Native American Poetry
The Walk a Mile in His Moccasins quote is often contributed to various indian tribes, but it actually comes from a poem written by Mary T. Lathrap in 1895. The original title was Judge Softly. Here is the complete poem.
When given the assignment to write a poem in his seventh-grade English class at Turtle Mountain Community Middle School in Belcourt, North Dakota, Trevis J. LaRocque, an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, chose to write about where he was from—the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation.
From the time that Skywoman fell North America was on a turtle shell Native people were free to roam Turtle Island, our natural home. Since 1492 we see and saw Treaties that are still the law The list is long and tattered too So this is if you never knew, The first ones were legal […]
I stretch out my arms and fly with the eagles I hunt with the bear I run with the deer I swim with the fish and yet I still am a man.
Grandfather, Great Spirit
I give you thanks
That we can sit here
In this circle of Life,
We send Prayers
And the very best thoughts.
AUTHOR: Gerald Fisher The fire is dancing tonight and the winds are talking Dancers from past lives enter the circle Leading me back and forth through the history of myself The mind searches as the spirit dances
Oh Redman To My Beloved People and All Native Americans Oh Redman tall and proud, watch him take his stand. To protect his humble people, and their mighty sacred land.
In a time long ago I dreamed a dream of long ago, when you and I were young, and meant to be. When with our tribe we wandered, far and wide and spoke the tongue, of the cherokee.
The Return..KEYWORDS: Native american poem native american poetry indian poem AUTHOR: Little Heart Flower Downward trodden in this valley of great hunger. My wounded spirit lies dry upon the barren floor of life.
What would you do…KEYWORDS: native american poem cherokee poetry indian poem What would you do if I took from you Your home, your family and your identity, too? If I changed your religion and the language you spoke, Left you hungry, suffering and broke.
The Gift… KEYWORDS: native american poem cherokee poetry native american poetry indian poem Rain on the mountains, Mist on the streams, Of these things The red man dreams.
visions from the past are calling me,
My Indian Pride… KEYWORDS: native american poetry cherokee poem indian poetry native american poem Martha Moongazer Beard poem My body lives in the white man’s land, Yet strong and proud my red skin still stands.
Life… KEYWORDS: native american poetry native american poem Martha Moongazer Beard poetry native american life poems Come Little Cricket, sing with me. We will gather berries down by the stream, Take them to the fire and make Berry Bread. Tonight for the feast we shall all be fed.
Survival of the Choctaw Nation.. KEYWORDS: choctaw poem choctaw poetry native american poem native american poetry ML Hunter poem I can see my sons and daughters From this far place I feel the winds of change once again My heart is full to see a new day People proudly searching for ancestors In numbers great […]
Reservation… KEYWORDS: native american poem native american poetry reservation poem reservation poetry ML Hunter Hear, Little Sister, hear while the wind stands still ancient voices speak to you
Passing the memories down… KEYWORDS: native american poem, native american nature poem native american poetry native poetry Martha Moongazer Beard Faintly in the morning hush, I smell the scent of sweet sage brush, Envoking memories of my mountain home As on this flat land I now roam.
Just as the Great Spirit planned.. KEYWORDS: native american poem native american poetry indian poem great spirit poem indian poetry Martha Moongazer Beard poetry Thunder rolls over the mountain, Grey clouds dropping low. Rain falls and kisses three sisters Who awaken and begin to grow.
The Cherokee Path… KEYWORDS: native american poem native american poetry cherokee poem cherokee poetry Indian poem Indian poetry trail of tears poem trail of tears poetry martha moongazer beard poem contemporary poetry Alone with the moon, my spirit cries For the lives of my people crushed by whate men’s lies. Taken by force from our […]
Blessed to be Cherokee… KEYWORDS: native american poem native american poetry Cherokee poem Cherokee poetry Martha Moongazer Beard poem nature poem nature poetry Big sky above me where Eagle roams Mother Earth below me where I call home. Friends of the forest give life to me, Bounty in my valley is here to see.
Principle people Was not a church…
The eagle still flies above me, The rivers continue to flow, My native heart is still beating, My red skin still here to show.
I hear the cries at moonlight, my people of long ago,
Torn away from their birthplace, marched into the unknown.Tired and hungry and dying, not knowing if they will survive,
My proud honorable family, my Cherokee tribe.
This path was covered with tears from the start, Weeping for the life of a great nation torn apart.
One’s thoughts – actions – goals
nothingness filled up with sense
constructed stand points.
Clever words – wisdom of self
static dissolving in space.
There was this woman who had no idea…
no idea…..except what to feverishly create
with her thoughts and put them on a canvas
she had this inner knowledge and did not know why….or how.
KEYWORDS: native american poetry Indian poetry native american poem Indian poem leadership poem cultural poetry AUTHOER: Lone Eagle When I was a young boy, I would listen to the elders talk of the days of the Longhouses. They would tell the stories that I held in my heart And I would listen for hours as […]
KEYWORDS: trail of tears poem native american poetry Cherokee Trail of Tears cherokee trail of tears how many died on the trail of tears who ordered the trail of tears march AUTHOR: Abe “Del” Jones We whites honor the “Hermitage” And the man who once lived there – But, that leader of our Nation Was […]
It is the beginning of the New Year,
I am still here.
I look forward to tomorrow,
Now that my heart feels no sorrow
I sit outside during a cold winter night,
Watching the stars shining so bright.
I take a sigh and breath in relief,
Because I know someone up there is watching out for me.
A Warrior has fallen… A Warrior has fallen… Fallen far from her home… upon the sands of a foreign land. Iraq… a land of sun and sand. Her Spirit… A Warrior’s Spirit. Her Heart… A Warrior’s Heart. Her Bravery in the face of the enemy… A Warrior’s Bravery. Her Courage under fire… A Warrior’s Courage. […]
The long epitah engraved on the tombstone on Ten Bears’ grave was written by Ten Bears himself before his death. Here it is.
Deidra Suwanee Dees, Muscogee Nation, recently won the First Place Award for her creative verse “Celebrate” by The People’s Poet in the United Kingdom. “Celebrate” addresses an indigenous viewpoint on Christopher Columbus’s impact on the western hemisphere exploring residual effects of colonization. Her writing incites mixed emotions of anger and sadness over conquests of indigenous […]
My People have been scattered, My People have been killed. Their dreams lay on the ground, They have lost their will. Their minds numb with pain, Their hands no longer weave. The Warriors no longer hunt, But await Death for reprieve.
In the depths of blackness
Lies the Raven’s beauty.
The Sun does glisten and gleam
Upon her fragile beating wings
As we sat around the Sacred Fire Calling out to the Spirits Which haunt the deep and dark, One by one they came to us. They sat and they talked. This is what they had to say To all of us there Who took the time to honor The Heritage we bear.
When I can no longer See the Eagle soar, Will you call my name? When the end of my Path I have finally reached, Will you sing my name in Ancient Prayer?
My moccasins have tread Many a long and weary mile. Our days of glory and hunts I remember well. Now just dusty trails abound In this dry Hell.
In the beginning
Four Elements there were:
Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water .
~I am the daughter of the Wind~
The drums beat, The rattles call, The flames of fire grow tall. Tis wisdom of the ancients We do call.
Standing on the edge,
landscape flows before her.
Spirits of the past,
May they guide her this day.
Tradition says that A Golden Eagle Feather Is the highest tribute To any tribal member… It can only be given To those who have earned Never to be taken from This Sacred Bird…
I am a daughtr of the Earth, A sister to the wind and the water Kneeling before the Great Spirit Yet standing tall to open my arms Rejoiciing, the gifts Of the Great Spirit.
Howa,it is good. things are as a circle,forever guiding itself back to the start. our hearths we keep lit,as summer’s rain turns to fall.
The winter has not been kind to him, this man that I call friend, The years have taken their toll on him, and soon his life will end. Till then, we’ll go to memories of days of long ago.
A poem
That descends
From heaven,
Kissed by the Sun,
Has a beauty
That never fades.
KEYWORDS: rhythm of harmony rhythm of beauty make a wish heart’s desire melody of love magical place blessing LadyHawke Does not the day Exist within Thy heart and mind? Yea, from there It does manifest The hearts desires, In time, Before ones eyes A wonder?
Today as I walked along
I danced to a different drummers’ song…
Keywords: honor your elders knowledge Mother Earth prayers native american poem american indian poetry mother earth poems Author: Tami (gwyhawk) Honor your Elders and care for them. For they have the knowledge of a thousand winds.