Native American Message Reflection

This Native American piece creates in me an uncomfortable feeling of guilt regarding my white forefathers every time it is read. The overwhelming shame that I experience from this devastating occurrence makes me wish that the European settlers, my own ancestors, had left the Native Americans in peace. The sorrow conveyed by the Indian's account with the Great spirit helped me to grasp a Native's view on the destruction of thousands of years of tradition. The excerpt "Our sacred lands were stolen and this we can't forget, the spirits of our warriors who gave their lives for it" holds alot of meaing to me, for before I read this line I had no previous consideration for the ancient Indians warriors who had fought for this land, nor how unjust it was that the white men could just take it all away in will. Another line from this poem that really opened my eyes was when the author wrote "The mountains were blasted open; the gold ripped from beneath the earth, the wounded land lies silent now and has but little worth, the Indian is gone forever from this land that once was his, and no one seems to want it now not the way it is". This stanza reveals the opposing views the Natives and the settlers had on what is considered valuable, for as the settlers searched frantically for gold, they destroyed beautiful land that the Indians looked upon as sacred. Through powerful diction such as "blasted open", "ripped from earth" and "wounded land", I found myself hurting with the ruined land. In essence, this poem has expanded my view on the developement of our country to such an extent that I am almost ashamed to be considered apart of it, and with the little voice I have, all I can do is pray for forgiveness.