Fascinated
by the high technological artifacts, we habitually overlook how much
we depend on soil. And what are the consequences of the soil
disrespect.
You
must teach your children that the ground beneath their feet is the
ashes of your grandfathers. So that they will respect the land, tell
your children that the earth is rich with the lives of our kin.
Teach your children what we have taught our children, that the earth
is our mother. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the
earth. If men spit upon the ground, they spit upon themselves.
Seattle,
Chief of the Duwamish, Suquamish and allied Indian tribes: Letter
to President Franklin Pierce, 1854.
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