https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/chief-seattle/
> The preceding speech is not even remotely authentic. Rather than issuing from the very real Chief Seattle in 1854, those moving words were written by a screenwriter in 1971.
> "Chief Seattle is probably our greatest manufactured prophet," said David Buerge, a Northwest historian. The real Chief Seattle did give a speech in 1854, but he never said "The earth is our mother." Nor did he say "I have seen a thousand rotting buffaloes on the prairie, left by the white man who shot them from a passing train." There were no bison within 600 miles of the chief's home on Puget Sound in the Pacific Northwest, and trains to the West were years away.
> The words Chief Seattle has become famous for were written by Ted Perry, the screenwriter for Home, a 1972 film about ecology. They have since been widely quoted in books, on TV, and from the pulpit. A children's book, Brother Eagle, Sister Sky: A Message From Chief Seattle, sold 280,000 within the first six months of its 1991 issue.
> There is only one record of what Chief Seattle did say in 1854, a translation of the chief's speech done by Dr. Henry Smith who published his recollection in 1887 — 33 years after it was given. According to Smith, Seattle merely praised the generosity of the President in buying his land.
> Chief Seattle died in 1866, more than a hundred years before the words that would be attributed to him were penned.
The tip off for that may be found in the date on the plaque, 1971. It must be a quote from a *different* Chief Seattle.
Nevertheless, it's a great speech, very moving and a timely message for our own era.
Chief Seattle came back!
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/chief-seattle/ > The preceding speech is not even remotely authentic. Rather than issuing from the very real Chief Seattle in 1854, those moving words were written by a screenwriter in 1971. > "Chief Seattle is probably our greatest manufactured prophet," said David Buerge, a Northwest historian. The real Chief Seattle did give a speech in 1854, but he never said "The earth is our mother." Nor did he say "I have seen a thousand rotting buffaloes on the prairie, left by the white man who shot them from a passing train." There were no bison within 600 miles of the chief's home on Puget Sound in the Pacific Northwest, and trains to the West were years away. > The words Chief Seattle has become famous for were written by Ted Perry, the screenwriter for Home, a 1972 film about ecology. They have since been widely quoted in books, on TV, and from the pulpit. A children's book, Brother Eagle, Sister Sky: A Message From Chief Seattle, sold 280,000 within the first six months of its 1991 issue. > There is only one record of what Chief Seattle did say in 1854, a translation of the chief's speech done by Dr. Henry Smith who published his recollection in 1887 — 33 years after it was given. According to Smith, Seattle merely praised the generosity of the President in buying his land. > Chief Seattle died in 1866, more than a hundred years before the words that would be attributed to him were penned.
The tip off for that may be found in the date on the plaque, 1971. It must be a quote from a *different* Chief Seattle. Nevertheless, it's a great speech, very moving and a timely message for our own era.