Hi folks,
Attached is the musical notation for a song reflection on Chicago Accelerate 77 (Saturday, September 15): "Footprints of Sikaakwa". Below are the lyrics.
Ellie
FOOTPRINTS
OF SIKAAKWA
Footprints
of Sikaakwa
journeyed
lakeshore sands,
creatures
spinning stories
in
winds haunting the land,
swimming,
creeping, crawling—they came;
flying,
walking, stalking—they gamed;
hunters,
warriors, growers—they remained,
living
lightly on the earth of Sikaakwa.
Footprints
of Sikaakwa
turned
rivers, changed terrain,
paving
trails and forging rails,
farm
ways to factory days—
exploring,
trading, supplanting—they came;
building,
inventing, investing—they gamed,
artist,
industrialist, politician—they remained,
sculpting
rising skyline peaks of Chicago.
Footprints
of Sikaakwa
converged
from all directions,
cultures
clashed and merged,
stewing
desire and introspection—
laboratory
of urban life—they came;
microcosm
of courage and strife—they gamed;
movements
calling for justice—they remained,
stirring
brewing cauldron hope of Chicago.
Footprints
of Sikaakwa
blaze
new community,
people
working together
to
thrive sustainably—
welcoming
young and old—they came;
joining
the gifts of all—they gamed;
waking
to Earth’s vision—they remained,
living
boldly a real dream of Chicago.
ejhs
9/09/12
reflection on Accelerate
77, Chicago
“Sikaakwa” (pronounced: “Sheekakwa”): namesake of Chicago; French pronunciation of Algonquian (Miami/Illinois)
name for a wild garlic/leek (Allium
Tricoccum) (striped skunk) growing along the shores of Lake Michigan and
the Des Plaines (branch of Chicago River) in the 1600s.