American Rhetoric - Another Great Online Resource

Some of you may remember that I did a presentation on Red Jacket, a great Native American orator and activist. Well, I have been thinking about this for awhile now because I didn’t get to share the end of my presentation with you as a result of time constraints. During my research, I came across an amazing online resource called, American Rhetoric. This website has a collection of speeches ranging from Abe Lincoln to Steve Jobs. Most of the speeches I’ve come across have had both text and audio components available, which is great for comprehension. There are dozens of speeches from Native American figures throughout history, including Red Jacket. This is an excellent resource to check out!

At the end of my presentation, I wanted to share an excerpt from Red Jacket’s speech to white missionaries back in 1805. I have already blogged about this excerpt before (See Red Jacket – He’ll Keep You Awake). But, I absolutely love the part when Red Jacket says, “We do not quarrel about religion.” Right now, it’s hard to imagine a nation that doesn’t argue and fight over religion. Red Jacket’s words still have meaning today which means his message has stood the test of time. It is unfortunate that his message has sometimes fallen on dead ears.

Red Jacket - He'll Keep You Awake

So I have been doing some research on the American Indian figure I am presenting and I’m pretty excited about what I am finding. I don’t want to say too much about him, but he is known as “Red Jacket,” and was an Iroquois chief back in the late 18^th to early 19^th century. Everything about this guy reminds me so much of John Trudell and the way he fought for American Indian equality. I found a quote from Red Jacket which states,

“Brother, we do not understand these things. We are told that your religion was given to your forefathers, and has been handed down from father to son. We also have a religion, which was given to our forefathers, and has been handed down to us, their children. We worship in that way. It teaches us to be thankful for all the favors we receive; to love each other, and to be united. We never quarrel about religion.”

After reading this quote, all I can think about is the phrase, “live and let live.” Why should American Indians be forced to convert to Christianity when they hold the same ideas of peace and respect? It seems like the overall message is the same in both religions. They teach to be “thankful for all the favors we receive; to love each other, and to be united.” This ties into the notion of imperialism because the colonists did indeed make an effort to replace American Indian culture with their own. That being said, people like Red Jacket and John Trudell are inspiring because they stood up for their beliefs and created a sense of hope. I look forward to presenting on Red Jacket and will leave you with one last tidbit about his life. He was known as a tremendous public speaker and his native name is “Sagoyewatha,” which translates to, “He keeps them awake.” I will certainly do my best to keep you awake on Monday.