By Sequoia Gregorich, Law and Ethics Editor
On March 20, author, teacher and historian David Buerge spoke at VHS about his book, titled “Chief Seattle and the Town That Took His Name.” Buerge was invited by McMurray Middle School’s Humanities program, which aims to bring Puget Sound history to Vashon.
Buerge expressed both gratitude and a feeling of nostalgia as he spoke. Having taught at McMurray in the ’70s, he described his visit back to his old classroom and the joy he felt seeing the place where he became a teacher. His sense of humor and character were both boisterous and captivating.
To open his speech, Buerge explained the process he followed in writing his book. When he first began writing, he decided he would only continue until either it began interfering with his daily life or it no longer brought him joy.
But neither ever happened.
“[The process] was totally engrossing and remarkable,” Buerge said.
Buerge quickly discovered that researching Chief Seattle’s life would be much more difficult than he had anticipated. There were few written documents and even fewer that were factual.
However, after years of sifting through historical documents and “just about every pioneer newspaper,” and after speaking with various people around Washington, Buerge’s book on the man which Seattle was named for finally went to publication.
On the day of Buerge’s speech, it was apparent that both speaker and students were equally engrossed in the stories of the warrior and leader who shaped the city we know today. Buerge recited stories of Chief Seattle that made him appear both resoundingly human, and a hero of the likes of Odysseus and Achilles.
Born on Blake Island around the year 1786, Chief Seattle is said to have had a powerful and booming voice, and was highly respected.
Chief Seattle was once recognized as a heroic and a merciless warrior. Folklore tells of a man who leaped over five canoes at a time to tackle another man who had insulted his enslaved mother’s honor.
He was also a man known for his strength, but times came when this was put to the test. It was during the time of his leadership that the Native American population was devastated by the disease and violence that settlers had brought with them.
“The native people lived through an apocalypse,” Buerge said.
Chief Seattle survived, however, and decided that instead of pushing these settlers out, it was best to become their allies. He was, most notably, one of the first in known history to push for a racially hybridized community of settlers and Native Americans.
He arranged many marriages between settlers and natives and his actions were the first stepping stone for the inclusive and diverse society we live in today.
Buerge added a great deal of social commentary in his speech, stating that Chief Seattle fought for a more tolerant community — something many are still fighting for today.
“Seattle still has a message for us today,” Buerge said. “Maybe [a message] more important than he [had] when he was alive.”