This Land

When I awoke this morning The sunny scape was grand I realized I'm squatting here On someone else's land Someone who for centuries Had roamed this vast terrain Mostly uninhabited In sun and wind and rain Who cherished all its bounty The spirits will atest Who gazed on all its beauty Their friendship was the best Owning but belonging to In perfect harmony Owing only to the creatures For sustainability Someone now who roams no more Confined by his oppressor The guest who once was welcome Your governing aggressor With water you could walk on Just no way to strive Total persecution A struggle to survive Residential Schools The Highway of Tears Murdered and Missing Women Count them through the years I'm pretty sure I bought it Worked hard all my life To build our house upon My children and my wife Maybe I was shafted And didn't even know Maybe they're good at it? I'm here to tell you so I won't be satisfied Til my friends are on the mend Til we can wander far and wide But still not even then When we stand tall and healthy And proud might do the trick When we're all looking down on them And they're all ducking sick