Like the American founding fathers, long-standing Native American tribes serve to represent a strong sense of cultural pride, or at least they should. Take the Makah people, for instance, who originated along the coastline of present day Washington and survived primarily based on their excellent maritime skills combined with environmental knowledgeability. As with most other tribes, Makah lifestyle took a decline following the introduction of white settlers onto Native American land. The cause of the decline is mentioned in an essay by a researcher of Makah history, which states, “ They [White settlers] also wanted goods from Makah territory, often in amounts the environment could not sustain . . . commercial European and American whaling ships…show more content… Nowhere can this be seen clearer than in the literary texts of both Native American Chiefs Seattle and Tecumseh. To begin, Chief Seattle had written a letter to then president Franklin Pierce in hopes of teaching a long-ignored ideal. Seattle presents his beliefs within the first paragraph by claiming “the earth is not his brother, but his enemy, and when he has conquered it, he moves on” (3-4). Seattle reasons that the afore-mentioned personification of the earth is unjust, and purposefully includes calming scenery throughout the remainder of the letter. This not only implies that the earth itself should not be taken for granted, but implies that the belief of Manifest Destiny (the god-given right to expansion) should not be the primary focus for white people. In comparison to this message, Chief Tecumseh’s speech to William Henry Harrison heavily alludes the distribution of ownership among different territories, and proposes instead “to unite [Native American people] and let them consider their lands as a common property for the whole” (9-10). Contrasting Seattle’s speech, however, Tecumseh looks after the welfare of his people rather than foreshadowing the consequences of abusing natural resources. Both texts aim to make the audience feel equality with the authors and their culture. Without common understanding, the requests asked for by both Chiefs would easily be overlooked. Overall, Chief Seattle and Tecumseh wished to earn legitimate respect from white people, not only to be seen as an obstacle, but as humans who demand
