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In the article one of the chiefs of the Indian Abenakis addresses the Captain Phineas Stevens and through him the Governor of Boston and the English people as a whole denouncing their plans for colonial expansion in their lands. While he asserts that his people want to live in peace, he notes that they are free and condemns the English as aggressive. The speaker condemns a recent survey of the Abenaki lands by English inhabitants of the city of Boston and urges for the punishment of the surveyors by the Governor and the immediate halt for any plans for further actions against the Indian lands and people. Although he asks for peace the speaker’s tone is aggressive and in parts threatening pointing repeatedly that peaceful relations can only be achieved if the English stop their expansive policies. He does not request, he demands that his people keep their rights on their lands and whatever is included in them: animals, trees and plants. He asks them to keep to the territory they already possess in order to conduct their business. In order to support his demands he uses both earthly and religious arguments. He reminds the English that the Indians have not sold their lands and do not intend to do so. These are not only their home and the place of their origin but they were also given to them by a divine power, the Father or Master of Life as he calls it.
This is an historical record of a conference held in 1752 among historical persons whose existence and presence is not denied. It is a speech of resistance against the English as invaders of the lands that had long belonged to the native populations of North America. However, the speaker is biased. He not only expresses the concerns of his nation and voices their demands for their lands and lives, but at the same time, pledges allegiance to the French King. He describes him not only as an ally, but also a person loved by the Abenakis who appear –at least as the speaker claims- determined to protect his interests along with their own. This fact makes the document even more important for historical research as it reveals an intricate web of clashing interests in 18th century America at a time of Colonial expansion that eventually led to the creation of the United States of America.
