South Dakota
Centuries ago invading armies threatened
Their existence with poisoned blankets
Smallpox infested gifts of the civilized tribe
The Lakota survived
In the great westward expansion
Blue coats fought native warriors
Outgunned and outnumbered
To a standstill dividing the tribes
Forced them to live on reservations
Sent them to Indian schools where
They cut out your tongues
And buried them in history books
The Lakota survived
They massacred the buffalo
To the edge of extinction
Destroyed the Lakota way of life
In every way they could
The Lakota survived
Now the white man’s government
Threatens the tribes once again
With their determined ignorance
Discarding science and medicine
Condemning all to suffer the ravages
Of a deadly pandemic
The Lakota will survive
But at what cost?
How many lives will be lost
To the white man’s folly?
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