The earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth. This we know. All things are connected, like the blood which unites one family. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself. To harm the earth is to heap contempt upon the creator. Contaminate your bed and you will one night suffocate in your own waste.

Chief Seattle, 1854, responding to a U. S. Government offer to by Indian land.

Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realise we cannot eat money.

Chief  Wolf Robe, June 1909.