....Only to the white man was nature a 'wilderness' and only to him was the land 'infested' with 'wild' animals and 'savage' people. To us it was beautiful and we were surrounded with the blessings of the Great Mystery."
-Chief Luther Standing Bear (Oglala Sioux), 1933. ~ ~ ~
"A nation is not conquered
Until the hearts of its women are on the ground. Then it is finished,
No matter how brave its warriors
Or how strong their weapons." Cheyenne proverb ~ ~ ~
"You cannot own Mother Earth, but you can climb the high mountain." an old Cherokee ~ ~ ~!
.... "never forget we were once a free people, for if we forget that, we will cease to be Indian".
Oyate Wacinyapin aka: Russell Means ~ ~ ~
"I don't know how to save the world. I don't have the answers or The Answer. I hold no secret knowledge as to how to fix the mistakes of generations past and present. I only know that without compassion and respect for all of Earth's inhabitants, none of us will survive—nor will we deserve to."
― Leonard Peltier, Prison Writings: My Life Is My Sun Dance ~ ~ ~
"Only one thing's sadder than remembering you were once free, and that's forgetting you were once free. "
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Leonard Peltier ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * * * * Never Forget. Not Ever! * * * *

I am full-blood Cherokee ( although I hear that we do not exist anymore) and have been professional musician since eight years of age.
Much of this channel is dedicated to some of the best, and most versatile, yet least credited (in their own country) musicians to ever form a band. Some of their music was even refused air-play in the US. I am talking about Redbone, an American Indian 'rock/pop' band of the 70s. They did well in the business but, I believe, would have been as big, if not bigger, than many others, such as The Rolling Stones,et al, if not for being a good deal ahead of their time, musically and politically. Some critics of the day said it would never work because 'Indians only know how to play drums.' I hope those 'critics' were able to get into a line of work they actually knew something about. If the original members of Redbone were together today, I have no doubt they would be even more popular. If you don't know them, take a listen to their music and I'm sure you will agree. You may even find that you know them after all.
All of the many Redbone fans I am finding on youtube are a great help in my ongoing research for what I'm hoping will become a biography on these fantastically talented musicians. wado