Proud People

a proud people once stood
on a hissock in the hill
and surveyed the land that was rightly theirs
the black hills of south dakota
and many surrounding plains
all were theirs
claimed not only through tradition but through honor and sacrifice
a strong and fearless people
who ruled the land with fair and just rule
one day to become wards of the state.
oh where did these people go?
forced off the lands they once surveyed
onto reserves no bigger than the state of long island
much smaller than what is really theirs
an outrage to their living and their dead
caused by a government which does not care
about the people or the air.
and in this vein
there will be no peace
until these lands go back
to those who really own them.
high above the proud black hills,
the clouds danced in the baby-blue sky
while far below
there lingered abuse and violence
among the people who once stood proud
among their sacred lands.