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Undocumented Warrior

Undocumented Warrior

By George W. Clever-----2002

I sneaked into this country on moccasin feet
No one knew I was here
Till one day someone asked 
Where is your C.D.I.B. card?			
Putting on my best stoic mask I said
Do I need one to buy my beer?
Smart ass! 

“You need one to prove you are a “skin”
A “red man”, “Indian ”, “Chief” 
Feds will decide if you are a blanket man
You do look a little tan
Perhaps as an Italian, Porto Rican, Chicano 		
You could pass.”
My Grandmother said that too

Will I need a card to paint my face?
Straight dance with some grace
Or two step and stomp dance
In my buckskin pants

“B.I.A. will approve your case
Just send the documents of your worth
Ancestors listed on the Dawes rolls 
DNA, Bible lists, Parent’s place of birth.”
I think Lenape people in the past
Never wrote on things that last
School told us they could neither read nor write
X marks on the treaties lead to many a fight
						Sign your name or make a mark 
						Sold our land your birth right for a start
						No vote for you 
						No office holder 
						No property deed 
						Land thieves got bolder and bolder
The PA “Stay Behinds” got together
Declared an Eastern Lenape Nation
Used their sovereign right 
Approve my application 
Now my card says EDN Lenape man #3405  

Do you think the Feds with DNA tests and C.D.I.B. cards will tattoo us like the Jews?

Copyright © George Clever

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