Chief Seattle

“The earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth. All things are connected.”

“Every part of this soil is sacred in the estimation of my people.”

“All things are connected. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth.”

“My words are like the stars that never change.”

“Man does not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it.”

“How can you buy or sell the sky, the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us.”

“We are part of the earth and it is part of us.”

“The white man will never be alone. Let him be just and deal kindly with my people, for the dead are not powerless.”

“Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.”

“There is no death, only a change of worlds.”

“Take only memories, leave only footprints.”

“Continue to contaminate your bed, and you will one night suffocate in your own waste.”

“Tribe follows tribe, and nation follows nation, like the waves of the sea. It is the order of nature, and regret is useless.”

“When the last Red Man shall have perished... these shores will swarm with the invisible dead of my tribe.”