The Legacy of Their Names

The soil of Turtle Island

is forever drenched

with the innocent blood 

of its first inhabitants -

men, women and children 

who had their humanity denied.

In right relationship 

with the Creator

and creation,

the First Nations

were considered obstacles 

to your insatiable greed.

The God you trusted

to bring you safely

across the Atlantic

was too small

for this new life.

Putting aside 

loving your neighbor

as yourself,

you chose to worship

at the tarnished altar

of the golden calf.

A bounty of unfamiliar 

natural resources 

were no more than tools 

for personal wealth

as you coveted ownership

instead of stewardship.

Walking this land 

from time immemorial,

you found their presence

to warrant a litany

of broken promises,

infected blankets,

and genocide.

In spite of you,

some survived only 

to be denied access 

to their ancestral lands

before being forced

to walk the Trail of Tears -

their own via dolorosa.

We hear echoes

of their presence here

in their descendants

and in the legacy

of their names.

Alabama, Algonquin, Apache,

Apalachee, Apalachicola, Arapaho,

Autauga, Aztec, Chattahoochee, 

Cherokee, Cheyenne, Chickasaw, 

Choctaw, Choctawhatchee, Clayhatchee,

Conecuh, Creek, Cuyahoga, Dakota, 

Etowah, Eufaula, Hatchechubbee, 

Hiawasee, Illinois, Inuit,

Kolomoki, Loachapoka, Massachusetts,

Maya, Michigan, Milwaukee, Minnesota,

Mississippi, Mohawk, Natchez, Navajo, 

Notasulga, Okaloosa, Oneida,

Opelika, Opelousas, Osage,

Osceola, Pensacola, Piute, 

Seminole, Shoshone, Sioux,

Sylacauga, Talladega, Tallahassee, 

Tallapoosa, Tallassee, Topeka, 

Tuscaloosa, Tuskegee, Wedowee, 

Wetumpka, Wewahitchka,

Wichita, Zuni.