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Long before I read the incredible work of Dee Brown's Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, my heart was always heavy when I thought about the plight of the American Indians. After reading Dee's book I was at a loss for words and expression at the pure evil done by one nation to another. As Americans, we abhor the brutal actions of Hitler, but what we did as a nation to the native residents of this land was just as diabolical. For all who "think" they know the story of the American Indian, Dee Brown's book is a must read. It is a very sober read, requiring a few tissues. The Ghost Dance was a national religion that crossed all tribal boundaries at the time of the massacre at Wounded Knee. Indeed it was the dance that made the US Army Generals frightened and perhaps even prompted the senseless slaughter of 300 Indians. Oddly enough, the religion of the Ghost Dance was purely Christian and was non-confrontive. In a pitiful way (perhaps), this song is my hymn to a lost world and a beautiful dream. A dream that, perhaps in a distant world, it can be again. Within the lyrics are the words of Sitting Bull and his woeful lament, "A warrior I have been, now it is all done."

A warrior I have been, now it's all done. Our story's told with a whiteman's tounge. The earth was made with the help of the sun. It should have been left the way that it was. In the moon when the deer shed their horns, we danced the Ghost Dance there that morn. I-ki-ci-ze wa-on kon he. Wa-na he-na-la ye-lo he. The whiteman made more promises than the trees, from Wounded Knee to Laramie. They promised to take all of our land. It was the only promise they kept. Our warriors were strong, no weapon in their hands. They danced the Ghost Dance to save our land. I-ki-ci-ze wa-on kon he. Wa-na he-na-la ye-lo he. The old men say only the earth endures. And Paha-Sapa will always be pure. Lost in the mud made with our blood, they killed the world's most beautiful dream. Our broken hoop, the sacred tree is dead. PEACE ON EARTH GOOD WILL TO MEN. I-ki-ci-ze wa-on kon he. Wa-na he-na-la ye-lo he. I-ki-ci-ze wa-on kon he. Wa-na he-na-la ye-lo he.