Rhetoric
Native American Speeches
By:
Nathan Moran, Jill Sumner, and Jordan Verbinnen
“This Sacred Soil”
- Chief Seattle (1854)
“This Sacred Soil”
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Historical Background/Summary:
Hereditary leader of the Suquamish Tribe
Speech in response to the purchasing of Native American
land by the U.S.
Directed towards President Franklin Pierce
Relationship between people and earth
Denies the selling of the land
Rhetorical Devices
• Personification
• “Yonder sky that has wept tears of compassion upon my
people”
• Hyperbole
• “His brave warriors will be to us a bristling wall of strength”
• Kenning
• “paleface”
“Red Men”
• Ethos
Appeals
• “My words are like the stars that never change. Whatever Seattle
says, the great chief at Washington can rely upon with as much
certainty as he can upon the return of the sun or the seasons.” Chief Seattle
• Pathos
• “Grim fate seems to be on the Red Man’s trail.”
• “The white man will never be alone.”
• “The white man’s God cannot love our people.”
• Logos
• “Day and night can not dwell together.”
Speaker Chief Seattle
SPAM
- The Indian Chief Speaking about the oppression of his people
- Represents the Indian society as a whole
- The natives are being pushed off of their land by the settlers unfairly
Purpose
- White Men consider themselves as “brothers” with the natives
- the Indians are pushed off of their land and killed by the settlers unfairly
- Wonders why God is punishing them
- Pathos and Ethos
Audience The White American Generals and their troops
Medium Speech (Outside venue)
“I Will Fight No More”
- Chief Joseph (1877)
“I Will Fight No More Forever”
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Historical Background/Summary:
Surrender Speech after the Battle of the Bear Paw Mountains
The Nez Perce people were driven from their lands into Canada
by U.S. soldiers
Chief Joseph was tired of seeing his people killed, scared, and
living in poverty
Fed up with the U.S. attacking his people
Lists reasons for exhaustion and surrendering
Rhetorical Devices
• Epistrophe
• “Looking Glass is dead. Toohulhulsote is dead. The old men
are all dead.”
• Personification
• “My heart is sad and sick. From where the sun now stands”
• Paradox (Oxymoron)
• “I will fight no more forever” (title)
• It is the young men who say no and yes
Appeals
• Ethos
 A chief is speaking so he has rank
• Pathos
• “The little children are freezing to death.”
• “I want to have time to look for my children.”
• “Maybe I shall find them among the dead.”
• Logos
• “My heart is sad and sick.”
SPAM
Speaker Chief Joseph
- Native American chief
- Cares about his people and his society
Purpose
- Surrendering speech
- Sympathizer to the American Settlers
- Expresses his feelings of the brutality of his people
Audience The “White Men” a.k.a. American Settlers
Medium Speech (Outside venue)
- the speech was also presented in a letter form
- eventually the speech was published in a U.S. magazine
Class Themes
• American Voice
• The Indians speak out against the American government
• Relationship of Nature and Mankind
• Early Encounters of America
Quiz
(Hint: Chief Seattle- “Sacred Soil”, Chief Joseph- “I Will Fight No More Forever”)
1. What, historically, is going on during the time of the speeches?
(What is happening to the Native Americans?)
2. How does the time period affect what the Native Americans are
talking about?
3. How does Chief Seattle feel toward the white man’s good?
4. Chief Seattle uses many similes; explain how they help his
speech be more effective.
5. Chief Joseph uses epistrophe; how does it affect the speech?