Susan Jeffers' illustrations are sensuous, which is why I picked up Brother Eagle, Sister Sky: (1991) What a surprise to find two real feathers tucked inside the front cover. The full title does not appear on the cover, but on the title page: A message from Chief Seattle. Susan Jeffers explains in an author's note:
". . .Chief Seattle was a respected and peaceful leader of one of the Northwest Indian Nations. In the mid-1850s when the government in Washington, D.C., wanted to buy the lands of his exhausted and defeated people, he responded in his native tongue, with a natural eloquence stemming from his oral tradition. His words were transcribed by Dr. Henry A. Smith, who knew him well, and that transcription was interpreted and rewritten more than once in this century. . . I too have adapted Chief Seattle's message for Brother Eagle Sister Sky."
I view this book as a message from Chief Seattle directly to the future generations of whomever occupies the land. Initially, the cover bothered me. I interpreted Chief Seattle's expression as compliant, as indicating that he willingly handed over the territory of his People to white youth. After reading the book, I view his expression as visionary. He sees across centuries of change and hopes for an earth that is cared for. He looks beyond the brutal generations that tried to destroy the Native American and speaks directly to their descendants in this story. Jeffers' luscious illustrations celebrate the tribes and the earth while hinting at the destruction on the horizon.
