The world’s best and most Canadian indigenous EDM group lost out at the Polaris Awards last night to Godspeed You! Black Emperor (who did not show up), but remain as dance-worthy as ever. They do not want you to keep wearing redface to their concerts, but they DO sample Louis CK.
I have watched this video eight times this morning.
Tags: a tribe called red, dance dance dance revolution, edm, music
Can anyone *explain* why they still kept calling them Indians? I find it baffling! Also this song was great and I don’t even really like this type of music.
The majority of Natives/indigenous/First Nations individuals in the US do refer to themselves as Indians (if not referring to a specific tribe.) I prefer awkwardly listing alternative naming conventions.
To be fair I don’t think many people in what is now India would’ve identified as “Indians” at that time either.
Also this song is indeed pretty dope.
BTW though this happened all over the world, here is my personal favorite example, the name of the city of Abidjan in Cote d’Ivoire:
“According to oral tradition of the Ébrié as reported in the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Côte d’Ivoire,[10] the name “Abidjan” results from a misunderstanding. Legend states that an old man carrying branches to repair the roof of his house met a European explorer who asked him the name of the nearest village. The old man did not speak the language of the explorer, and thought that he was being asked to justify his presence in that place. Terrified by this unexpected meeting, he fled shouting “min-chan m’bidjan”, which means in the Ébrié language: “I just cut the leaves.” The explorer, thinking that his question had been answered, recorded the name of the locale as Abidjan.” (quoth Wikipedia)
My full-blooded Cree grandmother always referred to herself as an Indian, and generally found it uninteresting to keep up with terms decided on by white people; I think that’s a common attitude among older indigenous people, who are like “Your polite word choice does not disguise your racism, thanks.” Also, in Canada, the relevant governmental agencies are still called the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, individual First Nations governments are still called Indian bands, so basically in the eyes of the bureaucracy we are Indians forever and ever and ever.
Thanks! No, I understand at *this* point people don’t see the need to change it, but as Louis CK says – it was known they weren’t Indians *very* quickly – wouldn’t it make sense to have stopped using it in like, 1493?
OH, that. Yes, that part is cultural imperialism.
I think I’ve recommended this article before, but it really displays the differences in opinion between people. “What We Want to Be Called: Indigenous Peoples’ Perspectives on Racial and Ethnic Identity Labels” By Michael Yellow Bird.
CanCon? Crash Test Dummies or gtfo
The Polaris: Always The Wrong Team.
My friend and I had tickets to see The Roots this summer, and we found out that A Tribe Called Red was doing a free outdoor show the same night. We hightailed it over there right after The Roots but we were too late, and left gloomily watching Susan Aglukark perform instead.
My full-blooded Cree grandmother always referred to herself as an Indian, and generally found it uninteresting to keep up with terms decided on by white people; I think that's a common attitude among older indigenous people, who are like "Your polite word choice does not disguise your racism, thanks." Also, in Canada, the relevant governmental agencies are still called the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, individual First Nations governments are still called Indian bands, so basically in the eyes of the bureaucracy we are Indians forever and ever and ever.
That Godspeed You! Black Emperor statement is pretty great as is their music.
AH yes! I saw these guys live at the Folk Festival, it was amazing.
All the white people in this video are kind of harshing my buzz man.
Amazing, Tribe Called Red keep getting better all the time.