Speeches

Blackrobe, this is the happiest day of our lives.  Today for the first time we see among us a man who comes so near to the Great Spirit.  Here are the principal braves of my tribe.  I have bidden them to the feast that I have had prepared for you, that they may never lose the memory of so happy a day.

Speech of the Four Bears a Mandan Warrior to the Arricarees and Mandans, 30th July 1837. My Friends one and all, Listen to what I have to say. Ever since I can remember, I have loved the Whites, I have lived with them ever since I was a boy, and to the best of my knowledge, I have never wronged a white man. On the Contrary, I have always protected them from the insults of

Great Queen, We have undertaken a long and tedious Voyage, which none of our predecessors could ever be prevailed upon to undertake.  The Motive that induced us, was, that we might see our Great Queen, and relate to her those things we thought absolutely necessary for the Good of her, and us her Allies, on the other fide of the great Water.

We doubt not but our Great Queen has been acquainted with our long

In this solemn and important council, rising up before the wisdom and experience of so many venerable Sachems, and having the eyes of so many heroic chieftains upon me, I feel myself struck with that awful dissidence, which I believe would be felt by any one of my years, who had not relinquished all the modesty of his nature.

Nothing, O ye Creeks! could enable me to bear the fixed attention of this illustrious

"Uncle! We, your cousins, the congregation of believing Indians at Lichtenau and Gnadenhuetten, rejoice at this opportunity to see and speak with you. We cleanse your eyes from all the dust, and whatever the wind may have carried into them, that you may see your cousin with clear eyes and a serene countenance. We cleanse your ears and hearts from all evil reports which an evil wind may have conveyed into your ears and even

What is there more desirable than that we, who live within hearing of each other, should unite for the common good?  This is my wish.  It is the wish of my nation, although I am sorry I can't say so of every individual in it.  For there are differences of opinion among us, as well as among the white people.

Brother, Possess your mind in peace.  You are sensible that in affairs of importance, omissions may be made, and that a person is allowed afterwards to correct them.

You have greatly encouraged us, by promising to watch over our peace, and to provide for our welfare.  It is probable, that when we have completed our business here, some bad men may break over the fence you have set around us. There are, excuse us Brother

The following speech and communication was recorded in the mid 1670's be Father Marquette who was travelling through the upper Mississippi valley with a small group of men. The men were visiting a village of people from the Illinois nation. The men received many messages of welcome such as the following: "Well done, brothers, to visit us!" and "How beautiful is the sun, O Frenchman, when thou comest to visit us ! All our town

Brothers! McIntosh is dead. He broke the law of the nation. The law which be made himself. Hie face was turned to the white men, who wish to take our land from us. His back was to his own people. His ears were shut to the cries of our women and children. His heart was estranged from us. The words of his talk were deceitful. They came to us I like the sickly breeze that

As my younger brother of the New-England Indians, who have settled in our vicinity, are now going to visit their friends, and to move up part of their families that are left behind, we send this belt by them, to open the road wide, clearing it of all obstacles, that they may visit their friends, and return to their settlements here in peace.

We Oneidas are induced to this measure, on account of the disagreeable

My father: I have heard the few remarks yon have made to your children.  You have heard the words of those sitting around you, and you now know the way in which the hearts of the Sioux are placed.

You will now hear how my heart, and the hearts of my chiefs and braves, standing around me, are placed.

I should like to know who can make these people, who have brought that bunch of

"Head-men, Chiefs, Braves and Warriors of the Sauks: I have heard and considered your demand to be led forth upon the war-path against the palefaces, to avenge the many wrongs, persecutions, outrages and murders committed by them upon our people.  I deeply sympathise with you in your sense and construction of these terrible wrongs.  Few, indeed, are our people who do not mourn the death of some near and loved one at the hands of

My Father, It is true, We are a nation that is known to be brutes & bad people; but since we have paid attention to your good advice we have begun to behave better, For some time past a thick cloud hovers near our Lands, every time it approaches we go to meet it, & have succeeded so far as to drive it farther from us; but we have lost many of our young warriors

“Logan will no longer oppose making the proposed peace with the white men. You are sensible he never knew what fear is, that he never turned his back in the day of battle.  No one has more love for the white men than I have.  The war we have had with them has been long and bloody on both sides.  Rivers of blood have ran on all parts, and yet no good has resulted there

"I appeal to any white to say, if ever he entered Logan's cabin hungry, and he gave him not meat; if ever he came cold and naked, and he clothed him not. During the course of the last long bloody war, Logan remained idle in his cabin, an advocate for peace. Such was my love for the whites, that my countrymen pointed as they passed, and said, "Logan is the friend of white men."

I

Brother, As you pleased to mention the Almighty, who has the Care over all things, and whom it has pleased, that we should see one another. All the tribes are come with a good design, and we hope that GOD will strengthen the Peace & Unity.

My Father: What you say, and what our great father says, I always hear with open ears.

When I received the invitation from our agent, I determined, when I came, to keep my ears open.

What I say is all true. Once I acted a little foolishly, but no lives were lost then.

My ears are always open to good counsel; but I think my great father should take a stick and bore the ears

My father: Looking round at your children, you think all their ears are open to what you say; but I think part of them are deaf; they act like men that have no ears at all.

I have heart and ears, and take into them all I hear from you.  These people have struck us often, but we have sat with our arms folded: still they strike, and we remain quiet.

What I say I

Our Elder Brethren, We are well pleased with the message you bring us from, our Governor General Johnson. Lo, this is the first time, that we have the pleasure to know, that our General speaks to us, we see that he takes pity on us by sending us this good speech, and we receive it with both our hands, we will do every thing agreeable to his will when we find the speech comes from

My Brother, according to your desire and Treaties with us, I have consulted with our Chief Warriors in respect to this Belt of Wampum which you discovered to be in the village and we all think it best to deliver it to you so that you may send it to your General; though we were not to let this belt be known of till it arrived at Ouiattonen; And then we were all to Rise

"The strong liquor was first sold to us by the Dutch; and they were were blind, they had no eyes, they did not see that it was for our hurt.  The next people that came among us were the Swedes, who continued the sale of those strong liquors to us.  They were also blind, they had no eyes, they did not see it to be hurtfull to us to drink it, although we know it

My father, my father, this spring Monsieur de La Mothe sent us word that he barred the great river [to us], that he set a barrier there as high as the trees, that no one might make use of this way to come down here.  But I said, why does Monsieur de La Motile block up this way against me?  Is it not the way by which I go to see my father?  What have

Ouandarong (or old Baby) then rose up and spoke as follows:

Father! we can have but little to say besides returning you thanks in the name of Sastakaritze, what I shall deliver is in the name of the Wyndotts & Miamis.

Father! we thank our brothers, the Outawaas, Chippewas and Potawatomies for what they have said, it touched our hearts, we are of the very same way of thinking with them, What can we say

(Addressing the Sioux) Yon have heard our chief.

(Here he was told ne must speak to the commissioner.)

We have all listened to you, (the commissioner.)  We have never been the aggressors, though they (the Sioux) say we have.  When I killed a Sioux, I revenged myself on my own land, not on theirs.  These men are like I was when a little boy; there is a great deal of mischief in their heads.

Just

"I have seen two generations of my people die. Not a man of the two generations is alive now but myself. I know the difference between peace and war better than any man in my country. I am now grown old, and must die soon; my authority must descend to my brothers, Opitchapan, Opechancanough and Catatough; then to my two sisters, and then to my two daughters. I wish them to know as much as