Speckled Snake Speaks (1829)
Sat Jun 20, 1829
Image: "The Trail of Tears", by Robert Lindneux, a painting depicting the forced removal of indigenous peoples.
On this day in 1829, Speckled Snake, an indigenous man more than a century old, gave a speech to a council of chiefs on the genocidal nature of U.S. policy of indigenous removal, then led by President Andrew Jackson. Here is a short excerpt from his statement:
"...But when the white man had warmed himself before the Indians' fire and filled himself with their hominy, he became very large. With a step he bestrode the mountains, and his feet covered the plains and the valleys. His hand grasped the eastern and the western sea, and his head rested on the moon.
Then he became our Great Father. He loved his red children, and he said, 'Get a little further, lest I tread on thee.'
Brothers! I have listened to a great many talks from our great father. But they always began and ended in this - 'Get a little further; you are too near me.'"
- Date: 1829-06-20
- Learn More: www.historyisaweapon.com, peelersplace.weebly.com.
- Tags: #Indigenous.
- Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org