Smart Songs - American Indian Rap lyrics

[Hook (2x): Shoeless Jeff] These are the skies where the eagle flies The coyote calls and the water falls Listen to the wind and begin to feel within The wisdom and the vision of American Indians [Verse 1: Shoeless Jeff] Before the Europeans settled these American lands A People already lived here, do you understand? They roamed the beautiful woodlands, and mountains, and sands A span of thousands of years, and their legend still stands Way back in the Ice Age, when glaciers froze They crossed-in through Alaska, that's how the story goes [Verse 2: Scott Free] The tribes of the Northeast sk**fully used Bark from birch trees to build big canoes Surviving from gifts within the lakes and land Using spears to fish and planting corn by hand Iroquois to Delaware, Hopewell to Fox Just a few tribes from a region with lots [Verse 3: Shoeless Jeff] Down in the Southeast, with luscious and fertile soil Tribes learned to farm, out in the sun they toiled This led to complex societies with rulers so royal There were builders and artisans, and knowledge of medicines The Seminoles were proud, The Natchez played lacrosse There was the Creek, Choctaw, Cherokee, and Chickasaw [Verse 4: Scott Free] The Crow, Blackfeet and Dakota home on the range Nomadic tribes that roamed the Great Plains In order to survive, they hunted the buffalo Shot stone-tipped arrows at a distance with a bow From buffalo skins they made teepees and canopies And tribe warriors helped protect from enemies [Hook (2x): Shoeless Jeff] These are the skies where the eagle flies The coyote calls and the water falls Listen to the wind and begin to feel within The wisdom and the vision of American Indians [Verse 5: Shoeless Jeff] In the Southwest were clay homes known as pueblos The Zuni and the Hopi and were the tribes who made those They dressed in big masks and danced and performed Asking the spirit beings kachinas for a harvest of corn For beautifully woven patterns, we look to the Navajo Apaches had the brave warrior Geronimo [Verse 6: Scott Free] From the High Plateau down through the Great Basin Tribes like the Utes survived through migration Preparing for cold winters, some were found Building earth covered houses that were part underground Horses and bows, skins and hemp were traded With tribes from the Plains for robes decorated [Verse 7: Shoeless Jeff] To the rainy Northwest where the totem poles stood These were memorials to ancestors, carved out of wood Wealthy families had ways to show signs of success Hosting lavish potlatches, giving gifts to their guests They hunted large sea animals with nets and harpoons And lived in long houses, which had one long room [Verse 8: Scott Free] Over time Europeans moved into Tribal regions Sometimes they fought war, sometimes they formed allegiance Then dark clouds rained down upon the Trail of Tears Tribes were forced West from where they lived for years This song is a tribute, to just reflect upon Today, American Indians continue on [Hook (2x): Shoeless Jeff] These are the skies where the eagle flies The coyote calls and the water falls Listen to the wind and begin to feel within The wisdom and the vision of American Indians