Illegal Immigrants

This poem was written after I took a tour of the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in Wyoming, the site of Custer's Last Stand. It was the year eighteen sixty-eight. The U.S. government signed the Fort Laramie Treaty. The Black Hills were to be closed to white settlements, Preserved for the Lakota Indians Forever, so long as the buffalo roamed. 'Forever' lasted less than eight years. The eastern railroads needed meat for their track crews, So professional hunters followed the rails westward. Men like 'Buffalo Bill' made their living Killing the buffalo for meat, hides, and sport. It was the year eighteen seventy-two. America celebrated its centennial. Gold was discovered in the Black Hills, And people in their thousands rushed to the west Seeking fortunes and living space. Most of them were immigrants to America Fleeing depression and prejudice, And ready to ignore the letter of the treaty law. Towns quickly sprung up along the immigrant trails. Towns like Deadwood - an illegal encampment In the midst of Indian land. People like Calamity Jane - an illegal immigrant. Wild Bill Hickok - another illegal. In the year eighteen seventy-six The U.S. government sent the army to remove the Indians From 'their land'. Almost half of Custer's troops were immigrants themselves From seventeen different countries And two marked down as 'unknown'. You already know the basic story. The Lakota won the battle But lost the war and their sacred Black Hills. General Custer became a legend, The Indian culture was 'civilized, And U.S. history moved on. History is full of ironies. Custer, a hero for the North side Winning battles against slavery in the Civil War, Won greater fame by dying in a war to enslave the Lakota. What's the lesson we should learn from all this? Each of us standing here today is an 'illegal immigrant'. We need to remember.