[Intro]
One family
If we don't stand, who will?
One Earth
[Verse 1]
The wind comes in four corners
Four directions, four colors
And death rides on 4 horsemen
A black snake with some black tanks (ugh)
How much money do these companies need to make?
They could drive their product
But they want to save a buck
Already extracted billions
When is enough, enough?
I used to be in the oil fields, getting paid
But I quit, 'cause oil-water I can't drink
Looked down and seen Kimimila die in the mud
I looked up and told myself that enough's enough
Money does not own my soul, living comfortable
Is not in my plans, my hands in the sand
Some things worth more than gold
Some things they can't be sold
Some things can't be replaced
She is your mother, the fresh water is her veins
[Bridge]
Turtle Island, not black snakes
The fresh water is her veins
What is going on have we all lost our minds?
Every human needs clean water to survive
[Verse 2]
Love is the strongest
This path is the hardest
But if we weren't strong enough to do it we wouldn't see it
Our prayers would not be needed
This movement's very needed
Indigenous wisdom unheeded
And sacred things depleted
I'm Mexicano, ma Lakota, and I'm white, too
I'm mixed with everyone
So part of me's just like you
Every group of human beings shares the same stars
And if the earth is not your mother
Are you from Mars?
[Bridge]
This side of the planet's been in decline since 1492
500 years and counting
Surviving the genocide they call "colonizing my Turtle Island"
[Verse 3]
What is a fossil fuel?
Continued destruction, nothing new
Live in a system
Taking our children
Shifting their feelings
Till nothings true
I had that money in front of me but I left it
'Cause oil money's dirty if my Mother gets disrespected
We're disconnected, these times are hectic
And feeling heavy
But we still love all living beings
And suffer for the many
We are a peaceful people
That's why we walk with prayer
And if that wasn't true
We wouldn't be standing here
[Outro]
We're peaceful people
Who walk with prayer
Turtle Island, have no fear
Despite what they show in the media
We're kind people, hold your ground
Change is coming now
One family
If we don't stand, who will?
One Earth
[Verse 1]
The wind comes in four corners
Four directions, four colors
And death rides on 4 horsemen
A black snake with some black tanks (ugh)
How much money do these companies need to make?
They could drive their product
But they want to save a buck
Already extracted billions
When is enough, enough?
I used to be in the oil fields, getting paid
But I quit, 'cause oil-water I can't drink
Looked down and seen Kimimila die in the mud
I looked up and told myself that enough's enough
Money does not own my soul, living comfortable
Is not in my plans, my hands in the sand
Some things worth more than gold
Some things they can't be sold
Some things can't be replaced
She is your mother, the fresh water is her veins
[Bridge]
Turtle Island, not black snakes
The fresh water is her veins
What is going on have we all lost our minds?
Every human needs clean water to survive
[Verse 2]
Love is the strongest
This path is the hardest
But if we weren't strong enough to do it we wouldn't see it
Our prayers would not be needed
This movement's very needed
Indigenous wisdom unheeded
And sacred things depleted
I'm Mexicano, ma Lakota, and I'm white, too
I'm mixed with everyone
So part of me's just like you
Every group of human beings shares the same stars
And if the earth is not your mother
Are you from Mars?
[Bridge]
This side of the planet's been in decline since 1492
500 years and counting
Surviving the genocide they call "colonizing my Turtle Island"
[Verse 3]
What is a fossil fuel?
Continued destruction, nothing new
Live in a system
Taking our children
Shifting their feelings
Till nothings true
I had that money in front of me but I left it
'Cause oil money's dirty if my Mother gets disrespected
We're disconnected, these times are hectic
And feeling heavy
But we still love all living beings
And suffer for the many
We are a peaceful people
That's why we walk with prayer
And if that wasn't true
We wouldn't be standing here
[Outro]
We're peaceful people
Who walk with prayer
Turtle Island, have no fear
Despite what they show in the media
We're kind people, hold your ground
Change is coming now
Contributed by Pierre-André Lienhard - 2025/7/26 - 14:05
×
![]()
Note for non-Italian users: Sorry, though the interface of this website is translated into English, most commentaries and biographies are in Italian and/or in other languages like French, German, Spanish, Russian etc.
September 2016, first video version
January 2017, updated video version and audio file
Lyrics: Prolific The Rapper
Music: A Tribe Called RED (Original Song: Stadium Pow Wow, June 2016, with a beautiful video too and the allusive presence of the black snake)
Beyond Standing Rock: Seeking Solutions and Building Awareness at Tribal Colleges
What is the black snake in the Standing Rock?
There's an ancient Lakota prophecy about a black snake that would slither across the land, desecrating the sacred sites and poisoning the water before destroying the Earth. For many Indigenous people gathered near the Standing Rock Sioux reservation, that snake has a name — the Dakota Access pipeline.
What is Turtle Island?
Turtle Island is a name for Earth or North America, used by some American Indigenous peoples, as well as by some Indigenous rights activists. The name is based on a creation myth, common to several indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands of North America, saying the earth had been created on the back of a turtle.
With his video and song, Prolific, rapper of Mexican, Lakota and European heritage, gives a gripping testimony on the Dakota Access Pipeline Protests. It was made on location, at the protesters/protectors camps near Cannonball in North Dakota.
In September 2016, over 1,000 people, most Native Americans from all tribes, but also climate activists, have gathered at two prayer camps along the Cannonball River near its confluence with the Missouri in North Dakota to protest the Dakota Access pipeline. Celebrities, environmentalists, politicians, leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement and other activists have joined together to create one of the more unusual coalitions to back a cause.
More information about the movement and the pipeline can be found searching for the hashtag #No DAPL
Title text in the video:
"Turtle Island is waking up.
Oceti Sakowin,
Indigenous Nations,
People of all colors
have united in prayer
with Standing Rock.
It began with the youth.
-
Cannonball, ND
Despite corruption, civil rights violations, dog attacks, and police
escalation, the water protectors remain PEACEFUL."
Prolific the Rapper, introducing the first version of the video of September 2016:
"I tried my best to portray what I felt at camp, I felt LOVE. Love for all people, all living things, Mother Earth herself, and concern for future generations. I felt what this world needs at this time, Unity beyond race, concern for one another, and togetherness. I felt peace and calm. Then when the police came I felt the opposite, I felt lies, setups, and oppression, but I'm trying not to dwell on the negative. My only wishes with this video is that it helps in some way. Wasn't sure how to help so I just started filming lol."
Prolific the Rapper, introducing the updated version of the video of September 2016:
"My Response to Trump Our Existence is Our Resistance. [Filmed At Standing Rock]
This song was made in response to the Standing Rock Protests NoDAPL"
NB1: Trump signed the final approval to the route of the DAPL shortly after entering office in January 2017, cutting short to the examination of an alternate route announced by Obama in November 2016.
NB2: See also the updated video. Several differences make it worth it: the introduction, the violent actions taken by police forces, an ironic sound document in the middle and a different ending, unfortunately.
YouTube - Black Snakes (updated)