Native American Wisdom is another gorgeous gift book in a size just slightly larger than a standard paperback. The beauty of the cover will immediately grab your attention and pull you into the words within.

This book is a compilation of quotations from Native Americans of the most diverse background and tribal affiliations. Many are quite well known while others are the unknowns. The quotations have been taken from credible sources, such as written documentation, first-hand, eyewitness accounts, and the recorded observations of social affairs.

There are thirteen chapters that cover: the ways of the land, words and silence, learning, living, leading others, the heart, believing, dying, the white man, and civilization, the passing of the ways, a warning to heed these words, and the betrayal of the land. A quick glance at these topics indicates the depth of these pieces, yet they are eloquently simple.

The introduction is a strong opener for these Native American thoughts and philosophy. It explains the different in the Native American and European views of the natural world and spirituality and points out the way the two differ in their communication techniques.
It points out the imbalance in our relationship with the natural world and tells us that we must seek to return this relationship to a proper point of stasis.

In the first chapter, composed of only five pages, we find passages from Chief Seattle (Suqwamish and Duwamish), Chief Joseph (Nez Perce), Chief Luther Standing Bear (Teton Sioux), George "Kahgegagahbowh" Copway (Ojibwe), Wovoka (Paiute), Ten Bears (Yamparika Comanche), and Chief Satanta (Kiowa). These pieces speak of the intense love of the land by the Native Americans and how they view their relationship with Mother Earth and all her beings. They set the mood for the rest of the book.

You will not be able to put this book down until you have read every page. Likely, you will find yourself dwelling on certain passages that strike a chord deeply within your heart or resonate meaning in your life. It is a wonderful book for soul searching and meditations. It leaves you feeling a kinship for all life and appreciating your life, even the misfortunes that fall upon you. This is a book that will help you to find peace in a hectic world and right your balance with the world around you. It is a treasure in the literature world.

Alicia Karen Elkins, Columnist, Editor, & Reviewer

Reprinted from Gotta Write Network Online

This is a very instructive and thought-provoking compilation. This book contains four parts. Part I consists of short quotes of Native American leaders. Part II is Charles Eastman's beautiful work, THE SOUL OF THE INDIAN AND OTHER WRITINGS. Part III contains (i) Chief Red Jacket's respectful and dignified response to a missionary's request to minister to the Iroquois in l805, (ii) Chief Joseph's account of the Nez Perce retreat and (iii) Chief Seattle's eloquent speech to territorial governor Isaac Stevens when faced with his people's removal to reservations. The final part consists of biographical notes of forty Native Americans. Editor Kent Nerburn prefaces each of the first two parts as well as each of the three longer speeches with informative introductory essays.
I mourn the loss of the Native American culture as it once was. I'm very grateful to Kent Nerburn and the New World Library for putting this book together so that the wisdom of this great culture continues to survive. I just purchased a copy of this book to donate to my local public library so that my whole town can share in this wisdom.

This book is a masterpiece of American Indian philosophy and Spirituality.

This book is basicly a collection of quotes and speeches by various American Indian leaders with a few comments by Mr. Nerburn that edited them into a seamless volume of American Indian thought.

There are quotes here that deal with their Spirituality including reincarnation, Their family Life, Their care for Nature, Honesty, etc.

I am considering buying several more copies of this book to help my family and friends understand my spiritual beliefs.

I only have one minor nitpick. Mr. Nerburn insists on calling the Chief of the Suquamish people "Chief Seattle". His name was Sealth. Seattle was an error in translation.

Yes; Seattle, Washington was named for this wise leader.

Please E-mail me if you have questions or comments about my review. Two Bears.

Wah doh Ogedoda "We give thanks Great Spirit"

THE WORLD OF CHIEF SEATTLE is an awesome effort, quietly informative, eloquent as the wind. We read about The Land around the Puget Sound & its climate. How The Suquamish People, isolated by mountains & vast stretches of ocean, developed lifestyles unlike any encountered by explorers.

About Potlatch, Canoes, Food, Houses & Clothing. About Intertribal Warfare & Indian Boarding Schools, & about the The Point Elliott Treaty & Reservation Life.

A just homage to the ways of our ancestors & a profound little book, one that will touch the heart & soul of any who read it - about a fine way of life inexorably altered by strangers from afar.

A must for anyone interested in living with the land, & learning how to treat all our relations with respect.

The Suquamish Native American leader Chief Seattle gave his immortal speech in 1854 during treaty negotiations with the American government which was intent on forcing the Native people of Washington's Puget Sound onto reservations. Highly recommended for Native American studies reference and reading list collections, The World Of Chief Seattle: How Can One Sell The Air? puts Chief Seattle's life into the context of his time and provides the reader with a brief history of the region and its many tribes, with particular emphasis on the Suquamish. Included under Warren Jefferson's ably editorship is the complete text of Chief Seattle's speech, enhanced with rare, vintage photographs of village life.

This book is very informative and research that went into the book shows that the author truly cared to show in the best possible light the lifestyle of Suquamish's most famous Chief. Chief Seattle has been quoted and misquoted so much over the years, that this book is a breath of fresh air. A great way to learn about Suquamish and a glimpse into history. I feel that this book is something that all ages will enjoy reading.

Anyone who has read many Native American poems or stories probably knows that one of the most consistent themes in these literary works is man's connection to nature. This theme runs throughout Chief Seattle's Speech. This speech is both eloquent and haunting. It was originally directed at Anglos regarding the loss of tribal lands to white settlers, but it is a speech that today's enviromentalists would likely see as representative of many of their own views.With a wise and knowing voice that speaks from the heart, Chief Seattle reminds us that it is vital to respect the earth because we are part of it. Even after death, his people continued to have a spiritual bond to the places that were special to them. I really love this idea. I also think that the beautiful and sacred bonds between people, animals, and the enviroment are sacred and eternal. If you enjoy reading meaningful literature that reminds you to keep your priorities in order, read Chief Seattle's Speech. To those who like this speech, I recommend novels and poetry by the following authors: Leslie Marmon Silko, Joseph Bruchac, Joy Harjo, and Simon Ortiz.

Anyone who has read many Native American poems or stories probably knows that one of the most consistent themes in these literary works is man's connection to nature. This theme runs throughout The Speech of Chief Seattle. This speech is both eloquent and haunting. It was originally directed at Anglos regarding the loss of tribal lands to white settlers, but it is a speech that today's enviromentalists would likely see as representative of many of their own views.With a wise and knowing voice that speaks from the heart, Chief Seattle reminds us that it is vital to respect the earth because we are part of it. Even after death, his people continued to have a spiritual bond to the places that were special to them. I really love this idea. I also think that the beautiful and sacred bonds between people, animals, and the enviroment are sacred and eternal. If you enjoy reading meaningful literature that reminds you to keep your priorities in order, read The Speech of Chief Seattle. To those who like this speech, I recommend novels and poetry by the following authors: Leslie Marmon Silko, Joseph Bruchac, Joy Harjo, and Simon Ortiz.

This text is one of a number of environmental pleas which are variations on a speech written by a european american in the early 1970s for a film. The speech was erroneously attributed to Duwamish/Suquamish Chief Seattle ?-1866. An article purporting to be the text of a speech from Seattle to Territorial Gov. Isac Stevens in 1854 appeared in a Seattle newspaper in 1878 - It is accepted by many scholars, including the Suquamish Tribal Museum, as an Americanized translation of an actual oration. Probably, this text was the inspiration for the 1973 film script speech, but the two have nothing in common and are frequently in direct opposition. The 1854/1878 text is not an environmental treatise. The 1973 text is not "another Seattle speech" - it is patently bogus, since we know its origin and it includes things (railroads in washington, buffalo slaughter from trains) which hadn't happened in 1854, indeed until after Seattle's death. This is a great text, but it does no service to environmentalism, scholarship, or the memory of this Puget Sound leader to sell books having nothing to do with him by attaching his name. Incidentally, this mis-attribution has been known for years - why do reputable booksellers continue to promote it?

Does it make any sense to discuss whether the speech is originally written by Chief Seattle or not? The most importent sense is to get thoughts we - the Europeans and the Not-native Americans - have lost in organizing our modern civilization and technics. By the speech of Chief Seattle we can find back to mankind's roots.

The great speech by Chief Seattle is in pointed contrast to the slanders of uptight white males who want to pretend he didn't say these things. As a feminist who is challenging patriarchal oppressions of the enviornment, I find Chief Seattle's words a great inspiration to me.

Everything you will find in this book is [fiction]. While the artistic quality of the illustrations is remarkable, the content has no connection with historical reality. Chief Seattle never left the Puget Sound in his entire life. He never saw a living buffalo, much less the slaughter of buffalo herds. And, most importantly, he never said anything remotely resembling the message in this book. In fact, he was nothing like the gentle environmentalist depicted by Jeffers:...he never made the famous speech upon which this book is based. The actual speech was written in the 1970s by an environmental apologist, originally for a screen play. It is incredible that anyone would pass this off on their children. No matter how strongly you feel about the need to protect the environment, you have a duty to your children to communicate such ideas without resorting to this form of [rewriting history].

If you do some research you'll learn that this speech was actually written for a 1972 movie. Chief Seattle never wrote this speech. Though beautiful, who would want to teach their childen the speech by screenwriter Ted Perry? This book is known as a joke, but the joke will be on you if you buy it!

You don't have to take my word for it. Do you own research on Chief Seattle and urban legends to learn more.

This is the biggest load of feelgood propaganda I've come across since Stuart Smalley arrived on the set of Saturday Night Live - of course, that was a satire; this unfortunately is for real. Yes, fairy tales are integral parts of literature, and are as important as any other genre. But, fairy tales should be just that - fairy tales...based upon fantastical lands far far away not factual events that merit accurate stories. Regretfully, Ms. Jeffers fails to realize this important point. The result? Many children (and even some adults) will believe the cowdung disseminated in this book. The only reason this book warrants a "One Star" rating is because of its quotes of Chief Seattle and because zero stars was not an option. Want a good fairytale? Check out Robinhood, Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, or the now-popular Harry Potter series. Want to find accurate, historical portrayals of American Indians? (...) peruse titles under the subject headings of "History" and "Anthropology".

Readers of this very popular work should know that it is not what it pretends. Chief Seattle's "speech" as presented by Jeffers is forgery, the real chief Sealth never said anything of the kind. The speech presented here was forged in the 1970s by a Hollywood script writer, and was further altered by Jeffers herself. This book is an insulting white stereotype of real Indians, much like "Dances With Wolves." Even Jeffers' drawings are lies, based on photographs of Plains Indians who in no way resemble the real chief Sealth, who was a portly little fellow. Books like this one do a grave injustice to Native Americans.

What a stunning book! My 5 year old son was given this as a gift and it has become one of his favorites. He has been deeply moved by the book's message to protect the earth for future generations, that we are part of the web of life that the earth supports and we must preserve. The illustrations are terrific, and we find something new in them each time we read the story together. I now give this book often as a special gift, hoping that its message will spread.