Native Americans were on American soil much longer than the Europeans. They pretty much had a claim to that land that the Europeans took for themselves. The Native Americans respected the soil, and used the land (all of it too; they didn't hunt an animal just for its fur). They lived off the land and it was sacred to them. When the Europeans come to the Americas, they have little to no respect for the land and only care about what they can gain from it; the Native Americans try to preserve the sacred soil as much as possible. This land means something to them; it is a part of their heritage and holds the memories of their ancestors.
Chief Seattle comes right out and says that the white man's God hates his people; he also says that the Great Spirit has also forsaken them. This is very sad. Not only that the Europeans were able to instill this in the Native American's heads, but that it caused great pain and loss of faith for them. Imagine if you had placed your trust in someone that never answered your pleas for help. . . They felt abandoned.
This speech also made me laugh. I could almost picture Chief Seattle sitting there and saying, "Ha! This is good-it'll make those white men feel guilty!" or, "Yeah, yeah; this is good-it'll make those white men think twice about what they are doing." I'm saying that was his intention; I, personally, just got that feeling when I was reading it.
I think the last 2 lines of the speech really hit this point on the head though. Those last two lines also seem to have a feeling of hope - hope that they Chief Seattle and his people are not giving up and even if they may not survive, the people will live on, even if a different world.
"Dead, did I say? There is no death, only a change of worlds."
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