See song on YouTube. Heart of the Appaloosa and the Coyote People
Heart of the Appaloosa and the coyote people by Fred Small and additional lyrics by Laurel Sobol Nez Peace
From the land of shooting geysers to the peaks of the Couer d’ Alene
To Seven Devils Blue Mountains
Into the Cascade Mountain Range
Where salmon filled the brimming streams
The land was their Mother that provided everything
Thimbleberries in the forest
Elk and buffalo grazing on the plains
The People of the Coyote made their homes along the streams of the Green Wallowa Valley which meant everything
For tens of thousands of years the People lived and thrived
Vast and wide their land was over 60 million acres
From Oregon and Washington to Idaho
To Montana and Wyoming
They bred a strain of horses that were the treasure of the tribe
Born with matchless speed
Who shared their winter lodges to protect their beloved treasures
Who could toe dance on a ridge top
Carry the hunters burden
Turn a buffalo stampede
The horse who wore the spotted coat was born with matchless speed
The People of the Coyote raised vast vast herds of cattle
That grazed beside the horses
In the beautiful Wallowa Valley
Where vast fields of wheat
Rippled in the wind
And glistened in the sun
Thunder Rolling in the Mountains lead the people across the Great Divide
There’s blood on the snows in the hills of Idaho
But the heart of the Appaloosa and Coyote People never died
In the winter of 1805 came the crowned ones
The Lewis and Clark exploration army Corp of Discovery
Special Unit of the US Army
Bringing firearms and spyglasses and a book that saves the soul
The Coyote People welcomed them and
Nursed them back to life
Feeding them and
Keeping them warm through the long winter
And studied the talking papers their mysteries to learn
In the shadow of the mission sprang up farms and squatter towns
The plains were lined with fences
Plowshares split the ground
In 1877 The Coyote People had their fill
Of squatters and miners whose numbers grew and grew
In the shallows of the Clearwater gold glittered in the pan
Word came down from Washington to remove the Indian
Chemicals from their mining
Destroyed the land and water
Thunder Rolling in the Mountains lead the People across the Great Divide
There’s blood on the snow in the hills of Montana
But the heart of the Appaloosa and Coyote People never died
The Chief spoke to his people in his anger and his pain,
“I am no more Chief Joseph,
Rolling Thunder in the Mountains is my name
They condemn us to a remnant of our lands that stretched out
Sixty million acres belonging to us thousands of years
To a tenth of the size
At Lapwai Reservation in Idaho
The talking Bible seemed to mock the Indian
The mission clergy wouldn’t protect the the Indian
From the increasing onslaught of squatters all around
The army ordered the People to cross the raging Snake
Knowing the dangers very well
The Dug Bar whirlpool took the lives of
The old horses and cattle, foals and calves
The pregnant all perished together side by side
No strength to battle the raging flooded Snake
Their bodies bashed up and broken
From the whirlpool strong current
Trapping them in the narrow canyon walls
Most washed upon the shores
Dying and dead
Three thousand Appaloosa
Near as many cattle died with the People
Side by side
Thunder Rolling Through the Mountains
Lead the People across the Great Divide
There’s blood on the snow in the hills of Idaho
But the heart of the Appaloosa and Coyote People never died
Squatters killed old Red Moccasin Tops
Who loaned his home out to them
They stole it out from under him
Claiming his home for their own
Justice was never awarded
The killer was tried and set free
The family of Red Moccasin Tops
Suffering miserably
Were told to go to the Lapwai Reservation in Idaho
Immediately
The young inexperienced warriors
And the grieving son of Red Moccasin Tops
Avenged the death of his father Red Moccasin Tops
They killed an innocent person mistakenly
To vindicate the murder
Of their tribal member
Thunder Rolling Through the Mountains
Lead the People across the Great Divide
There’s blood on the snow in the hills of Idaho
But the heart of the Coyote People never died
From the land of shooting geysers to the
Peaks of the Couer d’Alene
Thimble berries in the forest
Buffalo grazing on the plains
The People of the Coyote made their homes along the streams
Of the Green Wallowa Valley which meant everything
Word came down from Washington
Remove the Indian
The army ordered the People of the Coyote
Far from their valley home
To a restricted zone
Far from the land that gave them life
The lands that was the burying ground of their ancestors
To the reservation in Idaho
Local squatter militia and the army started war
Against the Coyote People and showed no mercy
Fought the Coyote People showing no mercy
They dogged the People over three months long
Twelve hundred miles retreating
Three times across the Great Divide
They fought at White Bird Canyon
They fought at Misery Hill
Until the general saw their strategy
And called the order down
To kill the Appaloosa
Wherever it be found
Thunder Rolling in the Mountains
Lead the People across the Great Divide
There’s blood on the snows in the hills of Idaho
But the heart of the Appaloosa never died
Fighting off the army at their heels
The people fled into the Bitterroot Mountains
Engaging in conflict to give the People
Time to escape the bullets and bayonets
Wounded and starving
They tried to escape
Their imprisoned fate awaiting them if they surrendered
Scrambling to safety
Warriors all but gone
Children dead and dying
Elders and babies perishing side by side
The warriors fought valiantly to save the tribe
But bullet wounds claimed most of their lives
The families broke apart
Separated by death
The People tried to find old allies
They sought refuge with the Salish
They looked the other way
Then the People of the Coyote sent word to
Canada to the Lakota Chief Sitting Bull
And the Hunkpapa who had fled there after
Fleeing the US Army
Sitting Bull and the Lakota refused to let the
Coyote People among their tribe
The old allies were afraid to help the Coyote People
They feared the wrath of the army
Thunder Rolling in the Mountains
Lead the People across the Great Divide
There’s blood on the snow in the hills of Montana
But the heart of the Appaloosa and Coyote People never died
In October 1877 three months of the army at their heels
The warriors, elders and children all but gone
The Bear Paw Battlefield
Stained with blood
Whole families destroyed one by one
Chased down and killed until there were almost none
And the harsh Montana cold
Drove the People of the Coyote to reach a
Truce and then treaty with the army
Brigadier General Oliver Howard
And Colonel Nelson Miles
The Treaty gave the People back the lands to that gave them life
Thunder Rolling in the Mountains lead the People across the Great Divide
There’s blood on the snow in the hills of Idaho
But the heart of the Appaloosa and Coyote People never died
Twelve hundred miles retreating
Three times over the Great Divide
The Appaloosa their only ally
The People agreed to end their flight
To sign a treaty
Giving them back all their lands and way of life
No sooner had the ink dried
When word came from Washington
To herd the Coyote People to a reservation in Oklahoma
On barren soil and rock
On the Reservation in Oklahoma where malaria
And malnutrition ran rife
Far from the land that brought them life
Thunder Rolling in the Mountains
Lead the People across the Great Divide
There’s blood on the snow in the hills of Montana
But the heart of the Appaloosa and Coyote People never died
Millions of buffalo colored the plains black
Like a carpet of fur for as far as the eyes could see
In every direction the buffalo was free and wild
Living life strong and happy
The buffalo made the prairie and plains
A lush and vibrant place where buffalo wallows
Sheltered them and plants
And people along with animals alike
Washington took no chances and sent the order down
To kill the buffalo wherever it be found
Taking away the People’s livelihood
They didn’t stand a chance
The People relied on buffalo for tens of thousands of years
Dried buffalo manure patties made warm winter fires
Fuel for cooking and smoking salmon and meat
And fertilized the crops
The buffalo hide provided clothing
It provided warm blankets
And their homes
And many many other things
Buffalo were a source of life for Indian and settler alike
The army ordered the Buffalo Soldiers to kill the buffalo
Wherever it be found The US Army division of negro freed slaves
And those negro soldiers who fought in the Civil War
Over 20 years of continuous deployment
The armies 9th and 10th Regiment were Buffalo Hunters
They fought against the Indian and buffalo alike
A fifth of the soldiers who fought against the Indian
Were these regiments who killed the buffalo
They were vigilant and ferocious
To kill the buffalo they used every means
They rode bicycles into the plains
They rode the trains along the tracks
They rode on horses
They ran and jogged along the plains
Searching to kill every
The army ordered the Buffalo Soldiers to kill the buffalo
Wherever it be found buffalo wherever it be found
The Buffalo Hunters killed the buffalo
Tearing out it’s heart and liver
Leaving the buffalo to die
A black carpet of buffalo hides
Covered the plains and prairies
For as far as the eyes could see
In every direction
Thunder Rolling in the Mountains
Lead the People across the Great Divide
There’s blood on the snow in the hills of Idaho
But the heart of the Appaloosa and Coyote People never died
But sometimes in the wilderness from a dull domestic herd
A spotted horse of spirit wondrous will emerge
Strong it is and fearless, it can toe dance on a ridge top,
Carry a hunters burden and turn a buffalo stampede!
Thunder Rolling in the Mountains
Lead the People across the Great Divide
There’s blood on the snow in the hills of Idaho
But the heart of the Appaloosa and Coyote People never died
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