One day they discussed a belief in God, and Newota said, “We observe your religion and do not want it. For instance, we consider all days to be holy, and not just one out of seven. Your churches seem to teach people to quarrel about God. We never have disputes about the nature of the Great Spirit or how we relate to him. We may hear contrary opinions at different times, but we try to weigh the character of the ones who speak and keep our judgments to ourselves. The Spirit does not give us reasons for quarreling and divisiveness, but is a unifying life force that binds all humans together with each other, and with the animals, birds, the wind, and even the rocks and earth. Everything is connected. We respect the spirit even of the animals we kill for food, and seek their forgiveness when their lives are taken.”

Kindred felt that he should defend his people, and said, “If your beliefs are so superior, then why are you afraid of the inferior settlers?”

“Well, you already know that your numbers are increasing rapidly, your weapons are superior, and your diseases are fatal to our tribes. I have heard my uncle and my mother discussing another difference between us that they consider to be most important. You white men, at least your leaders, are taught to look far into the future and make plans accordingly. These ideas are set down in writing so they can be shared with many others. Then it becomes a commitment among many people to pursue those distant goals. We don’t think in this way, but are inclined to limit our planning to the hour, or at most to the few days that are required to complete a journey, to plant a garden, or to carry out a military operation against another tribe. This makes it difficult for our chiefs to comprehend the agreements that your leaders entice them to accept.”

Kindred responded, “Most of what you say is true, but your chiefs enter into these agreements voluntarily and later blame the whites for the consequences.”

“The fact is that none of our chiefs can speak with authority for more than a few villages. Your leaders exalt them with honors of leadership they do not deserve and bribe them with gifts so they betray their own people. They know that when they return home they have no power to enforce what they have promised, but the white men have a paper that was signed without our understanding what was in it. Even then, the white leaders only observe an agreement as long as it is to their advantage.”

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