It’s important to understand where you live. There is indigenous culture from where you are. If you live in San Francisco, learn about the Ohlone people. They are the true natives of this land. Learn about their traditions and their culture. Learn about what this used to look like before it became covered with concrete. Think about that when you’re walking down the concrete street. This used to be a rich marshland, a bird paradise where millions of birds used to flock. San Francisco has a lot of history. We have rich histories. If we look at the indigenous communities that lived here and still live here, we could learn some of the ways in which they maintained their survival for hundreds of years.
Don’t let them tell you that humans and the earth are separate. We’re all connected to the stars. Even scientists are telling us that we come from stardust. The earth was made from stardust. We’re a reflection of what’s happening celestially in the universe. In Native American culture I was taught that a meteor landed between two mountains. In that meteor was our DNA in the form of a spider, and the spider came and wove everything that we see in her web. That’s what it is. We are all connected. That’s the truth. Go out with your friends, stand on the hill and move around, and you’ll see the stars shift. I’ve done it with youth. Whatever we do in the world is reflected in the heavens. So what we do and say right now has power. We are the power.
I feel really blessed to be born into this legacy of black brilliance that across the board is one of the most appreciated in the arts, whether it comes down to visual arts, with Michel Basquiat, or music, with soul, funk, blues, reggae and hip-hop. Those are black arts. That’s black brilliance and black love being perpetuated into the universe. Those art forms are going to be listened to 36,000 years from now. That makes us immortal. So we are immortal through our art, our love, and through our conversations.
Ras K’Dee
Musician, Youth Worker, Audiopharmacy Producer & Seventh Native American Generation