"Carbon" and the Last Stands of the Native Americans
After spending time at the site of the battle of Little Big Horn, Scarlet meets a manic-depressive woman named Carbon (Amos). Together, they continue to visit some of the last stands of the Native American People (Amos), including Wounded Knee and the Black Hills of Dakota.
A very dark and violent episode in Native American history, the Battle of Wounded Knee took place on December 29, 1890. At its end, ninety Sioux warriors and approximately two hundred women and children were massacred. The bodies were left where they lay for three days, while soldiers waited for a blizzard to subside. Some of these bodies were still alive, slowly freezing to death in the cold of the snow.
Then, on New Years Day of 1891, soldiers were sent to the scene of the battle at Wounded Knee Creek to collect the bodies and put them into a mass grave. They were buried in a trench fifty feet long, six feet wide, and six feet deep (Taylor 13).
It was a day that was not supposed to happen, or at least the United States government promised it would not happen. Twenty years prior to this massacre, there was a treaty signed guaranteeing Indians the area of land known as the Black Hills, which the Sioux called Paha Sapa. To the Native Americans, it was a sacred place where spirits dwelt (Taylor 13).
This treaty granted the Sioux:
Absolute and undisturbed use of the Great Sioux Reservation (that part of South Dakota west of the Missouri River) .No persons .shall ever be permitted to pass over, settle upon, or reside in territory described in this article, or without consent of the Indians pass through the same (Taylor 13)
However, in 1874, Colonel George A. Custer was sent to the Black Hills to take the land from the Native Americans in order for the Northern Pacific Railroad to build on Indian territory in Montana. Furthermore, there were rumors of gold in the area as well. This sent many people rushing to find gold during the summer of 1875. However, the government could not buy the land from the Indians, who refused to sell. Consequently, those who did not comply with the governments orders to give up the land were classified as hostile, and therefore subject to attack (Taylor 13).
This led to the Battle of Little Big Horn, led by Colonel Custer. However, the battle was unsuccessful for the American government. A Sioux leader by the name of Crazy Horse led his people successfully during the attack, killing Custer and his men.
Unfortunately, this did not keep the government from trying again. The second time, under the lead of General Nelson A. Miles, the government succeeded in stealing these lands from the Native Americans. Consequently, The Black Hills Act of February 28, 1877, made this theft of sacred, reserved land legal (Taylor 13).
Crazy Horse had surrendered before he was killed so that his people would be protected from further harm. Sadly, his attempt at peace failed. Instead, his people were virtually exterminated during the Battle of Wounded Knee.
These battles took place because these people were considered a threat to democracy. These battles were fought over land, land that Native American people did not claim to own; land that the American government believed they could take at their own will. This was land that the Native Americans took great care of. However, when the government took over the land, it was destroyed. Obviously, they lacked the respect that the Native Americans had for the land. How can you sell your mother? That was what the first people said, when asked to sell the land they walked upon (Gaiman 5).
Carbon is one of the faster-paced songs on the album. After the piano introduction, the song picks up with driving piano lines and a faster-paced drums. Throughout the song, many names of places are dropped, alluding to Scarlets exact whereabouts. At one point in the song, she is near ski mountains named Bear Claw, Free Fall [and] a Gunner's View (Amos). It is a song that not only takes us into the depths of the last stands of Native Americans, but also the intense and emotional relationship between Scarlet and Carbon, a woman who is contemplating suicide; Scarlet tells herself over and over, Just keep your eyes on her / keep / dont look away (Amos). She is afraid that if she abandons Carbon, something drastic might happen, but she realizes she must continue her journey, and moves on.
A very dark and violent episode in Native American history, the Battle of Wounded Knee took place on December 29, 1890. At its end, ninety Sioux warriors and approximately two hundred women and children were massacred. The bodies were left where they lay for three days, while soldiers waited for a blizzard to subside. Some of these bodies were still alive, slowly freezing to death in the cold of the snow.
Then, on New Years Day of 1891, soldiers were sent to the scene of the battle at Wounded Knee Creek to collect the bodies and put them into a mass grave. They were buried in a trench fifty feet long, six feet wide, and six feet deep (Taylor 13).
It was a day that was not supposed to happen, or at least the United States government promised it would not happen. Twenty years prior to this massacre, there was a treaty signed guaranteeing Indians the area of land known as the Black Hills, which the Sioux called Paha Sapa. To the Native Americans, it was a sacred place where spirits dwelt (Taylor 13).
This treaty granted the Sioux:
Absolute and undisturbed use of the Great Sioux Reservation (that part of South Dakota west of the Missouri River) .No persons .shall ever be permitted to pass over, settle upon, or reside in territory described in this article, or without consent of the Indians pass through the same (Taylor 13)
However, in 1874, Colonel George A. Custer was sent to the Black Hills to take the land from the Native Americans in order for the Northern Pacific Railroad to build on Indian territory in Montana. Furthermore, there were rumors of gold in the area as well. This sent many people rushing to find gold during the summer of 1875. However, the government could not buy the land from the Indians, who refused to sell. Consequently, those who did not comply with the governments orders to give up the land were classified as hostile, and therefore subject to attack (Taylor 13).
This led to the Battle of Little Big Horn, led by Colonel Custer. However, the battle was unsuccessful for the American government. A Sioux leader by the name of Crazy Horse led his people successfully during the attack, killing Custer and his men.
Unfortunately, this did not keep the government from trying again. The second time, under the lead of General Nelson A. Miles, the government succeeded in stealing these lands from the Native Americans. Consequently, The Black Hills Act of February 28, 1877, made this theft of sacred, reserved land legal (Taylor 13).
Crazy Horse had surrendered before he was killed so that his people would be protected from further harm. Sadly, his attempt at peace failed. Instead, his people were virtually exterminated during the Battle of Wounded Knee.
These battles took place because these people were considered a threat to democracy. These battles were fought over land, land that Native American people did not claim to own; land that the American government believed they could take at their own will. This was land that the Native Americans took great care of. However, when the government took over the land, it was destroyed. Obviously, they lacked the respect that the Native Americans had for the land. How can you sell your mother? That was what the first people said, when asked to sell the land they walked upon (Gaiman 5).
Carbon is one of the faster-paced songs on the album. After the piano introduction, the song picks up with driving piano lines and a faster-paced drums. Throughout the song, many names of places are dropped, alluding to Scarlets exact whereabouts. At one point in the song, she is near ski mountains named Bear Claw, Free Fall [and] a Gunner's View (Amos). It is a song that not only takes us into the depths of the last stands of Native Americans, but also the intense and emotional relationship between Scarlet and Carbon, a woman who is contemplating suicide; Scarlet tells herself over and over, Just keep your eyes on her / keep / dont look away (Amos). She is afraid that if she abandons Carbon, something drastic might happen, but she realizes she must continue her journey, and moves on.
