Asking Forgiveness for Offenses Against the Enviornment
Introductory note. While the quoted passages on the handout have long been attributed to Chief Seattle as his letter to the President of the United States in 1854, it is now thought to be something written in the 1970s. Whatever its origin, it is widely quoted as a clear expression of the attitudes of Native Americans toward the earth. Litany. Distribute the student handout “Litany of Repentance” and read it prayerfully, with a different student reading each of the passages from the Letter of Chief Seattle and the whole group responding each time. Prelude. “The Great Chief in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land. . . . We will consider your offer. For we know that if we do not sell, the white man may come with guns and take our land. . . .” For the fear and intimidation we inflicted and continue to inflict on others, we ask forgiveness, Creator God. “Every part of this earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every clearing, and humming insect is holy in the memory and experience of my people. The sap which courses through the trees carries the memories of the red man. . . . We are part of this earth and it is part of us. The perfumed flowers are our sisters; the deer, the horse, the great eagle, these are our brothers. The rocky crests, the juices of the meadows, the body heat of the pony, and humans—all belong to the same family.” For the times we have not recognized our unity with the rest of creation, we ask forgiveness, Creator God. “We will consider your offer to buy our land. But it will not be easy. For this land is sacred to us. . . . This shining water that moves in the streams and rivers is not just water but the blood of our ancestors. If we sell you land, you must remember that it is sacred, and you must teach your children that it is sacred. . . .” For our lack of appreciation for the holiness and sacredness of creation, we ask forgiveness, Creator God. “The rivers are our brothers, they quench our thirst. The rivers carry our canoes and feed our children. If we sell you our land, you must remember and teach your children that the rivers are our brothers, and yours; and you must henceforth give the rivers the kindness you would give any brother. . . .” For the times we have polluted the waters of our land and not treated them with kindness, we ask forgiveness, Creator God. “We know that the white man does not understand our ways. One portion of land is the same to him as the next, for he is a stranger who comes in the night and takes from the land whatever he needs. The earth is not his brother, but his enemy, and when he has conquered it, he moves on. . . . He treats his mother, the earth, and his brother, the sky, as things to be bought, plundered, sold like sheep or bright beads. His appetite will devour the earth and leave behind only a desert. . . .” For the times we have been greedy and consumed much more than our fair share, we ask forgiveness, Creator God. “There is no quiet place in the white man’s cities. No place to hear the unfurling of leaves in the spring or the rustle of insects’ wings. But perhaps it is because I am a savage and do not understand. The clatter only seems to insult the ears. And what is there to life if a person cannot hear the lonely cry of the whippoorwill or the arguments of the frogs around a pond at night? I am a red man and do not understand. The Indian prefers the soft sound of the wind darting over the face of a pond, and the smell of the wind itself, cleansed by a midday rain or scented with the pinon pine.” For the noise we have created and imposed on nature, we ask forgiveness, Creator God. “So we will consider your offer to buy the land. If we decide to accept, I will make one condition: the white man must treat the beasts of this land as his brothers. . . . What are humans without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, humans would die from a great loneliness of spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts soon happens to humans. All things are connected. . . .” For our reckless killing of animals, we ask forgiveness, Creator God. “You must teach your children that the ground beneath their feet is the ashes of our grandparents. 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. . . .” For our failure to teach children reverence for the earth, we ask forgiveness, Creator God. “Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons and daughters of the earth. If we spit upon the ground, we spit upon ourselves. This we know. The earth does not belong to us; we belong to the earth. . . . This we know. All things are connected like the blood which unites one family. All things are connected. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons and daughters of the earth. Humans did not weave the web of life; we are merely strands in it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. . . .” For all the times we have been careless about the earth, as if we owned the earth, we ask forgiveness, Creator God. “Even the white man, whose God walks and talks with him as friend to friend, cannot be exempt from the common destiny. We may be brothers after all, we shall see. One thing we know, which the white man may one day discover—our God is the same God. You may think now that you own God as you wish to own our land, but you cannot. God is the God of all, and God’s compassion is equal for all. This earth is precious to God, and to harm the earth is to heap contempt on its Creator. The whites too shall pass; perhaps sooner than all other tribes. Continue to contaminate your bed, and you will one night suffocate in your own waste. . . .” For our failure to thank you often for the wonders of creation, we ask forgiveness, Creator God. “So if we sell you our land, love it as we have loved it. Care for it as we have cared for it. Hold in your mind the memory of the land as it is when you take it. And with all your strength, with all your mind, with all your heart, preserve it for your children, and love it as God loves us all. . . .” For the times we have not loved and cared for the land, we ask forgiveness, Creator God. You may also wish to explore with your students information from the Catholic Coalition on Climate Change website.
