The speech given by Sa-go-ye-wat-ha to the Christian missionary is exemplifies pure human understanding, acceptance, and a desire for peace amongst two different peoples. The native explains that the Great Spirit is theirs and they should not have a religion forced upon them by a people who betrayed them and have taken over their homeland.
What I found most moving about his speech is that despite the cruel history between the native people and the white men, Sa-go-ye-wat-ha remains peaceful and wishes no harm upon the whites. This is illustrated in his addressing of the missionary as, "Brother". It is very rare to see this type of respect for a person whose people have done so much harm to you. I believe this shows the spirit of the native people's religion as ever-loving and grateful for what they have been given.
Sa-go-ye-wat-ha is very logical in his explanation to the missionary about how they are different people and should therefore have a different religion. I found this an astonishing perspective and truly enlightening. I feel as though this is a much better approach to religion than tyring to make all people accept one religion or set of customs. It has always been my belief that as long as you are doing no harm to others, people should be free to practice as they please. The native people shared the common ideals as Christianity, but just practiced it in a different form. He says the Great Spirit and their religion, "teaches us to be grateful for all the favors we receive, to love on another, and to be united", much like the Christians believe.
I found the endless kindness and understanding of Sa-go-ye-wat-ha throughout the speech moving, because if in a similar situation, I am not sure that I would have been able to embody the same emotions. Even in the final conclusions, Sa-go-ye-wat-ha says, "the Great Spirit will protect you on your journey and return you sate to your friends".
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Using great kindness and patience was virture that the native americans had. Even though their world as they knew it was going to be forever changed, they still had enough grace to respect the missionaries to shake their hands and wish them well. The tribe treated the explorers better than explorers treated the native americans. Which group of people were the true missonaries?
SA-GO-YE-WAT-HA was very kind to the missionary. Even though he felt betrayed by the white settlers, he still treated the missionary with the utmost respect. All they wanted was to be peaceful and have their own religion and values. If only more people were like SA-GO-YE-WAT-HA through out history.
"the Great Spirit will protect you on your journey and return you sate to your friends"-what a powerful quote.
There are those who live by this forgive others, and others who use this to justify forgiveness for their actions. The true test is to have learned from our mistakes as opposed to constantly repeating them. Or at the least, seeking help for our illnesses which we can not overcome.
I agree with you, I like the way they referred to the "white people" as Brother no matter how they were treating them. That deep respect for one another would be rare for anyone nowadays. I like that they explained how they are different people and should have different Gods. My favorite part was when he said "If there is one religion, why do you white people differ so much about it? Why don't you all agree, since you can all read the book?"
Your writing painted a veiw of human compassion that has been almost forgotten. I trully agree with you on many of the statements that you posed, especially about the one concerning the statement "brother" and the issues of compassion, and forgivness.
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