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Indigenous musician Link Wray — considered the godfather of punk, hard rock and heavy metal — will finally be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame more than 60 years after his iconic “Rumble” became the first and only instrumental song banned from the radio for fear it would incite violence.
Wray, of Shawnee descent, was nominated twice before finally winning the vote this year. He will be inducted as one of the most influential musicians in the history of rock and roll in the Musical Influence category along with DJ Kool Herc.
“Link Wray was there for the birth of rock,” musician Stevie Salas, Apache, told ICT after the news broke Wednesday, May 3. “He influenced all that would become the greats we know — Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Pete Townshend. Jeff Beck told me he and Jimmy Page would play air guitar to ‘Rumble,’ jumping around in his bedroom at 17 years old.”
Wray went on to also influence heavy metal and punk rock, where his music — along with his leather jackets and attitude — caught the eye of The Sex Pistols and the Ramones, and then Hollywood, with “Rumble” featured on the soundtrack for Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 film, “Pulp Fiction” and others.
“That started all of Hollywood’s hoorah to use Link as a way of establishing cool in a scene,” Salas said, “because Link was the coolest.” READ MORE — Miles Morrisseau, ICT
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BAINBRIDGE ISLAND, Washington — It was the first sunny weekend of spring, and 18 women representing tribes from across the country were tucked away in the woods on Bainbridge Island. They gathered together for three days of leadership training at the second annual Native Action Network “A Seat at the Table” Advocacy Boot Camp.
The goal of the weekend was to provide the women with tools and confidence in their ability to be leaders, while also fostering a sense of community between them.
On the first night, Cecelia FireThunder, Oglala Sioux, the first female president of her tribe and a longtime Native women’s rights advocate, guided the participants through a grounding and centering exercise to help build a sense of trust and connection.
She lit sage and passed it around the room, telling the women to close their eyes and ask their ancestors for guidance. While each woman took a turn smudging themselves, FireThunder sang a song in her language called “People Depend on Me and What I Do.”
“You come from amazing women generations past,” FireThunder told the group. “All you have to do is close your eyes and ask them for help. You’re not alone, remember that … all the women you come from are inside you and cheering you on.” READ MORE — Nika Bartoo- Smith, Underscore News and ICT
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Native Americans whose relatives have gone missing or been killed wore red on Friday, a color synonymous with raising awareness about the disproportionate number of Indigenous people who have been victims of violence.
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Awareness Day is held on May 5 — the birthday of Hanna Harris, who was only 21 when she was slain on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in Montana.
Countless more Indigenous people have gone missing since her body was found nearly a decade ago. Advocates describe it as a silent crisis, rooted in colonization, forced removal and government policies that led to the stamping out of culture and identity as entire communities were marginalized.
This weekend’s marches, symposiums, prayer gatherings, art installations and ceremonies are meant to pressure policy makers in the U.S. and Canada to ensure equity when investigating such cases. The red dresses, they say, are used to call home the spirits of missing and slain Indigenous victims.
“We have to call this national state of emergency what it is — a genocide,” Carol McBride, president of the Native Women’s Association of Canada, said in an email. She urged people to channel their grief into activism. “Wearing red is powerful.” READ MORE — Associated Press
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When Francisco Calí Tzay, the United Nations special rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous peoples, spoke at the 22nd United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, or UNPFII, on April 20, he listed clean energy projects as some of the most concerning threats to their rights.
“I constantly receive information that Indigenous Peoples fear a new wave of green investments without recognition of their land tenure, management, and knowledge,” said Calí Tzay.
His statements — and those made by other delegates — at what is the world’s largest gathering of Indigenous peoples, made clear that without the free, prior, and informed consent of Indigenous people, these green projects have the capacity to seriously impede on Indigenous rights.
Free, prior and informed consent — known as FPIC — has always been an important topic at the UNPFII, but this year it’s taken on a renewed urgency.
“The strong push is because more and more of climate action and targets for sustainable development are impacting us,” said Joan Carling, executive director of Indigenous Peoples Rights International, an Indigenous nonprofit that works to protect Indigenous peoples’ rights worldwide. READ MORE — Grist
- National panel praises Alaska tribal health system successes: ‘Thankfully in Alaska, incredible tribal leaders came together and said, ‘enough’
- Oklahoma governor vetoes bill allowing graduation regalia: Tribal leaders, civil rights advocates urge legislature to override the veto
- GLOBAL INDIGENOUS: Coffee, anyone? Treats, threats and preservation: Coverage around the world on Indigenous issues for the week ending April 30, 2023
- A 90-foot long painting honors Indigenous women: ‘It’s so different to be in a place or to do a show where they’re like ‘wow these women are really cool’ and they can kind of relate’
- With their knowledge combined, two scholars are deciphering a long-lost Native language
- OU Native American student advocates for Indigenous inclusion, strives to help community, make change
- Memorial service to mark 400th anniversary of Massachusett tribe massacre
We want your tips, but we also want your feedback. What should we be covering that we’re not? What are we getting wrong? Please let us know. dalton@ictnews.org.
