"We Are The People"

"WE ARE THE PEOPLE…"
By Takatoka



We are the People of the Longhouse
We are Spirits Dancing
Upon our Mother Earth.
Her heart the Drum is beating.
We are Her Children.
We are the Warriors.
We follow the Sacred Path.



We are the People of the Longhouse.
The Four Winds know us.
Trees, birds and animals teach us.
Sun and Moon share visions with us.
The Stone people and waters are we.
They all instruct our path to see.



We are the People of the Longhouse,
Keepers of the Sacred Manataka
The Great Gathering Place,
Place of Peace for all who make pilgrimage
To celebrate the Secrets of Grace.



We are the People of the Longhouse.
We are Arapaho, Caddo, Pueblo, Navaho,
Seminole Winnebago, and Eskimo.
We are Apache, Hopi, Cree, Pawnee, Santee, Lumbee,
Shawnee, Zuni, Miami, and Cherokee.
We are Ojibwa, Oneida, Seneca, Chippewa, Omaha,
Ottawa, Iowa and Kiowa.
We are Quapaw, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Witchita,
Kaw, and Catabaw.
We are Dakota, Lakota, and Kituwah.
We are Creek, Blackfeet, Comanche, Abenaki, Yuchi,
Lenape, Shoshone and Potawatomi.
We are Ute, Paiute, Aleuts, Inuit; Illinois and Iroquois.
We are Brule, Hunkpapa and Yankton Sioux;
Bannock, Wyandot, Mohawk, Sac and Fox, and Kickapoo.
Cheyenne, Osage, and Yamasee.

We are them and they are we.



In the Valley of Manataka,
600 nations join hands in the Circle.
The Spirit of Peace floats on air.
Black, yellow and white man joins the miracle.
Red man shows the way there.



Rainbow Woman lives at Manataka.
Sister to White Buffalo Calf Woman,
She sleeps in the deep of Mother Earth.
Yet, she is the sign in the sky to show the way,
Her colors are bright; to remind us of Grace as we pray.



We are the People of the Longhouse;
The sacred fire of seven woods lifts our prayers on smoke.
The Great Creator hears us.
And, the Sacred Mountain awoke.



Shaking and trembling from the sleep.
The mountain rumbles, big houses crumble
Pushing hot waters from the deep
People are in fear and some run like the deer
But we, the People of the Longhouse,
are humble and kneel to hear.



Great Creator speaks for Mother Earth.
"I want Manataka back"
The turn of the medicine wheel has come.
The hot springs flow with one great crack,
Sacred waters flow and we sing with the drum.



Great clouds of vapors emerge once more.
Colorful rainbows leap from the mists.
We walk the white cloud across the valley floor.
There is only peace; and no shaking fists --
The spirit of Manataka has arisen once more.



The Valley has changed yet it is the same.
There are no buildings to mar its face.
Metal noise replaced with amazing grace.
The Place of Peace - Manataka is its name.
We forgive those who took Manataka away;
and hid the waters for many days.



We come again for the healing breath of Nowasalon,
They come for the healing herbs and healing red clay;
We join hands and sing to the drum until dawn;
They come for the healing crystal and to pray.



To give much thanks to the Creator above,
We the People of the Longhouse ask blessing.
He gives us beauty, everlasting peace, and love.
So be it, we gather again to dance and sing.