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Native Americans: A Short Poem in Their Honor
Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce Tribe
Ancestral Sins
Savages, (you said) they were.
Unfit to live.
Animals.
Brutes.
Evil Incarnate.
Uncivilized.
Wild.
Tame or eliminate (you ordered).
You chose
the second option.
Does being civilized mean destruction
of the waters which sustain us?
of the air we breathe?
of the animals of the plains and forests?
of anything...
.....................unlike ourselves?
If it does,
I should think
I'd rather be wild.
© 2011 Liz Elias
Comments
- Author
Hello, Shyron E Shenko,
Thank you so very much. I'm pleased I was able to strike the right chord with this. The horrible treatment these proud and noble people have received at the hands of our government over the years has always bothered me tremendously.
Thank you Ms. Lizzy, you did my ancestors proud.
Voted up, AI and shared.
- Author
Thank you very much, Jefsaid. You are so correct.
Good work!
I beleive our perceptions are goverened by what is deemed acceptable by the collective view of general society. On the basis that civilisation is the indoctrination of the masses into believing a similar set of 'progressive' values i.e. modernisation, commercialisation and globalisation (AKA destruction) then it must be responsible for the consequences of these activities.
- Author
Hi, David--
Thanks for your input--those are valid points. This poem, however, was written before everyone was so aware of being "politically correct," and it was intended as a reflection on what people used to say; a snapshot of how they used to think, and ending with my opinion of those archaic "values," which I disdain.
Perhaps I need to re-work this poem to make that more clear.
An appropriate sentiment; but we must be careful that the reader would not mistakenly infer that "wild" vs."tame" is a useful idea when referring to Native Americans (or any cultural group). Maybe a substitute wording? We know from anthropology that every culture on the earth just be judged on its own terms, not in comparison with others. There is no absolute standard for what "civilized" means, and anthropologists have largely stopped using that terrm, as you no doubt know. We just don't want to foster, even by implication, any of the old and damaging stereotypical attitudes.
- Author
Thank you, Seeker7,
I am glad you liked this tribute.
Hi,
Fantastic poem. Very original and powerful. The presentation is great.
- Author
Thank you so much, Nell! ;-)
Hi, I also loved the way you wrote this, every word was so powerful, nice one! cheers nell
- Author
Thank you, Susan!
Very Nice I loved how you presented this.
- Author
Thank you very much, prasetio30!
Good work, my friend. I liked this poem. Thanks for writing this. Take care!
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