Here
are the song lyrics that Diane Wilson wrote to accompany
the music written by her brother Dave Wilson during
the march. She has given permission to have it posted
on the website:
TELL
YOUR CHILDREN
We
hear your voice, grandmother
We hear your whisper in the grass
We hear you asking why no one remembers
What has happened in the past
One hundred and forty years ago
Dakota warriors made their stand
They said our children are starving
We've lost our ancestors' land
When the war was over
Thirty-eight men sang one last song
Women and children began to march
No one asked if this was wrong
Tell your daughters, tell your sons
Tell the little ones yet to come
That we will always remember
The Women's March on the Dakota Trail
By day they walked, a four-mile train
In blankets thin, feet worn with pain
Mothers held their babies tight
Too many died on cold November nights
One hundred and fifty miles they walked
Through towns now stained with hate
Today your children walk this road
We follow footsteps carved in pain
We mark each mile we pass
With a stake that bears your name
Step by step we reclaim this land
In cars and trucks and caravan
Eagles' feathers pointed high
As we march together we remember why
Through the stories that we hold dear
Our voices keep the ancestors near
Tell your daughters, tell your sons
Tell the little ones yet to come
That we will always remember
The Women's March on the Dakota Trail
Diane
Wilson
Copyright
Diane Wilson 2002
