ICSE Chief Seattle

 

Chief Seattle

1 Who was Chief Seatle? What kind of influence did he have?

Ans. Chief Seatle who was an important figure in the early American History, was the Chief of Suquamish and Duwamish tribes. He had been fighting for the rights of his native people in the face of American colonisers. He had marvellous influence. He ruled his loyal subjects with kindness and paternal benignity.

2. What kind of sight was there when Seatle delivered his speech?

Ans. The bay swarmed with canoes and the shoes was lined with a living mass of swaying, writing, dusky humanity, until old Chief’s Seatle’s trumpet-toned voice rolled over the immense multitude, like the startling reveille of a bass drum, when silence became as instantaneous and perfect as that which follows a clap of thunder from a clean sky.

3.Why was Seattle reluctant in accepting the offer?

Ans. As an old Chief who had seen natives killed, he reluctantly accepted the offer, since he believed, turning it down will only results in the total annihilation.

4. What kind of speech did Seattle deliver? What did it show?

Ans Seattle delivered a long and heart moving speech in response to Government Steven’s proposal of buying natives’ land. It shows him as a true patriot who wished to preserve the native Americans’ land rights. He demonstrated that he had reverence for the native Americans’ way of life.

5. How do we come to know that his way of life was guided by humanitarian principles?

Ans. Seattles’ way of life was guided by humanitarian principles rather than destructive principles. He wished to promote human welfare and therefore did not promote war. He spoke of war painfully and thus hoped that Native Americans and the Whites would never turn hostile to each other.

6. Why does the speaker say ‘tomorrow it may be overcast with clouds’?

Ans. Chief Seattle, just after opening his speech commented this about the future of his people, the red Indians the tribal Americans. He talks about the possible untimely destruction of the red people. ‘Overcast with cloud’ refers to the uncertainty that looms large over the future existence of his tribe.

7. Explain the following: ‘Yonder sky that has swept tears of compassion upon my people for centuries untold.’

Ans. Chief Seattle says that nature has sympathised with his people for many centuries, but now the circumstances may change with the advent of the whit colonisers.

 

 

1.    How much are Seattle’s words reliable as far as the Great Chief is concerned?

Ans. Seattle’s words are like the stars that never change. The Great Chief at Washington can rely upon his words with as much certainty as he can upon the return of the sun or the seasons.

2.    When and where did Chief Seattle deliver his speech?

Ans. Even the date and location of the speech has been disputed, but the most common version is that on March 11, 1854, Seattle gave a speech at a long outdoor gathering in Seattle. His speech was given to his people, when

Americans colonisers wanted to buy native land of his tribe and in return offered them amnesty and the right to live there.