Essay 1 , Multicultural literature
Prof. Chris Patterson
March 23, 2014
American Indians and Freedom
American Indians have striven for freedom ceaselessly since the colonization in 1800s. But for different American Indians, the definitions of freedom vary a lot. For the chief Seattle, the writer of AUTHENTIC TEXT OF CHIEF SEATTLE’S TREATY ORATION 1854, the freedom means the rights to live with the nature harmoniously and to keep their religion and traditions. For Carlos Montezuma, the writer of Let My People Go, the definition of freedom is very absolute and stems from political rights. His freedom means the rights of managing the stuffs of American Indians totally without the control of white man. From my point of view, the definition of freedom to American Indians is more close to its political definition because the rights of protecting the holy nature will not be given if they lose the political rights. But I argue that the real freedom does not mean the absolute free.
Moreover, the chief Seattle and Carlos Montezuma differ in the issue about whether American Indians should accept the management of colonists. For the chief Seattle, he thinks him and his people can accept the management of colonists on the condition that the colonists will not destroy their holy nature. For Carlos Montezuma, he asks the colonists not to interfere the issue of American Indians because the corrupt management of the colonists. I think that American Indians can accept the management of the colonists if they can own enough political rights. The best way is to contend for a democracy system and government for American Indians rather than just asking for leaving the control of the colonists.
It is obvious that the two writers own quite different understandings when they face with the same word---freedom, as I mentioned at the beginning. The writer of AUTHENTIC TEXT OF CHIEF SEATTLE’S TREATY ORATION 1854 shows deep love to his ancestors and the things his ancestors