I Was Born Where There Were No

Since My Life As A Prisoner Has Begun I Have Heard The Teachings Of The White Man's Religion, And In Many Respects Believe It To Be Better Than The Religion Of My Fathers

The Song That I Will Sing Is An Old Song, So Old That None Knows Who Made It. It Has Been Handed Down Through Generations And Was Taught To Me When I Was But A Little Lad. It Is Now My Own Song. It Belongs To Me. This Is A Holy Song (medicine-song), And Great Is Its Power. The Song Tells How, As I Sing, I Go Through The Air To A Holy Place Where Yusun (the Supreme Being) Will Give Me Power To Do Wonderful Things. I Am Surrounded By Little Clouds, And As I Go Through The Air I Change, Becoming Spirit Only.

I Am Not Ashamed To Be A Christian, And I Am Glad To Know That The President Of The United States Is A Christian, For Without The Help Of The Almighty I Do Not Think He Could Rightly Judge In Ruling So Many People. I Have Advised All Of My People Who Are Not Christians, To Study That Religion, Because It Seems To Me The Best Religion In Enabling One To Live Right.

I Was Born On The Prairies Where The Wind Blew Free And There Was Nothing To Break The Light Of The Sun. I Was Born Where There Were No Enclosures.

I Was No Chief And Never Had Been, But Because I Had Been More Deeply Wronged Than Others, This Honor Was Conferred Upon Me, And I Resolved To Prove Worthy Of The Trust.