Chief Seattle's Speech Question and Answers

Chief Seattle's Speech Question and Answers:-

Q1. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.

Yonder sky that has wept tears of compassion upon my people for centuries untold, and which to us appears changeless and eternal, may change. Today is fair. Tomorrow it may be overcast with clouds. My words are like the stars that never change.

 i) What does Chief Seattle mean by these words: 'Yonder sky that has wept tears of compassion upon my people for centuries untold, and which to us appears changeless and eternal, may change.'?

This is the first line of the speech in which Chief Seattle reveals the bond between nature and his tribe, and also sets the tone of the speech.

He remarks that the sky, that is, nature had always been compassionate towards his people for several centuries. It only appears to be unchanging, but actually does undergo change. By using the words 'wept tears of compassion', Chief Seattle is indicating that he is not very happy about the change.

ii) Why does Chief Seattle say that his 'words are like the stars'?

 Chief Seattle comments that his word is reliable. If he gives his word, the government can be assured that he will not break his promise. Hence he compares his promise to the stars in the sky that are forever constant.

iii) What is Chief Seattle's reaction to the "greetings of friendship and goodwill" sent by the Big Chief at Washington? Why does he react the way he does? 

The Chief acknowledges the friendship that the US government has extended to him. He comments that it is kind of the government to send friendly greetings since the government does not really need the Native Americans' friendship. The white settlers are large in number and far more powerful as opposed to the Native Americans whose numbers had reduced considerably.

iv) What offer had the White Chief made? What does Chief Seattle think about the offer? 

The White Chief had offered to buy the Native Americans' lands and in exchange, give them a place to live comfortably.

Chief Seattle considers the offer to be just, generous and wise because the white settlers have no need to respect the Native Americans' rights. Furthermore, the Native Americans no longer need vast parcels of land.

v) Why does Chief Seattle refuse to criticize the white settlers for the untimely decay of his tribe? 

Though Chief Seattle is not very happy with the US government's proposal to buy native lands, he does not criticise the government. This is because he believes that to a certain extent, the Native Americans are also responsible for their own downfall. They too reacted violently to the situation.

Q 2. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.

Thus it was when the white man began to push our forefathers ever westward. But let us hope that the hostilities between us may never return. We would have everything to lose and nothing to gain. Revenge by young men is considered gain, even at the cost of their own lives, but old men who stay at home in times of war, and mothers who have sons to lose, know better.

i) How does Chief Seattle characterise youth? Why? 

Chief Seattle says that youth is impulsive.

According to the Chief, young men tend to get enraged at any imaginary or real wrong and behave rashly. Nobody, not even their elders, can correct them at such times.

ii) Why do you think there was hostility between the white settlers and the Native

Americans?

In his speech, Chief Seattle says that their forefathers were pushed westward, that is, they were forced to move more and more to the west of the their original territories. We can infer from this statement that the Native Americans put up a fight because they were forced to give up what was originally and rightfully theirs.

iii) Why does Chief Seattle hope that there will be no more hostility between the

white settlers and the Native Americans? Chief Seattle comes across as a practical person. He hopes there would be no fights between the two races because he knows that the white settlers could easily decimate the Native Americans. Also, he knows that war brings no gain; rather it leads to the destruction of families.

iv) Whom does Chief Seattle refer to as 'our good father in Washington'? What had the good father in Washington offered Chief Seattle's tribe apart from land? 

Chief Seattle refers to the President of the USA as our good father in Washington. The US President had sent word that if Chief Seattle's tribe accepts the offer and sells their lands, he would protect the tribe from their ancient enemies - the Haidas and Tsimshians. 

v) Briefly describe Chief Seattle's character based on your understanding of his speech. 

Chief Seattle comes across as an honourable man who does not make empty promises. He is incredibly proud of his culture and heritage, and speaks lovingly about Native Americans' religion and traditions. He also makes it clear that he would accept the US government's offer only if they would ensure that Native Americans' culture would be respected. Chief Seattle is also practical and realises that it would be foolish for the Native Americans to reject the US government's offer. The Native Americans no longer have the resources or the capacity to stand up to the US government.

Q3. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.

To us the ashes of our ancestors are sacred and their resting place is hallowed ground. You wander from the graves of your ancestors and seemingly without regret. Your religion was written upon tablets of stone by the iron finger of your God so that you could not forget. The Red Man could never comprehend or remember it.

i)  Does Chief Seattle think that the two races can live as brothers? 

Chief Seattle feels that the two groups have distinct origins and their destinies will differ too. There are too many cultural and religious differences between them. Hence, they cannot live as brothers.

ii) How does the Native Americans' attitude towards theirs ancestors differ from that of the white settlers' attitude? The Native Americans regard their ancestors with reverence. They consider their ancestors' ashes sacred and their graves as sacred ground. They choose to remain close to their ancestors' resting place. In contrast, the white settlers do not mind leaving the resting place of their ancestors and leave the place without any feeling of sadness.

iii)  How does Chief Seattle describe his people's religion? 

According to Chief Seattle, their religion is handed down by ancestors who received it from the Great Spirit. Religious rituals are passed on from one generation to the other by word of mouth. They are not found in any books but are written in the hearts of the people.

iv) What is the major difference between the ancestors of the white settlers and the Native Americans? 

The ancestors of the Native Americans love their land with its beautiful mountains, valleys and lakes. Even after death,they visit the land of their birth to comfort, console and guide the living. Such is not the case with the white settlers' ancestors. They no longer love their land or the living after death and wander away. They never return and are forgotten by the living.

v) Why does Chief Seattle call the God of the white settlers partial?

Chief Seattle feels that the God of the white settlers loves them, but hates his people. According to him, this God protects the white settlers and lovingly guides them like a father guides his child. He has made them so strong that they will soon outnumber his people. The same God did nothing as the Native Americans' numbers reduced. The Native Americans are like orphans with no one to love and protect them. In addition, this God showed himself to the white settlers and gave them laws, but the Native Americans never saw him and received no guidance from him.

Q4. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.

A few more moons, a few more winters, and not one of the descendants of the mighty hosts that once moved over this broad land or lived in happy homes, protected by the Great Spirit, will remain to mourn over the graves of a people once more powerful and hopeful than yours. But why should I mourn at the untimely fate of my people?

i) Why does Chief Seattle compare his people to a wounded doe? 

By comparing his people to a wounded doe, Chief Seattle highlights the helplessness of their situation. He has little hope for his tribe's future. He feels that the end of his tribe is near, and they have no option but to face their destroyer calmly like the wounded doe which senses that its hunter is approaching.

ii) Why does Chief Seattle refuse to mourn the fate of his people? 

Chief Seattle realises that his people will soon be overcome by the might of the white settlers. But he refuses to mourn their fate because he is wise and realistic enough to believe that this is the order of nature. Nothing lasts forever and no tribe will be dominant forever. He believes it is pointless regretting something that would happen anyway.

iii) "We may be brothers after all." Why does Chief Seattle say this?

 According to Chief Seattle, though the white settlers appear all-powerful and invincible at that moment, they cannot escape their destiny. Nothing lasts forever, and so they will eventually face their downfall. In this way, their destiny is similar to the Native Americans whose numbers are shrinking. So, Chief Seattle, who earlier in the speech had strongly argued that the two races could not live like brothers, says that they might be brothers after all because of their common destinies.

iv) What is Chief Seattle's attitude towards the proposal put forward by the US government?

 Chief Seattle considers the proposal to be just, generous and wise. Considering their dwindling numbers, the Native Americans no longer need vast lands. In addition, he feels that it is immaterial where the tribe would live as their days are numbered. At the same, Chief Seattle is cautious about the offer too. He does not immediately accept the proposal. Rather, he says that his people will think about the proposal and communicate with the government once a decision is made.

v) What is the condition that Chief Seattle puts forward for accepting the US government's proposal? Why does he put forward this condition? 

Chief Seattle says that if the Native Americans were to accept the proposal, they should be allowed to visit their burials grounds without any fear. He makes this condition because the Native Americans deeply respect their ancestors and consider their graves to be sacred.

Q5. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.

Our departed braves, fond mothers, glad happy hearted maidens and even the little children who lived here and rejoiced here for a brief season, will love those somber solitudes and at eventide they greet shadowy returning spirits. And when the last Red Man shall have perished, and the memory of my tribe shall have become a myth among the White Men, these shores will swarm with the invisible dead of my tribe, and when your children's children think themselves alone in the field, the store, the shop, upon the highway or in the silence of the pathless woods, they will not be alone.

i) Whom does Chief Seattle refer to as the invisible dead? What will they do? 

Chief Seattle refers to the ancestors of his tribe as the invisible dead' whose spirits will wander around the places they loved best in the physical world. They will look after and comfort the living of their tribe. Even when the race would have vanished from the face of the Earth, the spirits of the ancestors would still be around. 

ii) According to Chief Seattle, why do the Native Americans share such a sacred bond with Mother Earth?

The Native Americans consider their land to be sacred. Every inch of land, right from the soil to the hills and the valleys, holds memories for them. Even dead rocks hold memories connected with their lives. Chief Seattle says this is so because every inch of the land has seen the blood and sweat of his ancestors. They have been tending to the environment since time immemorial, and their bare feet move in sync with Mother Earth.

iii) "The White Man will never be alone." Explain this remark made by Chief Seattle. Chief Seattle believes that the dead do not really die but come back as spirits to console their loved ones. They also roam the places where they once lived. So, even when the white settlers believe that they are alone in the fields, shops, highways, etc., they will not be alone. When the streets are silent and people think they are deserted, they will be filled with the spirits of the dead.

iv) How does Chief Seattle conclude his speech? 

Chief Seattle ends his speech with a wish and a warning. He hopes that the white settlers and their government will treat his people kindly and with respect. He warns them that if his culture or his people were ever disrespected, even the dead would rise against injustice. He goes on to say that there is no such thing as death. There is merely a move from one world to another.

v) Do you think that Chief Seattle was actually happy with the US government's proposal? Give reasons to justify your opinion.

No, I do not think Chief Seattle was very happy about giving up his native land.

Though Chief Seattle does express his willingness to consider the proposal put forward by the US government, it is clear that he has no choice but to do so. His tribe had shrunk and would be no match to the white settlers who were present in large numbers. He also makes repeated references to the "untimely decay" of his tribe, making it clear that scores of Native Americans had died unnatural deaths. Furthermore, he speaks extremely fondly about his people's bond with their land. All these points from the speech indicate his unhappiness.