Carlisle
~~~
Ripped from the arms of their nation
The youth of an older civilization
Sent off to government schools
To learn the white man’s rules
And how well the white man lies
~~~
Ancient language torn from their heads
Proud native beliefs, forcefully bled
Burned the animal skins that they wore
As long straight hair fell to the floor
Oh, how quiet a great culture dies
~~~
As if the land was not enough of a theft
We sought to strip away anything left
Replacing the beauty of tribal names
With biblical ones like John and James
Conquerors see it as compromise
~~~
And learn they did the white man ways
The hate, the pain, all the taken aways
In unmarked grave, another sadly placed
Death delivered and defined by lesser race
And far to the west, every mother cries
~~~
commonsensiblyspeaking 
Yet another thing we take for granted – this land on which we live – forgetting about the people who lived harmoniously upon it until white man decided he wanted it and took it without principle.
Probably the saddest part of our history. Thanks, sis! Love you!
yes, no good ever came from this horrendous initiative. I saw the pope traveled to Canada this week for apologies to the indigenous people, and the church’s role in all of this. this happened all over the world, including australia. when I visited in the last ten years, it was the first time a prime minister and their country ever apologized to them
And we thought we were the more civilized culture. Thanks, Beth!
I don’t think many places are immune –
That last line is so powerful!
I heard that some educational facilities want to stop teaching Native American history because it “paints white people in a bad light.” Ummm, well, yeah, because white people did some terrible things. I fear for our future if we stop teaching our past.
If we reject history, we are destined to repeat it. We need to teach the truth and become a better society for it. Thank you, dear friend!
For a nation that likes to state “liberty and justice for all,” we have a funny way of showing it.
Well said, Pete! Thank you, my friend!
Carlisle reminded me of a very quiet Native American boy who sat next to me when I was a Freshman at a Catholic high school in Wisconsin in 1961. He was ranked in the top half of a very competitive school. We moved out of state as soon as the school year ended, so I never found out what happened to him. But I was intrigued that he was a boarder on scholarship from a South Dakota reservation. At the time I assumed this was an honor but I was sad that he was away from family. I wish I could hear his perspective about those times now.
Thank you for sharing your story, Geoff! It would be fascinating to hear his perspective on his earlier years in school. I am saddened by the idea that one would have to deny their culture in order to “fit in”.
A lovely poem about a very ugly part of American history. We just watched a movie about this type of experience called Montford on Netflix. Beautifully put Brad. Jonikens
I will have to look for that and give it a watch. Thank you, Jonikins!