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| Seton and Gray Whirlwind speak through sign language, 1920s |
(Ernest Thompson Seton's daughter Dee Seton Barber worked tirelessly throughout her lifetime promoting the Seton Legacy, that is, the teachings and philosophy of her father. The words that follow are her own, probably written in the 1990s. I recently discovered Dee's essay in our archives at the Academy for the Love of Learning. dlw)
Seton was a man whom although his skin and upbringing was
white, his soul was as theirs, his lifetime action strong proof of this mutual
recognition.
From the 1880’s, he went among the people, not to change
them, but to learn from them. He respected their culture and their wisdom. He
learned their speech and sign, their songs and stories. When invited to council
he listened as the wise ones spoke.
He shared their understanding that the two-leggeds and the
four-leggeds were each a part of the same whole. He knew that the First People
cared for the land with respect. That in their wisdom they took only what they
needed to provide for themselves and their children; that they would always be
free and the land unharmed, down all through the generations.
He learned to respect their bravery, honor, and strength. He
too became wise in the ways of the woods and in the ways of the spirit. He was
not a stranger but a welcome friend in the sweat lodge, a council, or alone by
a small fire on a hill, listening for guidance from the Great Mystery. He heard
the Voices and knew of Vision.
In his youth (in Manitoba), he first learned about the
wisdom of the people. He sought to expand his knowledge and learned many things
from the Ojibwa, the Sioux, the Cree, the Blackfoot, and the Six Nations at
their invitation. He lived with the Crow, the Lakota, the Cheyenne, the Navajo
and Pueblo peoples. He knew the Cherokee, the Omaha, and the Kiowa. All his
life he shared a deep, mutual respect with the First Peoples, the Native
Americans.
He became well known throughout the world for his art, his
science, his writing, and, his philosophy toward the environment. He spoke out
in Canada, in the United States, and in Europe. He spoke and wrote about the
lessons he had learned in camp and council. He opposed armies that sought to
confine the [native] people.
He opposed the traders who brought the poison of alcohol to
the people. He spoke against governments that were determined to change the
people, kill the buffalo, dishonor treaties. He despised missionaries who
imposed their beliefs without recognizing the wisdom of the old ways.
He was tortured with the thought that all of the teachings
of the elders would be lost, and the European settlers would destroy the heart
and soul of the people, as he knew them a century ago. Not only taking their
lands but also their traditional ways of living.
He was an advocate for native rights in a time when the West
was being destroyed by the greed and avarice of the settlers. He sincerely
believed that the highest duty was to provide for and protect the community, not
gain or hold riches, but to share and be responsible for the welfare of all.
He personally knew many of the historical characters. He
worked with them sharing knowledge and experience.*
Their fight became his. He used his name and fame to help
the people, using his entry into the worlds of politics and power to present
the case of the Native American.++
The legacy of this man still lives today, in the people
around the world who read his books, [who] choose their career because of the
influence he had upon their childhood.
The people believing [in the Seton Legacy] understand the
positive influence his heritage can be in a world gone mad with greed and
destruction. They come from many different parts of the world, from an
astonishing assortment of professions, lifestyles, and beliefs. He connects
them and the legacy he gave to everyone.
*White Swan, Curly, and Plenty Coups (of the Crow); the turn
of the [previous] century Antelope priest of the Hopi Second Mesa; Martin Vigil
(Tesuque Pueblo); Juan Gonzales (San Ildefonso Pueblo); Santiago Naranjo (Santa
Clara Pueblo); E. Pauline Johnson (Seneca); Ray Fadden (Mohawk); Flaming Arrow
(Acoma Pueblo); Oliver Wilkerson (Cherokee); Jack Hokeah (Kiowa); Juan Pancho
(Cochiti Pueblo); Red Dawn (Lakota); Walking Eagle (Ojibwa); Vine Deloria, Sr.
(Lakota); Quincy Tahoma (Navajo); Pablita Velarde (Santa Clara Pueblo); Pop
Chalee (Taos Pueblo); Blue Horse (Lakota); Gray Whirlwind (Lakota); No Heart
(Lakota); Tom Frosted (Lakota); Chaska (Cree); Two Shields (Lakota); Running
Bear (Lakota); Good Left Hand (Lakota); Walking Elk (Cheyenne); Bear Save His
Life (Cheyenne).
When he wrote his book on Native Americans, [The Gospel of
the Red Man] he formed a panel of experts from Native American and Europeans
who had made a lifetime study of the old ways. As well as extensive study of
the old reports, he asked each one of these to read the manuscript, and make
suggestions and necessary revisions. This panel was: Chief Standing Bear
(Lakota); Sunflower (Lakota); John J. Matthews (Osage); Chief Oskenonton
(Iroquois). The descendants of the European settlers: Mary Austin; Dr. Edgar L.
Hewett; Kenneth M. Chapman; Dr. George Bird Grinnell; James Mooney; Dr. F.W.
Hodge; Mrs. Laura Adams Armer. Among his close friends were Natalie Curtis;
Alice Fletcher; Fredrick Burton; Lorenzo and Ramon Hubbell; Frances Densmore,
and many others that did the early recording of different Native American
Tribes.
Seton’s Native American heroes were: Kanukuk, Wabasha, White
Calf, and above all Tecumseh.
++He [also] fought to preserve the wilderness, the home of
the wild animals of North America—the buffalo, the wolf, the bear, the lynx,
the great birds [including] eagles, hawks, cranes, and the songbirds. He found
glory and prayer in the voice of the songbirds.
