The image that often appears
Is this earthen wall of the Nuosu
I always try to decipher
The secret behind this
Because when I see that wall
Sadness wells up in my heart
In truth, nothing is there but a wall
棗為聯合國世界土著人年而寫
歌頌你
就是歌頌土地
就是歌頌土地上的河流
以及那些數不清的屬於人類的居所
理解你
就是理解生命
就是理解生殖和繁衍的緣由
誰知道有多少不知名的種族
曾在這個大地上生活
憐憫你
就是憐憫我們自己
就是憐憫我們共同的痛苦和悲傷
有人看見我們騎著馬
最後消失在所謂文明的城市中
撫摸你
就是撫摸人類的良心
就是撫摸人類美好和罪惡的天平
多少個世紀以來，曆史已經證明
土著民族所遭受的迫害是最為殘暴的
祝福你
就是祝福玉米，祝福蕎麥，祝福土豆
就是祝福那些世界上最古老的糧食
為此我們沒有理由不把母親所給予的生命和夢想
毫無保留地獻給人類的和平、自由與公正
A PRAISE SONG FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
—Written for the United Nations Year of Indigenous Peoples
To sing in praise of you
Is to sing in praise of the land
It is to praise the rivers on the land
And the countless habitats of human beings
To understand you
Is to understand the will to live
It is to understand why people reproduce and multiply
Who knows how many races, now nameless
Once lived upon this good earth
To pity you
Is to pity ourselves
It is to pity our shared pain and sorrow
A certain man watched us riding on horseback
Until we vanished into a so-called civilized city
To caress you
Is to caress the human conscience
It is to caress the scales that weigh
our human decency and evil
Over so many centuries, history has proven
Indigenous peoples have suffered the cruelest harm
To bless you
Is to bless corn and buckwheat and potatoes
It is to bless this world’s most ancient foodstuffs
Thus it would only be right to give, without reservation
The life and dreams our mother gave us
As an offering for peace, freedom, and human justice