The first time I woke up it was bright
The earth was in harmony and there was light
I remember my parents, and life was simple
I lived in a tee pee and my mother tanned hides
My father went hunting and gathered the food
My mother said prayers and tended to her brood
There were ceremonies with drums and dancing
Prayers in the morning and prayers at night
To the Creator we prayed
We gave thanks, we sang, and danced
It was just us, the family, the tribe
By Mother Natures laws we would abide
Our only war was with other tribes
I was fifteen when I was hit by an arrow
Then it was dark.

When I woke up it was bright
I lived in a tee pee surrounded by land
There were more people, there were new faces
People were different, of different races
They looked strange to me, they looked White
Killing our heritage, taking our land was their plight
They were mean, they told lies
They would kill while looking their victims in the eyes
They called us savages, they made us look bad
We gave them our land, we gave all we had
They had weapons that were quick and loud
But no matter how they treated us, I was still proud
They killed, they raped, they stole everything
We continued our ceremonies, with drums and dancing
We continued to pray to Creator in the morning and at night
We gave thanks for everything
The battles continued, the fighting got worse
At the age of six I was shot with one of their guns
Then it was dark.

When I woke up it was bright
My parents lived in a little house
The land was called a reservation
We had our own laws within another nation
We were segregated from the White man
They tried to diminish us, I guess that was there plan
We had no choice but to abide by their laws
But they still took from us and treated us bad
They made treaties that they knew they would break
Life was hard, I was resentful, but my faith they would not take
I denounced my heritage, I lied about my name
I joined their military and fought their wars
There was no gratitude, but I still had my pride
It was hidden deep inside
At 21 I was on their side
But they didn’t care if I lived or died
While fighting their war I was gunned down
Then it was dark.