Border Crossing Rights-kids poem-teacher tool

From the time that Skywoman fell North America was on a turtle shell Native people were free to roam Turtle Island, our natural home. Since 1492 we see and saw Treaties that are still the law The list is long and tattered too So this is if you never knew, The first ones were legal deeds Two separate lines in wampum beads Distinct ways, words, and ceremony Governance and territory. John Jay's Treaty (article 3) of 1794* Was also known as so much more Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation Recognized a sovereign nation The border we called the ‘medicine line’ A margin of colonial design The 1812 Washington treaty Guaranteed our right to cross freely 1814 (article 9) Treaty of Ghent* Reaffirmed what sovereignty meant Three treaties that still recognize Native people did not colonize Again a treaty in 1842 Re-reaffirmed what we always knew Another Washington treaty that would enforce Our inherent right to cross of course July 14, 1928 IDLA made no debate Inherent rights to cross their line Confirmed in Article 3* and Article 9* In mid-July every year There’s a crossing, you may hear Autonomous homelands, our steps display Within Canada and the USA Inherent first, and treaty right To cross their border, day and night At the Whirlpool Bridge near the Falls you’ll see Our people practice Sovereignty