Speaker

The speaker of “Selling Our Land” is assumed to be Chief Seattle, a Native American tribe leader. Chief Seattle was part Suquamish and part Duwamish and was a respected local chief in the area of today’s Seattle, a city which was named after him.

At the time the speech was allegedly delivered – in 1854 – Chief Seattle had already converted to Christianity, and although he was a great warrior, he was losing ground in front of the leader of another tribe. During this time, Chief Seattle began supporting a peaceful negotiation with white settlers so that Native Americans and settlers could find ways to live in the same area without conflicts. Also, the white settlement later took the name of Seattle, pointing to the respect that some local settlers had for the chief.

In the speech, the...