Dedicated to the proud Nez Perce nation One time the wind blew free And there was nothing to break the light of the sun In a past that is now lost forever There was a time when land was sacred And the ancient ones were as one with it A time when only the children of the Great Spirit were here To light their fires in these places with no boundaries When the forests were as thick As the fur of the winter bearland And a warrior could walk from horizon to horizon On the backs of the buffalo And during that time when there were only simple ways
I saw with my heart the conflicts to come And whether it was to be for good or bad What was certain was that there would be chance Wayakin, summon strength and ward us from evil Wayakin, a spirit with transformative powers Wayakin, talisman of superhuman forces Wayakin, the guardian spirit of the Nez Perce We look to the bear, the owl and the eagle as our brothers To teach us how to live They talk to us, we listen The bear tells us of our strength The owl of our wisdom And the eagle of our freedom It is time for us to remember