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Oh please forgive him!
He didn't mean to stare
It was the rhythm
And the long black hair

He's never seen his mother's face
He's never touched her hand
He needs to search in every eye
To find where he began

CHORUS
Invent all your Elders
All your happy times
Who will welcome
A man without a Tribe?

He could be generic
A Basic Indian
Not at all esoteric
A tall and silent skin

He watched them dance and heard them sing
And he felt lonely
These weren't the Indians he'd seen
Dancing on TV

CHORUS

People always asked him
"Hey, what tribe are you?"
He would give an answer
But he never knew

In his mind his world was full
A family 'round the fire
Stories passed from old to young
As the flames rose higher

Written by Arigon Starr 
© 2000 Starrwatcher Publishing (ASCAP) 
Lyrics reprinted by Kind Permission

Arigon is a devoted fan of Indian author/producer/director Sherman Alexie (Smoke Signals, The Business Of Fancydancing). "Sherman is an amazing talent. His story of John Smith, one of the main characters of the novel Indian Killer, really touched me. I have always been blessed with the knowledge of my people and where I came from. It was a challenge to step into the shoes of someone who looked so stereotypically Indian yet who had not one shred of information about his family or his people. There are a lot of Indian people out there who share his dilemma."