- A Letter from Indian Chief - We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors , we borrow it from our children . - Haida Indian Saying The great leader in Washington proposed that he hopes to buy our land . The great leader sent us words of friendship and amity , which we appreciated because we know he doesn ' t need our friendship that much . Yet we are going to consider his suggestion , because we are aware that otherwise white men with guns will deprive us of the land . How on earth do you think you can buy the vital warmth of sky and land ? This way of thinking is very strange to us . We can possess neither fresh air nor twinkling water . So how can you buy those things from us ? Everywhere on this land is holy to all my people . The bright needles of pines , the sandbanks along the coast , gloomy fog in the forest , and all kinds of singing bugs are sacred with my people ' s memory and experience . I know white men don ' t understand our way of life . To white men a section of land is same as the rest of it because they are just strangers who get there at night and take everything they need . Land is not their brother but their enemy . After conquering a part of land , they migrate there . Their vigorous appetite devours the land and makes it barren . The appearance of your city hurts Indian ' s eyes , which is probably because we are barbarians and don ' t understand your way of life . If I must accept your proposal , I will take only one condition , which is that white men should think of all creatures on this land as their brothers . If there are no animals , humans are what ? If animals disappear , people will die due to the loneliness of the soul . What happens to animals will happen to people . We now know a fact that white men someday will know ; your and our God is the same and one . Perhaps you think you can obtain our God just as you want to possess our land . But it is impossible ! God is for all people . God ' s Mercy is same to red men and white men . This land is valuable to God ; to harm His land is to insult Him . Someday white men will also disappear . Maybe they will perish before other tribes . If you keep polluting your sleeping place , some night you will be choked in your trash . When all the buffalos are killed , when the wild are tamed , when sacred forests are filled with people ' s smell , and when hills where wild fruits are getting ripe are defiled by talkative women , where can you find bushes and condors ? And what does it mean if migrating and hunting come to an end ? That is just the end of life and the beginning of death . There isn ' t anywhere silent in white men ' s cities . There isn ' t anywhere you are able to hear insects ' flying . Noise hurts my ears - perhaps I don ' t understand as I am a savage . If you can ' t listen to the beautiful songs of nightjars and frogs in the lake at night , what is left in your life ? North American Indians prefer the soft wind with smell of pine washed by mid - day rain . Air is of great worth to Indians because animals , trees , and people breathe it all together . White men don ' t seem to be aware of value of the air which they breathe . They can ' t smell like a moaning patient who has been sick for a long time . If we know the white men ' s dream , if we know their hope they tell their children during the long winter nights , and if we are aware of their vision for the future flaming in their hearts , perhaps we can understand them . But we are savages . White men ' s dreams are hidden to us . Because theirs are hidden , we shall be on our ways . If we agree with you , we will secure an Indian Reservation . We will finish our short life there as we hope . Although the last Indian on the earth vanishes , and although only the shadow of cloud flowing across the field is left , the coast and forest will still cherish the souls of my pepole - because they love this land just as a baby loves the pulses out of its mother ' s heart . If we decide to sell our land to you , please love it as we do , take care of it as we do , keep its memory as it is . With all your power and ability , and with your whole heart , preserve the land for your children . Please love it as God does us . We know that your God is same as ours . Land is of great value to God . Even white men can ' t be excluded from the Fate of community . Seattle , Chief of SUQUAMI * This is the letter which government of U . S . A . opened to the public in memory of the 200 th anniversary of Independence . It was written by Seattle , Chief of SUQUAMI tribe , and sent to the President Flanklin Pierson in 1855 . For some more information . .. http : / / www . suquamish . nsn . us /