What will happen when the buffalo are all slaughtered? What will happen when the secret comers of the forest are heavy with the scent of many men, and the view of the ripe hills is blotted by talking wires? The end of living and the beginning of survival. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. All things are connected, like the blood that unites us all. This we know: the earth does not belong to man. The wind that gave our grandfather his first breath also receives his last sigh. If we sell you our land, remember that the air is precious to us, that the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports. They carry our canoes and feed our children.

The water’s murmur is the voice of my father’s father the rivers are our brothers. Each ghostly reflection in the clear water of the lakes tells of events and memories in the life of my people. The bear, the deer, the great eagle, these are our brothers. We’re part of the earth and it is part of us. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every meadow, all are holy in the memory and experience of my people. Every part of this earth is sacred to my people. But how can you buy or sell the sky, the land? The idea is strange to us. JOSEPH CAMPBELL (words of Chief Seattle, 1852): “The President in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land. Released in 1988, The Power of Myth was one of the most popular TV series in the history of public television, and continues to inspire new audiences.

The power of myth