LEAF ON THE WATER


America’s East Coast was settled by the "Brits,"
As the Indians rule began to recede.
After many a battle, they lost their land,
Giving into the white man's power and greed.

In years to come like a leaf on the water,
The Indians were swept away by the white man.
As trappers and pioneers pushing westward,
Brought death and disease to the land.

With the white settlements came the fur traders,
Followed by soldiers, forts, whiskey and form tools.
None of which helped the Indians to survive,
Who chose to wage war, and break the white man's rules.

Many treaties were made, just to be broken
By those eager for land, timber, furs and gold.
Prospectors arrived to plunder the land
And to be farmers, the Indians were told.

The combat raged on, to the western prairie,
Over mountains and down through the desert sand.
Indians proved to be formidable foe,
As both sides fought from afar and hand-to-hand.

Lieutenant Colonel Custer, led his cavalry
In search of fame and tribal disgrace.
But instead he and his men were butchered
By hostile Indians with paint on their face.

Around the campfires of Rosebud and Pine Ridge,
Singing warriors danced till Sitting Bull's death.
Most were forced to surrender at Wounded Knee,
Where many sad Indian would draw their last breathe.

With their fighting spirit completely broken
And their ancient tribal ways forever gone.
Proud Indians were moved to reservations
Where their once great history in song lives on.


By Tom Zart

That poem really sucked.

I agree it does suck, but for many reasons. Why Tom don't write a poem about the hundreds of other native peoples throughout the world that have exploited and killed. Why is it that the bleeding hearts are only familiar with the American Indian? Is it because they know alot about the subject? No, its because its a familiar stick to brandish so they use the American Indian.
What about the REAL Indians in India? Their treatment from the French and British and Portegese? Don't know about that, explains why you failed world history. OR the Russians going in and massacring the Aremieans in Southern russia and Aremenia. Didn't know about that one either? Oh that's right, you're only concerned with the American Indians.......guess you don't care about the other minorities of people. Guess you have to justify your ignorance of those other progroms by writing poems like the one above. One group of people isn't good enough to mention with others, huh?

The issue I take is that this entire theme of "white man's inhumanity" against native peoples, as if every member of every tribe was prancing about the forest glades like fawns prior to 1492 or 1620.

Forgotten are the many wars and swipes they took at each other both before and after the colonization or the settlement of the West. Even the claim of 'destroying the Buffalo' doesn't ring quite true as the introduction of the horse in the 1540s did more for the demise of the Buffalo than even the repeating rifle.

Not to mention the laughable claim of "...ancient tribal ways..." As if the introduction of the horse wasn't but a few generations before the clashes of the Plains Indians with the US Army. So much for the 'horse culture' of the Plains Indians.

Like all myths, these have taken on a life of their own.

Sullivan013