i2Culture Dara Campbell Guest Contributor he phrase “Aboriginal leadership” typically brings to mind names such as Louis Riel, Elijah Harper and whoever else has been featured on Heritage Minutes. While politicians and activists such as these certainly played crucial roles in Canadian history, it’s important to note that powerful leadership manifests in other forms - such as music. A Tribe Called Red is an Aboriginal trio of DJs from Ottawa who have managed to fuse the worlds of popular culture and their traditional culture by means of turntables and synthesizers. ATCR’s unique sound is reflective of the DJs’ experiences as urban Aboriginals. As a result, they are providing young Aboriginals with something of incredible importance: A sense of identity. A Tribe Called Red did not burst onto the music scene with the intention of being political, but the fact is that the existence of their genre- bending, cross-cultural, powwow-EDM is political by nature. A Tribe Called Red was founded in 2007 by Ian “DeeJay NDN” Campeau and DJ “Bear Witness,” who were soon joined by Tim “2oolman” Hill. In 2010, the trio began hosting Aboriginal nightclub parties, mixing traditional powwow vocals and drumming with contemporary electronic beats. The result: powwow-step. The genre has been described as a combination of instrumental hip-hop, reggae, and dubstep-influenced dance music with elements of First Nations chanting and drumming. ATCR’s aim has always been to make something that Aboriginal youth in particular can hear and think “I own this. This reflects me.” Since 2012, the group has been on the receiving end of many awards and much praise from music institutions such as the Polaris Music Prize, the Juno Awards and the Aboriginal Peoples Choice Awards. ATCR has been quick to capitalize on their fame for the sake of speaking unapologetically about contemporary Aboriginal issues, both on and off the dance floor. Since their conception, A Tribe Called Red has been rocking the political boat. Ian Campeau successfully campaigned he Politics of Powwow-Step ei mm for a name change in Ottawa’s minor football team, the Nepean Redskins. After being told by a city councillor that he would not be receiving municipal support for the cause, Campeau took to Twitter and found overwhelming support. Today, the team is known as the Nepean Eagles. On twitter, the trio has spoken out against fans showing up in ‘Redface’ - meaning to be clad in inauthentic headdresses and dollar store warpaint. The group cleverly uses their shows as a platform for combatting the wildly offensive and rampant fads of cultural appropriation and pan-Indianism. In their shows, ATCR will sometimes feature traditional Aboriginal performers dancing on-stage in full regalia. They’ve also been known to incorporate repurposed samples of discriminatory film portrayals with the visual aspect of their psychedelic sets. Moved by ATCR’s efforts, Tall Tree Music Festival on Vancouver Island placed an official ban on headdresses and similarly offensive apparel. Festivals across North America have since followed. 2012 was something of a banner year for both A Tribe Called Red and Theresa Spence. Spence is famous for inspiring Canada’s largest Indigenous mass movement, Idle No More. When fans requested that the beloved DJs create something in response to the movement, A Tribe Called Red had already come up with “The Road,” which later made it onto their second album Nation II Nation. Along with several of their other tracks, “The Road” was quick to become the musical soul to Idle No More. In an interview, ATCR made a really strong point: they reasoned that the occurrence of Idle No More, changes in derogatory team names, efforts to de-popularize pan-Indianism, and other similar movements for social change are not coincidental. Capeau said that these social movements are “all happening to the first generation that [was not] forced into residential schools ... That’s really important to acknowledge.” For the first time, First Nations Peoples are “able to think in a way that [they] haven’t been for the last two centuries.” Of all their political involvements, the creation of an identity for urban Aboriginals is quite possibly the most ingtonpost.ca iconic. A Tribe Called Red started something that was needed: A space that is comfortable for Aboriginal people within the club environment. Their sound is relatable for youth who feel that they fit in the mezzanine-like space between urbanity and traditionalism. Many Aboriginal youth today are proud of their history and heritage, and simultaneously enjoy the mainstream Canadian fashion, music, and party scenes. This dichotomy is something ATCR strives to create representation for. Unlike older generations who were told to rid themselves of “Indian” during the devastating era of residential schools, young people listening to ATCR are being told to celebrate their roots. When A Tribe Called Red won the 2014 Juno Award for Breakthrough Group of the Year, many considered this a pivotal moment in what is being called the Indigenous Music Renaissance. It was sparked by Buffy Sainte-Marie in the 1960s and as of today, there are countless artists and musicians leading the pack. In fact, the last two Polaris Prizes have been awarded to Aboriginal women; Tanya Tagagq, Inuit throat-singer, and Buffy Sainte-Marie herself. The proliferation of Indigenous music and its acceptance by the mainstream is transforming what it means to be Aboriginal in Canada and challenging Canadians to re- evaluate their relationship with it. This musical revolution is one of many forces for broader cultural change towards improving Canada’s relationship with its Aboriginal peoples. In 2015, A Tribe Called Red is leading on two very relevant fronts: music and politics. The fusion of the two is what makes their music so important. As the group has acknowledged, their existence is political in itself. But this hasn’t forced them to take refuge in the niche of being an Aboriginal group exclusively for Aboriginal listeners. ATCR’s worldwide fanbase is proof that their sound can appeal to listeners in Greece and Ediburgh, while still being ‘message music. The group has created a conversation around the historically- rooted Aboriginal issues that are still kicking around today. Their people’s struggle for true equality and long overdue rights is nothing new, but its revitalized appearance on the musical front has reached out to this generation in a way that Social Studies 11 was never capable of.