I always thought this was a retrospective look from a Native American who was 'americanized' perhaps through the mandatory indian boarding school brought forth in the Civilization Fund Act.
Retrospective:
On the hill where Custer was,
Making his last stand,
With the Indians all around,
And his gun in his hand.
Retrospective blending into current time:
Such a wind was blowing that day,
Through the battleground,
I could feel it in my hair,
As I turned towards downtown.
In the Indian boarding schools they were forced to cut their hair in an effort to 'Americanize'
The hair here symbolizes the shift from the tribal culture to the 'americanized' culture (i.e. downtown)
Weaving through the buildings,
Cutting though the streets,
Slicing through the culture,
Piling on the weeks.
Evident enough, the americanization has sliced through the previous culture, the further along (deeper) they are engrossed the more cut-up the tribal culture becomes
Dropping in on you my friend,
Is just like old times,
Said the fool who signed the paper,
To assorted slimes.
This is a example dialog between a tribal villager unsure of the contract signing their children (land/lively-hood) away.
You'd think it was easy,
To give your life away,
To not have to live up to,
The promises you made.
The callousness of the American government in ignoring the tremendous sacrifices faced by these children. They had made promises to their village, tribe, land prior to leaving.
I always thought this was a retrospective look from a Native American who was 'americanized' perhaps through the mandatory indian boarding school brought forth in the Civilization Fund Act.
Retrospective: On the hill where Custer was, Making his last stand, With the Indians all around, And his gun in his hand.
Retrospective blending into current time: Such a wind was blowing that day, Through the battleground, I could feel it in my hair, As I turned towards downtown.
In the Indian boarding schools they were forced to cut their hair in an effort to 'Americanize' The hair here symbolizes the shift from the tribal culture to the 'americanized' culture (i.e. downtown)
Weaving through the buildings, Cutting though the streets, Slicing through the culture, Piling on the weeks.
Evident enough, the americanization has sliced through the previous culture, the further along (deeper) they are engrossed the more cut-up the tribal culture becomes
Dropping in on you my friend, Is just like old times, Said the fool who signed the paper, To assorted slimes.
This is a example dialog between a tribal villager unsure of the contract signing their children (land/lively-hood) away.
You'd think it was easy, To give your life away, To not have to live up to, The promises you made.
The callousness of the American government in ignoring the tremendous sacrifices faced by these children. They had made promises to their village, tribe, land prior to leaving.