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“Kill the Indian:” by Aja Conrad

 

Kill the Indian, save the man

Kill the Indian, take his land

Kill the Indian, break his pride

Kill the Indian, genocide

 

 

Inject the insulin, with practiced aim

Drink the bottle to numb the pain

Inject the heroin, needle to vein

Suicide to end the pain

 

Silly Indian, I thought we made it clear

Go home, suffer in silence; you’re not wanted here

Stupid Indian, how dare you make demands

Do you know who puts food into your greedy hands?

Crawl back to your rez, and don’t forget it’s OUR land

 

Build the pipeline, fuck their protest

Water cannons for “civil unrest”

Spill the oil like their ancestors’ blood

Let them drink the poisoned mud

 

 

Enter college, idle no more

Study the books to even the score

Learn to play the white man’s game

Beat the knowledge into the brain

 

 

Offer your insight, voice your thoughts

Let your knowledge connect the dots

Open your heart to let them in

Close it up, never again

 

 

The needle stings, like the sterilization of my mind

Rejection burns like liquor in my throat and subsides with time

Sickened by the Whiteman’s education and disease

At least his medication numbs me, and puts my mind at ease

 

Kill the Indian, turn his land into wealth

Kill the Indian, now watch him do it to himself

 

 

Burn the root and give thanks for life

Protect the sacred and do what’s right

Gather the acorns, take only what you need

Care for the elders, defend what you believe

Protect the water, be brave and strong

Stay true to yourself, and you’ll never go wrong

Heal the land, listen to its cries

Be wary of the white man and his system of lies