The Sioux Nation Poem by Philip Vincent Sanders

The brush sweeps across the open plains
As buffaloes do roam and graze
The keenness of the young Sioux braves
As longingly on their prey they gaze
Their bodies honed to fitness peak
Across the distance horses streak
With arrows flying death to wreak
Upon the buffalo so sleek
They catch their livelihood as one
And send their praises to the sun
For life again has now begun
Their daily needs now set and done
Across the valley work begins
For all the squaws as daybreak brings
Another round of daily things
And to the water they do sing
For as the sun breaks in the sky
And eagles soar above so high
They know not that the end is nigh
And just continue with a sigh
For white men’s greed will tear apart
Oceti Sakowin’s existing heart
Dakota and Nakotas part
Nevermore their fires to start
If only peace had reigned throughout
Lakotas left to hunt and scout
The sadness that was sent about
Had never claimed that awful rout
So dream Hunkpapa … Oglala
Happy hunting near and far
Beneath your ever wandering star
Sicangu and Sihasapa