Silt

In his book The Guitar and the New World (Excelsior Editions, 2013) author Joe Gioia investigates a hidden chapter in American music’s history that spans the ancient world to Sioux Ghost Dancers. In this excerpt taken from the chapter titled “Hey-Hey,” Gioia proposes a Native American influence on the history of the blues.

‘The Red Man and The Blues’ is an essay by Max Haymes, originally written in 1990 and converted to web format from its original typescript by Alan White. It explores the connection between Native American peoples of the Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek, Chickasaw and Seminole tribes and Afro-Americans, including the blues singer.

For Lula, Mississippi unearths the ecological unconscious of Black music. By following early blues back to Choctaw music and culture, and forward through dub, drill and flute-trap, a certain buried history is uncovered. This history, or rather this all-tangled root-network might just grow into Black and Native solidarity, reminding us that anti-racism and environmental justice are inseparable.