Chief Seattle
(1786-1866)

Leader of the Suquamish and Duwamish
Native American tribes

birthdate: ?
birthplace: Blake Island in Elliot Bay, Washington

Bio | Quotes | Links | ColorMe Pix

When George Vancouver arrived to map the Puget Sound area in the late 1700s, Seattle was the young son of the Chief of the Suquamish. His interaction with the white men made quite an impression on him as did the French Catholic missionaries who came after Vancouver. After he himself became Chief of the Suquamish, and for the rest of his life, Seattle wanted only peace with the settlers who followed in the years ahead. But in the 1850s, he was severely tested in this dream of peace by the offer of the United States government to "buy" two million acres of land from his tribe for $150,000 and remove them all to a reservation which would be controlled by the U.S. Government. Seattle and his people finally agreed to the new treaty in one of the most gracious defeats in history. But during the process, this wise chief made many statements about the land and the people which have stood throughout the years as true expressions of environmental and spiritual awareness.

Bio © Larry Auld