FIRST NATIONS ISSUES

The Colors of the Wind

"You think I'm an ignorant savage, and you've been so many places, it must be so...

But still I cannot see if the savage one is me...Now can there be so much that you don't know?...

You think you own whatever land you land on...the Earth is just a dead thing you can claim...

But I know every rock and tree and creature has a life, has a spirit, has a name...

But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger you'll learn things you never knew you never knew...

Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon, or asked the grinning bobcat why he grinned?

Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains...can you paint with all the colors of the wind?

Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?

Come run the hidden pine trials of the forest...come taste the sunsweet berries of the Earth...

Come roll in all the riches all around you...and for once, never wonder what they're worth

The rainstorm and the river are my brothers - the heron and the otter are my friends

And we are all connected to each other, in a circle, in a hoop that never ends...

How high will the sycamore grow? If you cut it down, then you'll never know...

And you'll never hear the wolf cry to the blue corn moon - for whether we are white or copper skinned...

We need to sing with all the voices of the mountains, we need to paint with all the colors of the wind...

You can own the Earth, and still...all you'll own is Earth until

You can paint with all the colors of the wind..."

Music by Alan Menken

Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, who has endorsed the use of these on this page, with these comments:

"Thank you for sending me the link to your home page. I was very touched to see your use of "Colors of the Wind". I remember, when we were working on POCAHONTAS, a meeting with a shaman from one of the Northwest tribes for whom I played the song. When it was finished, he told me with tears in his eyes how he felt the words captured much of the feelings and the spirit of his people.

That was one of the most gratifying moments I have ever had as a writer, and your use of the words for your home page brings it back and heightens it. All the best, Stephen Schwartz"