As If Minstrels Dressed, They Wear Sacred Feathers

Skin painted red, wearing feather headdress, this girl at Glastonbury is as offensive to Native Americans as blacking up pretending to be African would be
Skin painted red, wearing feather headdress, this girl at Glastonbury is as offensive to Native Americans as blacking up pretending to be African would be

Once upon a time in Ireland
Not all that long ago
When I was a young boy, a younger man
People dressed for sun for show
As minstrels, blackened faces
Not for offense for fun
It was a hard battle to stop the practice
A battle fought with respect and won
Today, these are a different day
Never it now would you see
Folk find it hard to belive we once did:
And Minstrels were an icon of Lyons Tea…

Today in festivals fool folk feathers wear
Ignorant that feathers must be earned and won
In bravery or and in battle according to Native American belief
Not for decoration at a festival, a costume, for fun…
How long will it take to end the tradition?
This is an issue as important, not bigger
Native Americans want the same respect for their culture
As blacks, who no one calls by that name any more.

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