Black Belt Eagle Scout, courtesy Nate Lemuel.

Yes, I know Indigenous Peoples Day was nearly a week ago. I definitely should have written about it already. But my brother was getting married and I was busy.

All that said, you’re welcome. Whether they prefer to be called Indigenous, Native, Indian, First People or anything else. I’m going to stick with Native because I’ve been asked to use that in the Bay Area most often, but if you prefer something else, my apologies. Native American musicians rarely get attention. So, to remedy that, here are four modern Native musicians you should know and one Native band you probably do.

Redbone — “Come and Get Your Love”

This song was in “Guardians of the Galaxy,” and literally everyone has seen that. (Possibly not literally, but if you haven’t you should).

“Redbone” is Cajun slang for a mixed-race person, which the band adopted to highlight its mixed-race ancestry. The founding Vasquez-Vegas brothers are of Shoshone, Yaqui and Mexican ancestry, and they intentionally filled the rest of their band with Native American musicians at the suggestion of Jimi Hendrix. In fact, Hendrix said Lolly Vasquez-Vegas was his favorite guitarist, which is high praise.

OK, we’ve covered the ’70s band that plays at least at least one song you know.

Black Belt Eagle Scout — “Soft Stud”

Black Belt Eagle Scout is the stage name of Katherine Paul, who’s Iñupiaq and Swinomish. She may be on your radar for her 2019 album, At the Party With My Brown Friends, which got rare praise. This publication loved her 2018 offering, Mother of My Children. My taste doesn’t often overlap with Pitchfork’s, but in this case it did.

There’s a lot of questionable indie rock, but Black Belt Eagle Scout is fantastic. It’s got a grungy quality to it, which I love, and it’s got an underlying passion that a lot of music in our algorithmically optimized era of success often gives up in favor of fitting in a clean box. It’s really good stuff.

Prolific the Rapper and A Tribe Called Red — “Black Snakes”

I’ve got a twofer here: Both Prolific the Rapper and A Tribe Called Red are great, But let’s focus on the former.

I was sold when I heard the beginning of this video: “With the stroke of a pen, Trump’s trying to undo everything we’ve worked so hard for. But as Indigenous people, our existence is our resistance. We protect Mother Earth and the water because it’s who we are, and we have no other choice. I’m facing seven years in prison, and yet I remain dedicated to peace and prayer.”

The best hip-hop is activist hip-hop. Public Enemy, NWA, Run the Jewels before Killer Mike started going off the deep end, the best of Tupac—that was the stuff. I will never stop being annoyed that hip-hop centered on bragging about wealth won out in the ’90s.

Ranting aside, Prolific is definitely on the Public Enemy side of the scale. There’s a reason he’s rapping, and he lets you know it. There’s a rage in his voice and a passion for the cause. There’s a message that’s being communicated, and the music doesn’t let you miss it. I endorse this wholeheartedly.

Also, he was acquitted on the charges and did not go to prison for seven years.

Laura Niquay — “Moteskano”

Niquay, from the Atikamekw in Quebec, is a traditional singer-songwriter. Singer-songwriters from the golden age in the ’70s were great, and she’s definitely in that lane.

I believe this is in the Atikamekw language, but I don’t know because all the information on the song is in French. There’s also a translation of the lyrics on the YouTube page… into French. So basically there’s two layers of me not understanding this song. I explain all this because it’s great anyway! It really does take a lot for me to enjoy a song I can’t understand, so that’s a high compliment.

Pamyua — “Bubble Gum”

We end at the top, at least directionally: Pamyua is a Yup’ik band from Alaska. It takes its name from the Inuit word for “encore,” and I appreciate the confidence. It calls its music “tribal funk and Inuit soul,” and that about covers it. The band blended Yup’ik music with Black influences like soul and gospel. And it’s fantastic. Like audio chocolate and peanut butter.

This is by far the most joyful song on the list, and for once, I wanted to end the column on a high note. I know; I’m surprised too.

Follow publisher Daniel J. Willis and send column ideas to him at @bayareadata.press on BlueSky.