The air is precious to the red man, for all things share the same breath - the beast, the
tree, the man - they all share the same breath. The white man does not seem to notice the air
he breathes. Like a man dying for many days, he is numb to the stench. But if we sell you
our land, you must remember that the air is precious to us, that the air shares its spirit with
all the life it supports. The wind that gave our grandfather his first breath also receives his
last sigh. And if we sell you our land, you must keep it apart and sacred, as a place where
even the white man can go to taste the wind that is sweetened by the meadow's flowers.
So we will consider your offer to buy our land. If we decide to accept, I will make one
condition - the white man must treat the beasts of this land as his brothers.
I am a savage and do not understand any other way. I have seen thousands of rotting
buffaloes on the prairie, left by the white man who shot them from a passing train. I am a
savage and do not understand how the smoking iron horse can be made more important than
the buffalo that you kill only to stay alive.
What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, man would die from a
great loneliness of the spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts, soon happens to man. All
things are connected.
Respect
You must teach your children that the ground beneath their feet is the ashes of our
grandfathers. So that they will respect the land, tell your children that the Earth is rich with
the lives of our kin. Teach your children what we have taught our children, that the Earth is
our mother. Whatever befalls the Earth befalls the sons of the Earth. If men spit upon the
ground, they spit upon themselves.
This we know - the Earth does not belong to man - man belongs to the Earth. All
things are connected like the blood which unites one family. All things are connected.
Whatever befalls the Earth - befalls the sons of the Earth. Man did not weave the web
of life - he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.
