5th Hour Discussion Board - Chief Seattle

[Admin]

Watch the 4 minute video located at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VB8mvRB9d8. The video describes a powerful letter about the Native American perspective on ownership of our Earth. Chief Seattle of the Duwamish Tribe wrote the following letter to President Pierce after the US Government offered to buy the land where his people lived in 1854 (current day Washington State).

Reflect on the video and select one of the quotations from Chief Seattle listed below. Relate your quotation to the topics covered in class during this past unit and/or this week. In addition to your posted reflection, respond to the postings of TWO of your classmates.

All things share the same breath - the beast, the tree, the man...
the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports.

Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together.
All things connect.

Man does not weave this web of life. He is merely a strand of it. Whatever he does
to the web, he does to himself.


Initial Posting: Due Wednesday, October 27 at 11:59 pm
Response Postings: Due Friday, October 29 at 11:59 pm

[whatitdochickado]

"Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect."

Sooooo yeah we are a part of life, we eat animals (some of us do at least) and those animals either eat other animals or eat plants and those plants grow because of the ultimate energy source which is the SUN. sooo in the long run we are only just one thread in the "web of life". If we pollute the earth and ruin the environment we are ruining our own environment and making it harder to live.

[smiley11]

"All things share the same breath - the beast, the tree, the man...
the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports."

Its true, everything shares the same breath. The animals take in the same air that we breath and the plants take in all the CO2 that we give off. We support each other in the world. Humans help the plants breath and the palnts help the animals and humans breath, we all share the same breath and the same air.

[snookieluvs2tan]

All things share the same breath - the beast, the tree, the man...
the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports

I honestly agree with this statement. Everyone does share the air with every living being. When human activity emits CO2 into the atmosphere, not only we causing global warming, but polluting the air that humans breathe, which in turn we exhale to help the plants and trees grow. It is sort of like a food web in the sense that plants are the producers, and humans are the consumers. Air does indeed share its "spirit" because, without it, no form of life would be supported, no matter if it produces oxygen or consumes it.

[earthycolors]

"Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together.
All things connect."

We didn't create the environment, we are merely a part of it. This means that all animals, all bugs, all fish, all parasites, all plants, all fungi, even all dirt is all part of the same ecosystem. This all relates back to the ecosystem and biodiversity. What ever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. This relates back to if we decrease the population of a certain species, we hurt ourselves in the long run. For example, if we were to decrease the amount of trill in the ocean because of pesticide and insecticide runoff, the population of the fish that eat the trill ( the fish that we eat) will decrease, which means a shortage of fish. Another example is: let's say we decreased the population of the bees in the world from smoke and smog in the air. less bees means less pollination of fruit-bearing plants and trees, which means raised prices on fruits and shortages. We are all connected means we all breathe the same air and walk on the same ground. We are all made of the same stuff and live on the same planet, the only difference is the way we look. All things are bound together means that we are all part of a giant web. If one thing happens to a species of animals, it affects most if not all of the whole web in some way. Just like a rope. If a strand of the rope breaks, the rope gets weaker, though its not noticed. If enough strands of the rope breaks, you notice the rope getting weaker because you can't put anymore strain on it without it breaking. If more than enough strands break, it can cause a chain reaction, breaking every other strand in the rope until it completely breaks. Thats what the web is like, cause enough damage to it and the whole thing can fall apart.

[20north_star12]

Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together.
All things connect.

This web of life can be connected to the fundamentals of the food chains and webs we have been been discussing in class. We did not create the Earth to sustain life the way it does. There are many theories regarding the creation of mankind and the like, but regardless of what you believe, we did not. As humans, we really are just a minor part. We tend to think highly of ourselves due to the severity of how modernized we have allowed society to become, but when you take pride out of the equation, we are not the greatest thing nor the creator. We really are connected with all things. Furthering my statement about the food webs, we are consumers of a cow; A cow eats grass that was derived from the photosynthesis with usage of the sun. We would be no where without the sun on two levels. Sun allows the warmth for life and the energy needed for the photosynthesis. If we were to deprive grasses of sunlight (unlikely possibility, but bear with me), then the grasses would not grow. Thus preventing the birth and development of cows for us to consume. There are things that are so much higher above us that must have created things to be this way. Do not take my last statement as a provocation to start a heated discussion on religion. I did not say there is or was a god, but simply that someone or something unhuman did weave this web that we have solely depended upon for life.

[londylou]

"Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect."

This quote from the letter by Chief Seattle is simply amazing. The Native Americans had a spiritual connection with nature and truly valued it. They knew that the world couldn't be "owned" by anyone or anything and that we are not above it. They also believed that we are connected to nature and what we do to it, we do to ourselves. The Europeans that came to America (which was already inhabited by the Native Americans *cough-cough*) did not understand that, and didnt care about the way the Native Americans thought. They were only worried about receiving monetary gain. Typical typical typical. This way of thinking is very common in America even to this day. Thats part of the reason why we're running out of fossil fuels now. If we hadnt stolen the land from the Native Americans and had paid attention to their ideas and beliefs about nature, then maybe we wouldnt be in this predicament today. That is all =)

-LondyLou

[LittleMissSophie]

`"Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together.
All things connect."


I believe that this quote is saying that we were just another breathing organism on the earth. We did not have any part of the creation of earth. We have no true claim to land air or water that was here before us. If we harm the land, water, or air. We are harming ourselves. Healthier earth equals healthier human life.

[Love_Muffins]

"Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together.
All things connect."


All things are connected. The food chain connects use all in one was or another. We really are just one part to something to big to explain fully. If something is changed to one thing we will notice.

[Love_Muffins]

did everybody do the same one?

[whatitdochickado]

All things share the same breath - the beast, the tree, the man...
the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports

I honestly agree with this statement. Everyone does share the air with every living being. When human activity emits CO2 into the atmosphere, not only we causing global warming, but polluting the air that humans breathe, which in turn we exhale to help the plants and trees grow. It is sort of like a food web in the sense that plants are the producers, and humans are the consumers. Air does indeed share its "spirit" because, without it, no form of life would be supported, no matter if it produces oxygen or consumes it.

i totally agree. and im in LOVE with the elephants. hahaha.

[whatitdochickado]

"All things share the same breath - the beast, the tree, the man...
the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports."

Its true, everything shares the same breath. The animals take in the same air that we breath and the plants take in all the CO2 that we give off. We support each other in the world. Humans help the plants breath and the palnts help the animals and humans breath, we all share the same breath and the same air.

GOOD POINT! oops.. accidently pressed caps lock.. hehe. {: but i agree totally.

[mexicanapplethief]

"Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together.
All things connect." -Chief Seattle 1854

This quote from the Indian chief inhabiting what is not Washington purposes that man has not created this world but used means put forth by nature to create his habitat. By mentioning that man is not the ruler of his kingdom and merely an adviser, the chief puts forth the idea that we are not above nature and its ruling, we are still a gear of the well-greased machine and that if we happen to collide with other gears then it will certainly end in a disaster or overall shutdown. The chief foreshadows that if civilization becomes too robust in its industry and its damage on nature the consequences will become irresistible.

As a "smart kid" cliche I'm going to now show how this relates to what were doing in class. The entire concept is parallel to that of a food chain in which all organisms work in a fashion that is coincidental and perfectly intertwined to see through an ending.

[earthycolors]

`"Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together.
All things connect."


I believe that this quote is saying that we were just another breathing organism on the earth. We did not have any part of the creation of earth. We have no true claim to land air or water that was here before us. If we harm the land, water, or air. We are harming ourselves. Healthier earth equals healthier human life.

I couldn't have explained it any better myself. So yeah i agree with you, if we harm the environment, we're also harming ourselves because who needs the environment? Everything on earth. Including us. And yes, we can't claim something that isn't ours and has been here for much longer than we have. That's like seeing a car laying in a driveway and suddenly claiming it as yours, you just cant do it. We are all drawn together by a single web that is called "Earth"

[earthycolors]

"Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together.
All things connect."


All things are connected. The food chain connects use all in one was or another. We really are just one part to something to big to explain fully. If something is changed to one thing we will notice.

Very true. We are all together in this massive, yet simple web. If something happens to part of the web, the rest of the web is felt and weakened. This is called biodiversity, and it is the key to the survival to all living things.

[FounderofGFFandBabycat]

"Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together.
All things connect."


All things are connected. The food chain connects use all in one was or another. We really are just one part to something to big to explain fully. If something is changed to one thing we will notice.

Wow what great thought right....? heck no! you need to redo this you SOG (son of a gun.!)....yeah im the new kyle on this!!!! Im just kidding but I completely feel the same way...just with more detail..

[smiley11]

`"Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together.
All things connect."


I believe that this quote is saying that we were just another breathing organism on the earth. We did not have any part of the creation of earth. We have no true claim to land air or water that was here before us. If we harm the land, water, or air. We are harming ourselves. Healthier earth equals healthier human life.

This is so true, if we hurt the environment we hurt ourselves....

[FounderofGFFandBabycat]

"Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together.
All things connect."

We didn't create the environment, we are merely a part of it. This means that all animals, all bugs, all fish, all parasites, all plants, all fungi, even all dirt is all part of the same ecosystem. This all relates back to the ecosystem and biodiversity. What ever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. This relates back to if we decrease the population of a certain species, we hurt ourselves in the long run. For example, if we were to decrease the amount of trill in the ocean because of pesticide and insecticide runoff, the population of the fish that eat the trill ( the fish that we eat) will decrease, which means a shortage of fish. Another example is: let's say we decreased the population of the bees in the world from smoke and smog in the air. less bees means less pollination of fruit-bearing plants and trees, which means raised prices on fruits and shortages. We are all connected means we all breathe the same air and walk on the same ground. We are all made of the same stuff and live on the same planet, the only difference is the way we look. All things are bound together means that we are all part of a giant web. If one thing happens to a species of animals, it affects most if not all of the whole web in some way. Just like a rope. If a strand of the rope breaks, the rope gets weaker, though its not noticed. If enough strands of the rope breaks, you notice the rope getting weaker because you can't put anymore strain on it without it breaking. If more than enough strands break, it can cause a chain reaction, breaking every other strand in the rope until it completely breaks. Thats what the web is like, cause enough damage to it and the whole thing can fall apart.

i kind of wish i would have put more thought into it and came up with something just as good as yours but nice take on the quote you defined this really well and made me feel like i was back in ms. hancokcs (amy) class again

[smiley11]

"Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect."

Sooooo yeah we are a part of life, we eat animals (some of us do at least) and those animals either eat other animals or eat plants and those plants grow because of the ultimate energy source which is the SUN. sooo in the long run we are only just one thread in the "web of life". If we pollute the earth and ruin the environment we are ruining our own environment and making it harder to live.

So true, with a ruined environment it will be harder for us and plants and animals to live here. We all need to do our part and keep the environment clean instead of polluting it and killing things....

[Love_Muffins]

"Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect."

Sooooo yeah we are a part of life, we eat animals (some of us do at least) and those animals either eat other animals or eat plants and those plants grow because of the ultimate energy source which is the SUN. sooo in the long run we are only just one thread in the "web of life". If we pollute the earth and ruin the environment we are ruining our own environment and making it harder to live.

I agree with you. All we are doing is making it hard for our us to live on. If you don't care about the animals you should at least be selfish and do it for your self.

[Love_Muffins]

"All things share the same breath - the beast, the tree, the man...
the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports."

Its true, everything shares the same breath. The animals take in the same air that we breath and the plants take in all the CO2 that we give off. We support each other in the world. Humans help the plants breath and the palnts help the animals and humans breath, we all share the same breath and the same air.

Yes. we share everything. So who are we to mess It up for everyone.

[Love_Muffins]

"Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together.
All things connect."


All things are connected. The food chain connects use all in one was or another. We really are just one part to something to big to explain fully. If something is changed to one thing we will notice.

Wow what great thought right....? heck no! you need to redo this you SOG (son of a gun.!)....yeah im the new kyle on this!!!! Im just kidding but I completely feel the same way...just with more detail..

1st. Mi name is Vanessa not Vannessa lol get it rite. 2nd yo cat look like it can't breath out its nose. It looks like one of those ppl who make snoring sounds but is wide awake. Lol jk..

[londylou]

"Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect."

If we pollute the earth and ruin the environment we are ruining our own environment and making it harder to live.

Exactly! This is why I dont understand why people continue to do it knowing it effects us too

[londylou]

`"Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together.
All things connect."


We did not have any part of the creation of earth. We have no true claim to land air or water that was here before us. If we harm the land, water, or air. We are harming ourselves.

I couldnt have said it better. Humans always act like they run everything and that anything else in the enviornment is under them. And it is impossible to own land, water, and air.

[20north_star12]

"Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect."

Sooooo yeah we are a part of life, we eat animals (some of us do at least) and those animals either eat other animals or eat plants and those plants grow because of the ultimate energy source which is the SUN. sooo in the long run we are only just one thread in the "web of life". If we pollute the earth and ruin the environment we are ruining our own environment and making it harder to live.

I wish that other people understood that for ever check there is a balance. I'm happy to see that you, too, are above the average humane mindset. Now we need to get everyone else on board. The single stream recycling helped, but I think you'll agree that there is so much more that we can do.

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