Reservations

from Red & Black by Bad Alaskan

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about

Created from a poem about the ways colonialism has sank its teeth into parts of Native traditionalism, sometimes producing toxic dynamics where young Natives don't feel free, empowered or authentic. Reference to "The Graduate" because sometimes choosing ourselves, regardless of whether or not that's ultimately the best choice, is often packed with guilt for Native youth. We feel the weight of 7 generations not always lightly. Sometimes it's amazing & other times it's crushing. This embodies the fear of success & of love, as well as the self-limiting behaviors ensuring we never make it beyond the borders of where we're told to be. This song is a complicated ode to the different kinds of students I met while attending Haskell Indian Nations University.

lyrics

We can move away from the reservations,
forget about seven generations
etched into the Midwest clay &
at the bottom of redneck lakes.

We can hide in the Lawrence underground,
stay awake until we’re the only sounds,
ride into the dark side of the Kansas hills
high on art & never have to feel.

But I know better than that…

We can run away like in The Graduate,
have a tiny house, have a tiny kid,
leave each other for another door-
leave each other for nothing more.

We can disappear to some islands where
I’d have dreadlocks & seashells in my hair.
We’d hate ourselves but each other more,
counting down the days til there’s other shores.

But I know better than that…

We can move away from the reservations,
forget about seven generations
etched into the Midwest clay &
at the bottom of redneck lakes.

credits

from Red & Black, released June 19, 2023

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Bad Alaskan image

Bad Alaskan Lawrence, Kansas

Artivist (Artist + Activist)

Alaska Native
Black
Portuguese

Music is medicine

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