--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A Creek man more than a hundred years…" description: "\"“A Creek man more than a hundred years old, named Speckled Snake, reacted to Andrew Jackson’s policy of removal: Brothers! I have listened to many talk..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c01/howard-zinn-576_little-man_a-creek-man-more-than-a-hundred-years-ol_954060.jpg" --- # A Creek man more than a hundred years old, named Speckled… ![“A Creek man more than a hundred years old, named Speckled Snake, reacted to Andrew Jackson’s policy of removal: Brothers! I have listened to many talks from our great white father. When he first came over the wide waters, he was but a little man . . . very little. His legs were cramped by sitting…” quote by Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c01/howard-zinn-576_little-man_a-creek-man-more-than-a-hundred-years-ol_954060.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c01/howard-zinn-576_little-man_a-creek-man-more-than-a-hundred-years-ol_954060.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c01/howard-zinn-576_little-man_a-creek-man-more-than-a-hundred-years-ol_954060.jpg) > ““A Creek man more than a hundred years old, named Speckled Snake, reacted to Andrew Jackson’s policy of removal: Brothers! I have listened to many talks from our great white father. When he first came over the wide waters, he was but a little man . . . very little. His legs were cramped by sitting long in his big boat, and he begged for a little land to light his fire on. . . . But when the white man had warmed himself before the Indians’ fire and filled himself with their hominy, he became very large. With a step he bestrode the mountains, and his feet covered the plains and the valleys. His hand grasped the eastern and the western sea, and his head rested on the moon. Then he became our Great Father. He loved his red children, and he said, “Get a little further, lest I tread on thee.” Brothers! I have listened to a great many talks from our great father. But they always began and ended in this—“Get a little further; you are too near me.”” [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A Native storyteller critiques the expanding dominance of white settlers, portraying them as growing larger and more imposing while demanding distance from Indigenous peoples. **In simple terms:** White settlers become powerful and push Native peoples away. Key Takeaway Recognize and respect boundaries. Themes colonialism power indigenous rights Mood reflective somber Type historical critical When to use this quote - policy debates - education curricula - community advocacy - land rights negotiations Key Concepts expansion cultural domination territorial displacement Questions to Reflect On - How do we balance progress with respect for original inhabitants? - What boundaries are needed to protect Indigenous cultures? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify complex historical interactions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Great man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-man/) ## Related quotes > [I'm every father. I'm not only a black father. I'm a white father. I'm a Chinese father. I'm a Mexican father. 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I lost my father when I began the film, and the tragedy turned my entire script around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautham-menon/i-put-my-heart-into-vaaranam-ayiram-i-lost-my-father-when-i-began-the/) [Gautham Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautham-menon/) > [“It is not. Mom loves me, and she would not leave me without any explanation." And then her father began to cry.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech-walk-two-moons/it-is-not-mom-loves-me-and-she-would-not-leave-me-without-any/) Sharon Creech Walk Two Moons > [“Grant had overwhelmingly won the electoral vote, and had garnered the largest popular majority of the century, nearly 56 percent of the vote, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/grant-had-overwhelmingly-won-the-electoral-vote-and-had-garnered-the/) [Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/) ## More by Howard Zinn > [“A black man, Benjamin Banneker, who taught himself mathematics and astronomy, predicted accurately a solar eclipse, and was appointed to plan the new city…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/a-black-man-benjamin-banneker-who-taught-himself-mathematics-and/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/there-is-no-flag-large-enough-to-cover-the-shame-of-killing-innocent/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“a good education is a synthesis of book learning and involvement in social action, because each enrich the other. 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There was a moment in our lives (or a month, or a year) when certain facts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/we-were-not-born-critical-of-existing-society-there-was-a-moment-in/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Behind the deceptive words designed to entice people into supporting violence -- words like democracy, freedom, self-defense, national security -- there is the reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/behind-the-deceptive-words-designed-to-entice-people-into-supporting/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“George Washington had turned down the requests of blacks, seeking freedom, to fight in the Revolutionary army. 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Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) Browse all 92 Great father quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A Creek man more than a hundred years old, named Speckled Snake, reacted to Andrew Jackson’s policy of removal: Brothers! I have listened to many talks from our great white father. When he first came over the wide waters, he was but a little man . . . very little. His legs were cramped by sitting long in his big boat, and he begged for a little land to light his fire on. . . . But when the white man had warmed himself before the Indians’ fire and filled himself with their hominy, he became very large. With a step he bestrode the mountains, and his feet covered the plains and the valleys. His hand grasped the eastern and the western sea, and his head rested on the moon. Then he became our Great Father. He loved his red children, and he said, “Get a little further, lest I tread on thee.” Brothers! 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