Chief Seattle's Speech

Chief Seattle's speech was delivered either in 1854 or 1855 during meetings with Isaac Ingalls Stevens, the newly appointed governor of Washington Territory. The governor's goal was to persuade the Puget Sound Indians to give up most of their lands in Kitsap County for a reservation at Port Madison. It was not published until 1887 by the Seattle Sunday Star. The translation of the speech was done by Dr. Henry A. Smith. It was reprinted and translated numerous times throughout the years after that. The problem is that it is unclear whether or not Dr. Smith actually attended the speech. Smith said he got his notes from other meeting about the matter and could have gotten them from other not as accurate sources. Some of the versions of the speech were also edited to portray certain environmental and ecological views.

http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/american_indian_quarterly/v035/35.2.krupat.html