's a new museum. 650 00:37:57,000 --> 00:37:58,799 Speaker 1: There is a new museum, and the pictures of it 651 00:37:58,840 --> 00:38:02,279 Speaker 1: look beautiful, gorgeous. They look really beautiful and like a 652 00:38:02,360 --> 00:38:05,560 Speaker 1: really wonderful place to go and learn more about cultural 653 00:38:05,640 --> 00:38:08,680 Speaker 1: history of that part. Anytime you travel in the Pacific 654 00:38:08,719 --> 00:38:12,000 Speaker 1: Northwest and the Native American influence is so visible in 655 00:38:12,040 --> 00:38:14,839 Speaker 1: a lot of places, and so being able to see 656 00:38:14,840 --> 00:38:17,000 Speaker 1: where that all comes from instead of it just being 657 00:38:17,040 --> 00:38:19,399 Speaker 1: sort of the facade stuck on the building, I think 658 00:38:19,480 --> 00:38:22,480 Speaker 1: is a wonderful thing to be able to do. Yes, 659 00:38:22,719 --> 00:38:25,319 Speaker 1: maybe we should have a pilgrimage. Let's do let's have 660 00:38:25,480 --> 00:38:29,320 Speaker 1: a history field trip. We can visit my brother. I 661 00:38:29,360 --> 00:38:31,920 Speaker 1: also have a brother and a sister. There were covered. 662 00:38:38,760 --> 00:38:41,120 Speaker 1: Thank you so much for joining us on this Saturday. 663 00:38:41,200 --> 00:38:44,160 Speaker 1: If you have heard an email address or a Facebook 664 00:38:44,200 --> 00:38:46,319 Speaker 1: you are l or something similar over the course of 665 00:38:46,360 --> 00:38:49,080 Speaker 1: today's episode. Since it is from the archive that might 666 00:38:49,120 --> 00:38:51,719 Speaker 1: be out of date. Now. You can email us at 667 00:38:51,800 --> 00:38:54,600 Speaker 1: history podcast at how stuff works dot com, and you 668 00:38:54,640 --> 00:38:57,720 Speaker 1: can find us all over social media at missed in History. 669 00:38:58,080 --> 00:39:01,080 Speaker 1: And you can subscribe to our show on Apple podcasts, 670 00:39:01,120 --> 00:39:04,319 Speaker 1: Google podcasts, the I Heart Radio app, and wherever else 671 00:39:04,360 --> 00:39:11,080 Speaker 1: you listen to podcasts. For more on this and thousands 672 00:39:11,120 --> 00:39:16,480 Speaker 1: of other topics, visit how stuff works dot com m