Customs and Duty: Indigenous Hip Hop and the US–Canada Border

ABSTRACT

The production of Indigenous hip hop on both sides of the 49th parallel reveals a cultural complexity far beyond a stereotypical melting pot to the south and mosaic to the north. This article demonstrates multiple similarities in Canadian and USAmerican Indigenous hip hop through a parallel analysis of recent music videos by Canadian Cree and Saulteaux rapper Drezus and USAmerican Lakota rapper Frank Waln. Like earlier hip hop that inspires it, Indigenous hip hop on both sides of the border uses place as a central part of its messaging. These videos, with parallel visual narratives, demonstrate how place-based meanings are expressed around the borderlands through the fusion of traditional music into rap music. Building from hip hop scholarship on racially-coded evocations of place, this article argues that referencing place entails more than naming geographies. I analyze three overlapping functions of place: establishing a sense of connection between artist and land, conveying a specific type of authenticity, and forging intergenerational connections. Together, these underline the ongoing relevance of transnational exchange, particularly as relevant to Indigenous popular music. Place in these two contexts offers an anchoring function, yet continues to demonstrate a fluidity upon which artists draw for their music videos. Disparate political possibilities and social realities affect the ways that artists mark connections to land, community, and culture. The way place functions across the border explains how music videos are shaping public discourses around land rights, environmentalism, and global Indigeneity within and across the borders of the US and Canada.

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors

Notes

1 Canadian policy and some Canadian Studies scholarship use the term Aboriginal to encompass First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities. The term Native American or names of specific nations or communities are generally used in the United States. For clarity, I use “Indigenous” or more specific affiliations unless referring to quotations or government statistics or policies.

2 The name of the awards programme changed from the Aboriginal People’s Choice Music Awards to the Indigenous Music Awards in 2015.

3 Idle No More began in the fall of 2012 in Canada. It is an Indigenous-led grassroots movement that has called attention to environmental issues including land use and access to clean water, treaty rights, responsibilities of national governments towards Indigenous communities, and related concerns.

4 The term “authenticity” is frequently debated in hip hop scholarship; here I am discussing specifically authenticity to place, or the way in which a musician uses specific references to known physical locations to establish h/erself as connected to a place from which s/he can then be heard to speak. Alternate uses include juxtaposing hip hop “realness” with commercial success, “keepin’ it real” by artists only discussing their actual life experience, and linking authenticity to racialized identity. For discussions of these types of authenticity, consult McLeod (1999); Rabaka (2011); Johnson (2003).

5 A history of hip hop as urban youth culture is further described in Phillips, Reddick-Morgan, and Stephens (2005).

6 The term “reservation” is used in the United States, while the term “reserve” is used in Canada. Both spaces may be referred to with the colloquial abbreviation “rez.” As this example begins with a USAmerican artist, the article will primarily use the term “reservation.”

7 The musicians in this article reference the marginalization that affects some Indigenous communities. It should be recalled that while this is a reality, in both the US and Canada, many Indigenous individuals are part of the middle and upper classes, and a minority of Indigenous communities are financially prosperous.

8 The 2010 U.S. Census indicated that 78% of respondents who identified as American Indian or Alaska Native live in places other than federal American Indian reservations, reservation trust lands, Oklahoma tribal statistical areas, tribal designated statistical areas, state American Indian reservations, or state designated American Indian statistical areas. See Norris, Vines, and Hoeffel (2012).

9 This practice followed other types of assimilationist tactics, notably the destructive policy of forced reeducation. See Wolfe (2006).

10 Waln has spoken publicly about his encounters with individuals in Chicago who mistakenly believed that the city is no longer home to Native Americans. Rose, “Frank Waln, Hip-Hop Artist, Ready for Anything.”

11 While this is a significant number that represents a vibrant community, it makes up less than 1% of the city's total population. United States Census Bureau, (2010).

12 Canadian government reporting includes the categories Metis, Inuit, Registered Indian, and Non-Status Indian. The subcategories Registered Indian and Non-Status Indian are generally understood to indicate First Nations heritage. The definition and use of these categories is a contested and evolving process that is beyond the scope of this article.

13 This is also the case for the Canadian cities of Fredericton and Vancouver. In the United States, the situation has played out differently. One exception of an urban center that does have a Native American community that is encouraged by government policy is Minneapolis. The city is the home of Little Earth, a Section 8 housing community with “American Indian preference” (“Little Earth: History,” http://www.littleearth.org/about-us/history). This differs from the existence of urban reserves in the manner that Baillargeon describes.

14 The perception of racism as an ongoing serious problem has also been borne out in interviews I conducted for this research project.

15 Lyrical topicality refers to the themes that emerge from the lyrics of the song.

16 The “traditional” has been associated with remoteness in geography and time, while the “modern” or “contemporary” has been associated with urban expressions and youth culture. Unlike some previous scholarship that juxtaposes Indigenous cultural traditions with contemporary urban practices, I use a process-based understanding of tradition to argue that it may be fully integrated within the urban landscape. I explore this concept in other writings.

17 For more on contemporary changes in Indigenous music and dance, consult the special issue edited by Neuenfeldt (2002).

18 See AbOriginal (2013) and Red Winter (2013).