Advocate With A Camera (Honoring Dick Bancroft)

Unpublished

Giving voice to the homeless
The urban refugee
With Deb his wife in Kenya
After serving in the Marines
Coming home to discover
The country he loved
Brutalize, terrorize
The circle of the drum
On the Trail of Broken Treaties
On the road to Wounded Knee
As an advocate with a camera
For First Nation Sovereignty

We are still here

With laughter, love and courage
Pat Bellanger, Awanakwe
Swung those doors wide open
To the leadership of AIM
Clyde Bellecourt, Banks, George Mitchell
Benton, Russell, Ted and Bill Means
Madonna, Phyllis, Lorelei,
Wittstock, Wilson, Melvin Lee
To document the struggle
Given Ten-Fold in return
To this advocate with a camera
Who stood by his word

We are still here

From Lac Courte Oreilles
To Franklin Avenue
Strong Buffalo, a Purple Heart Veteran
Beaten black and blue
By two white policeman
After serving in Vietnam
For Driving While Indian
Treated like some Viet Cong
You can see it on their faces
Now immortalize
By this advocate with a camera
Whose spirit will never die

He is still here
Like a bolt of lightening
Striking the world around
Igniting all Red Nations
Mother Earth is sacred ground
Guatemala, Nicaragua,
Geneva, Panama
Ingrid, Rigoberta
Westerman, Vernon, Wahpepah
In all four directions
Sovereign and free
As an advocate with a camera
Against the Doctrine of Discovery

We are still here

Before Standing Rock
The Cold Water Springs
The largest police action
In Minnesota history
Against those protecting
Oak Savannah Dakota land
Where Dick was thrown down
With his camera in hand
Stomped on, confiscated
Destroyed roll by roll
As an advocate with a camera
In body, heart & soul

He is still here

As we stand upon the shoulders
Of his life well lived
Perhaps the greatest gift he gave us
Was the time he would give
As a husband, father, brother
Grandfather, ally, friend
Breaking bread around the table
Filled with mischief until the end
Cutting wood for the lodges
Of those he so loved
As an advocate with a camera
Within the circle of the drum

We Are Still Here

Words & music by Larry Long
Copyright Larry Long 2018 | BMI

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