World of Chief Seattle: How Can One Sell the Air

In his debut work, Warren Jefferson pays tribute to The World of Chief Seattle. For 11,000 years his people, the Suquamish, have lived across the bay from the city that took their chief's name. Most famous for his 1854 speech promising the American government peace and respect in return for the same, Chief Seattle saw his world diminish during his long and celebrated life, as a result of the appropriation of land by the American government, the introduction of Euro-American diseases and the suppression of many tribal customs and religious practices. Nonetheless, Jefferson remains quietly optimistic in describing the Suquamish's former prosperity and how the tribe lives today. B&w photos. (Feb.)