This collective voice represents the Lenape Nation and other displaced Indigenous peoples. The speaker sings with genuine affection for the natural world and possesses a deep spiritual connection to the land and water. Forced off their territory through trickery and violence, they provide a somber reflection on the cultural and environmental destruction initiated by European colonization.

These newly arrived European colonizers view the natural world entirely as a commodity to be bought, sold, and exploited. They speak in harsh and arrogant language. To secure vast tracts of land, they trade cheap glass beads, whiskey, and weapons with local tribes. They lack any spiritual connection to the earth they rapidly degrade.

The historical leader of the Dutch Trading Company who directs the 1626 purchase of the southern tip of New Netherlands. He represents the overarching corporate forces driving the rapid settlement of the Americas. He secures massive acreage for roughly twenty-four dollars worth of baubles.

This entity serves as the unifying, living soul of the natural world, heavily revered by local Indigenous cultures. It animates the birds, animals, waterways, and trees. It faces direct poisoning and exhaustion as new colonists impose their ownership-driven mindset upon the wilderness, eventually fading to a small shadow.

The deity worshipped by the European colonizers. The settlers interpret biblical commands from Genesis to subdue the earth as an absolute license to claim dominion over the natural world. They use this religious framework to justify their aggressive material expansion.