Native American Elequence in the Ohio and Erie Lands
"They came with a Bible and their religion - stole our land, crushed our spirit...
and now tell us we should be thankful to the 'Lord' for being saved." Chief Pontaic
"So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life." Chief Tecumseh
"Let us know the tree by the blossoms and the blossoms by the fruit" Chief Sogoyewapha
The Chiefs and their words...organized by when they were born:
 Tanaghrisson, aka The Half King, Seneca Chief, Great MeadowsTa1, 1700 - 1754, Maybe born near Baffalo, NYTa1
"Tu n'es pas encore mort, mon père" (Thou art not yet dead, My Father)
to Ensign Joseph Jumonville, moments before killing the French commander captured by George Washington
 Keigh-tugh-qua, aka Cornstalk to the whites, Shawnee, 1709 - 1777, born in Wynepuechisika Village in Western Pa, moved to Ohio in 1730, died at Point Pleasent, Ohio in 1777
“I was the border man’s friend. Many times I have saved him and his people from harm. I never warred with you, but only to protect our wigwams and lands. I refused to join your paleface enemies with the red coats. I came to the fort as your friend and you murdered me. You have murdered by my side, my young son.... For this, may the curse of the Great Spirit rest upon this land. May it be blighted by nature. May it even be blighted in its hopes. May the strength of its peoples be paralyzed by the stain of our blood."
Said to have been said by Cornstalk as he died on the Kanawha river near Point Pleasent, Ohio and the start of a curse on the land.
Chief Pontiac, 1720 - 1769, Ottawa, born on the Maumee RiverP1, Ohio, 1720, died in Kohokia, IL 1769
"They came with a Bible and their religion- stole our land, crushed our spirit... and now tell us we should be thankful to the 'Lord' for being saved."
"It is important for us, my brothers, that we exterminate from our lands this nation which seeks only to destroy us. You see as well as I that we can no longer supply our needs, as we have done from our brothers, the French.... Therefore, my brothers, we must all swear their destruction and wait no longer. Nothing prevents us; they are few in numbers, and we can accomplish it." 3 4
 Koquethaagechton Coquetakeghton aka White Eyes to the whites, Turtle Clan, Delaware, 1720-1778, born in Western Pennslyvania and moved to Ohio before the US Revelution.
"If you insist on fighting the Americans, go, and I will go with you. I will lead you. I will not survive my nation. I will not live to bewail the miserable fate of the brave people who deserve better" 1778 Walhoning River Council 1 K1
Tah-gah-jute, the chief named Logan, 1725 - 1780 Mingo Tribe, Born in Pennsylvannia in 1725, settled in the Pickaway PlainsL1 of Ohio in 1770. 
 "I appeal to any white man to say, if ever he entered Logan's cabin hungry, and he gave him not meat: if ever he came cold and naked, and he cloathed him not. During the course of the last long and bloody war Logan remained idle in his cabin, an advocate for peace. Such was my love for the whites, that my countrymen pointed as they passed, and said, `Logan is the friend of white man.' l had even thought to have lived with you, but for the injuries of one man. Colonel Cresap, the last spring, in cold blood, and unprovoked, murdered all the relations of Logan, not even sparing my women and children. There runs not a drop of my blood in the veins of any living creature. This called on me for revenge. I have sought it: I have killed many: I have fully glutted my vengeance: for my country I rejoice at the beams of peace. But do not harbour a thought that mine is the joy of fear. Logan never felt fear. He will not turn on his heel to save his life. Who is there to mourn for Logan?--Not one." Chief Logan, 1774 under Logan's Elm near Circleville, Ohio L2 Logan's Elm in Ohio 1899 and 1961 
Gelelenend aka Killbuck, 1737-1811, Turtle Clan, Lenape (Delaware), born near the Lehigh River, PA and died in Goshen, Ohio
Tarhe (The Crane), 1742-1816, Porcupine Clan of the Wyandottes, born in Detroit, Michigan, lived in Ohio, died near Upper Sandusky, Ohio
 Weyapiersenwah or Wehyehpiherhsehnwah, aka Blue Jacket to the whites, 1743 to 1810, Shawnee, lived near Deer Creek, Ohio
"Our hearts are open and void of deceit." Treaty of Greenville, 1795
Thayendanegea ("two sticks bound together for strength"), aka Joseph Brandt, 1743 to 1807, Mohawk, born in the Ohio country probably along the Cayahoga River,
"the interests of any one nation should be the welfare of all the others" 100 1830s lithograph
Shateyatonyah, aka Leatherlips to the whites because he never broke a promise, c 1747 - 1810, Wyandot, executed by "The Profit" in Dublin, Ohio
Tapuksough aka John Hicks, Wyandot
"We are willing to receive good advise from you, but we are not willing to have the religious customs of our fathers assailed and abused" said to a Christian missionary C1815 Pipetown, Ohio 101
Meshikinquah or Michikinqua aka Little turtle by the whites, 1752-1812, Miami Tribe, born and died in Ft Wayne, IN. Fought in Western Ohio.
“We have beaten the enemy every time; we cannot expect the same good fortune always to attend us. The Americans are now led by a chief who never sleeps. In spite of the watchfulness of our braves, we have never been able to surprise him. There is something that whispers to me that it would be prudent to listen to offers of peace.” 1774
Earlier, in the so called "Little Turtles War" of 1771, Meshikinquah inflicted the worst defeat on US forces ever by Native Americans, killing 602 US forces, the Indians lost 66!
 Tecaughretanego, Wyandot, 1757
"If the English and French have a quuarrel let them fight their own battles" (as reported by James Smith) 1
"Brother as you have lived with the white people and you have not had the same advantage of knowing the Great Being above feeds his people ...in due season"
"Brother, I have been young, but now I am old"
Sogoyewapha ("he who keeps them awake") aka Red Jacket, Seneca 1758-1830, born in Geneva, NYS1
"Let us know the tree by the blossoms and the blossoms by the fruit."
"an aged tree"--"My leaves are fallen, my branches withered, and I am shaken by every breeze."
"Brother, you say there is but one way to worship and serve the Great Spirit. If there is but one religion, why do you white people differ so much about it? Why not all agreed, as you can all read the Book?"
"We also have a religion which was given to our forefathers, and has been handed down to us their children. It teaches us to be thankful, to be united, and to love one another! We never quarrel about religion."
“Brother! We are told that you have been preaching to the white people in this place.
These people are our neighbors. We are acquainted with them. We will wait a little while, and
see what effect your preaching has upon them. If we find it does them good and makes them
honest and less disposed to cheat Indians, we will then consider again what you have said.”
"We first knew you a feeble plant which wanted a little earth whereon to grow. We gave it to you; and afterward, when we could have trod you under our feet, we watered and protected you; and now you have grown to be a mighty tree, whose top reaches the clouds, and whose branches overspread the whole land, whilst we, who were the tall pines of the forest, have become a feeble plant and need your protection."
Chief Tekumtha ("Shooting Star" or "Panther Across the Sky"), aka Tecumseh to the whites, 1768 - 1813, Shawnee, Born in 1768 in the Pickaway Settlements, Mad River, OhioT1 and died during battle in Ontario.
 "So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and Demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, Beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and Its purpose in the service of your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide. Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, Even a stranger, when in a lonely place. Show respect to all people and Bow to none. When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the food and For the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, The fault lies only in yourself. Abuse no one and nothing, For abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision. When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts Are filled with fear of death, so that when their time comes They weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again In a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home."
"No tribe has the right to sell, even to each other, much less to strangers.... Sell a country! Why not sell the air, the great sea, as well as the earth? Didn't the Great Spirit make them all for the use of his children? The way, the only way to stop this evil is for the red man to unite in claiming a common and equal right in the land, as it was first, and should be now, for it was never divided." We gave them forest-clad mountains and valleys full of game, and in return what did they give our warriors and our women? Rum, trinkets, and a grave. Portrait of Tecumseh, drawn by F. Brigden, ca. 1790-1799
"They have driven us from the sea to the lakes- we can go no farther"
"Father listen! The Americans are taking our lands from us every day. They have no hearts, father; they have no pity for us; the want to drive us beyond the setting sun." 1814
"You must bear in mind these strangers are not as you — they are devoid of natural affection, loving gold or gain better than one another, or ki–tchi–tchag (their own souls)."
"The sun is my father, the Earth is my mother; upon her bosom will I repose" 1806 council in Springfield, Ohio 1 T2
Brothers -- My people wish for peace; the red men all wish for peace; but where the white people are, there is no peace for them, except it be on the bosom of our mother. Where today are the Pequot? Where today are the Narrangansett, the Mohican, the Pakanoket, and many other once powerful tribes of our people? They have vanished before the avarice and the oppression of the White Man, as snow befor a summer sun."
Captain Johnny Logan 1774 to 1812, Shawnee, buried in Wapakenta, Ohio
"has the Great Spirit given it to (the Americans) to cut and portion the country" said to the Americans at Fort Finney, 1796
Tenskwatawa (The Open Door), aka Lelawethika (The Noise Maker), aka The Profit to the British, 1775 - 1836, Shawnee Nation, Brother of Takumtha, Shawnee, died in Kansas
 "Our Creator put us on this wide, rich land, and told us we were free to go where the game was, where the soil was good for planting. That was our state of true happiness. We did not have to beg for anything. Our Creator had taught us how to find and make everything we needed, from trees and plants and animals and stone. We lived in bark, and we wore only the skins of animals. Our Creator taught us how to use fire, in living, and in sacred ceremonies. He taught us how to heal with barks and roots, and how to make sweet foods with berries and fruits, with papaws and the water of the maple tree. Our Creator gave us tobacco, and said, Send your prayers up to me on its fragrant smoke. Our Creator taught us how to enjoy loving our mates, and gave us laws to live by, so that we would not bother each other, but help each other. Our Creator sang to us in the wind and the running water, in the bird songs, in children's laughter and taught us music.
And we listened, and our stomachs were never dirty and never troubled us.
Thus were we created. Thus we lived for a long time, proud and happy. We had never eaten pig meat, nor tasted the poison called whiskey, nor worn wool from sheep, nor struck fire or dug earth with steel, nor cooked in iron, nor hunted and fought with loud guns, nor ever had diseases which soured our blood or rotted our organs. We were pure, so we were strong and happy."
Painted in 1830 by George Catlin.
 Hobacan ("Tobacco Pipe") aka Konieschquanoheel ("The Dawn Maker") aka Captain Pipe to the British (1775 - 1826). Munsee (Wolf Clan) of the Lenape (Delaware). Born in Pennsylvania migrated to Ohio
"FATHER! You say you love your children, the Indians.-This you have told them; and indeed it is your interest to say so to them, that you may have them at your service.
But FATHER! who of us can believe that you can love a people of a different colour from your own".......
.........
FATHER! I hope you will not destroy what I have saved"
1781 Detroit before the British tribunal, Said to be a "bold, sensitive and saterical speech" and heavy with sarcasm H1
Unknown from the Ohio lands tribes, 
Muskingum ValleyO1, 1782 after the
white massacre of Christian Indians
"What kind of people are these who kill their friends? We kill enemies." 1
Lenape (Delaware) Chiefs & Headmen, 1793 Council Ohio Valley
"Money to us is of no value, and to most of us unknown; and as no consideration whatever can induce us to sell our lands on which we get sustanence for our women and children, we hope we may be allowed to point out a mode by which your settlers may be easily removed" (pay them to go home with the money you offer to us and the money you spend on armies) "Restore to us our country, and we shall be enimies no more" 1793 great council1
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