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Plays: 31909
Views: 34508 |
Members:
Formed: 1991
Official Site: www.brentblount.com
iSound Site: www.isound.com/brent_blount
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Straight Ahead Jazz with a touch of the blues, bebop, and the avant-garde...
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Traditional American Indian flute with modern influence
Brent Blount has been a foundational piece of the Oklahoma Jazz and Blues community for the last 21 y |
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Monday, July 28th, 2008
“Ghosts of Wounded Knee” now in 2 Parts
I stood at the mass grave at the Wounded Knee Massacre last summer, where the bones of Big Foot and Standing Bear are amongst all the others who were massacred in 1890 at Wounded Knee.
Here was then:
Here is now:
In addition to the above photo being the mass grave site, it is also the site of where the massacre began, where two soldiers made it look like a deaf man "started it." Framing him, they grabbed the gun and blamed him as the excuse they needed to begin killing. The soldiers were given forty-six medals of honor for mowing down the disarmed Big Foot's band (46 if memory serves from information from an original news article from "Lakota Times." It was not merely 20 medals of honor). They disarmed them before massacring them. Later in 1973 at the Siege of Wounded Knee 1973, it was also the location of the church which once stood in the "firefight" between the FBI and those at the Siege (that church has since been bulldozed). Amongst those were Crow Dog and Mary Crow Dog. "Firefight" is in quotations, because it shouldn't be called as such. They were defending their lives, family's lives, land, and their way of life.
Allow me to share the words a friend shared with me on the matter.
The big problem on Pine Ridge was economic before, during and after Wounded Knee II, and the big problem tomorrow will likely still be economic. Pine Ridge has always (even before 1973) been the most poverty-stricken community in the nation. And Pine Ridge has a whole lot of valuable natural resources; coal, uranium, an aquifer with millions of gallons of clean water. In 1868 after getting their deserved butt-kick in battle against the Lakota, the US negotiated the Fort Laramie Treaty and right away began breaking the treaty by stealing Indian land and resources. By the 1970s, the Lakota had lost two-thirds of their land and the government had plans to steal even more - especially uranium filled land.
Early in 1972 Raymond Yellow Thunder was beat to death by two white men in Gordon Nebraska. Attacks on Indian people by racists and Dickie Wilson and his GOONS had been increasing on the reservation and the whites who committed these crimes were seldom punished (like rape charges against Governor Janklow).
The traditional camp represented by Chief Fools Crow and Elders like Ellen Moves Camp and Gladys Bissonette, formed Oglala Sioux Civil Rights Organization and began impeachment proceedings against Dickie Wilson, charging him with use of tribal funds, harassing and failing to protect the rights and interests of the Pine Ridge people. Erosion of the tribal land base and acceptance of government money for lost tribal land were at the heart of the conflict.
But, when Raymond Yellow Thunder was murdered, the Traditionals called on AIM and things got a bit better with Fools Crow welcoming Russel Means and Dennis Banks onto the Rez. And then things got way out of hand and grew worse. And I think maybe Fools Crow soon wished he hadn't.
Carter Camp has said "I could still hear the words of the traditional chiefs of my Oglala Lakota Nation, spoken earlier that fateful day...Chief Fools Crow had told us: 'Go to Wounded Knee. There you will be protected.'
Camp: "People were waiting for us to appear on the scene and for some Indians to stand up and say that we're not going to take this shit no more. We've lived under this oppression for so many years. We're going to fight back now. The American Indian Movement is the force that stood for the people as a warrior society and said we're no longer going to allow you to roll over our people, to take our land, to pave over our reservations and dam up our rivers."
But then the FBI - AIM seige happened.
Not a whole lot of people really wanted to talk about what happened in 1973 at the time and they still don't. But a whole lot of key players sure wrote a lot of books about it. The conflicts and accusations between them are enough to make the head spin and makes me wonder if the truth can ever be known!A pretty condensed history is found on the pages of this link.
"Where White Men Fear to Tread: The Autobiography of Russell Means" by Russell Means vs
"Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks And The Rise Of The American Indian Movement" by Dennis Banks and Richard Erdoes vs
"Loud Hawk: The United States Versus the American Indian Movement" by Kenneth S Stern vs "Prison Writings: My Life Is My Sun Dance" by Leonard Peltier, Harvey Arden, Chief Arvol Looking Horse, and Ramsey Clark
"Crow Dog: Four Generations of Sioux Medicine Men" by Leonard Crow Dog vs
"Lakota Woman" by Mary Crow Dog
"Songs called poems (Living in reality)" by John Trudell
"Who Would Unbraid Her Hair: the Legend of Annie Mae" by Antoinette Nora Claypoole
"The Unquiet Grave: The FBI and the Struggle for the Soul of Indian Country" by Steve Hendricks
To compliment this, here's some more information about the Siege Of Wounded Knee 1973:
A TATTOO ON MY HEART: THE WARRIORS OF WOUNDED KNEE 1973 - Synopsis
Nowhere was that awakening more profound, nor reaction by the government greater than around the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Racism and violence against Indians, corruption, and repression of traditional people on the reservations had left many Indians desperate. After the brutal deaths of two Indian men, traditional leaders called upon AIM. Fearing a takeover of tribal headquarters, federal law enforcement, armed with modern weapons and armored personnel carriers moved to protect the tribal government.
On February 27, 1973 traditional and AIM leaders chose another location to make a stand-the site of the 1890 massacre at Wounded Knee. Cold, hungry, and armed only with hunting rifles, fake guns, and one AK-47, they held out for 71 days against the US government. Over 500,000 rounds were exchanged between federal officers and Indians during the siege. Two Indians were killed, and several other wounded.
Nearly 600 federal criminal charges were filed. A Tattoo on My Heart: The Warriors of Wounded Knee 1973 tells this dramatic and emotional story in the words of those men and women who struggled for survival inside the bunkers and ravines at Wounded Knee.
I believe this is a core issue of the Siege of Wounded Knee 1973:
Self-defense Summary: Should the law punish those who use force to defend themselves against criminal acts?
What do you think? I'll say what I think in the conclusion.
Going back to 1890 from 1973, more people survived if they tried to escape through this tree row, because there was more tree cover.
More were massacred if they tried to escape through this tree row, because there was much less tree cover.
The truth has still been tried to be slanted and concealed, even after over one century ago, because the old sign said that there were 150 warriors. The truth is, there were only 40 warriors (the sign at the beginning of this records the truth of there being 40 warriors).
To conclude, I think that forgiveness will be very difficult, especially as long as this history is revised to suite the "victors," the Black Hills continue to be raped, and the fact that many deny the problems indigenous people still face are because of the direct and long lasting effects of the United States extermination policy against them in the most immediate forms of Intergenerational Boarding School Trauma and the Forced Sterilizations that ended in the approximate 1970's (when Indian Boarding Schools closed) and mid 1970's, respectively. This is not even mentioning Alex White Plume's case regarding his attempts to grow Hemp.
However, I sincerely hope that reparations and forgiveness will someday become reality. For forgiveness leads to healing prayers and healing actions in my personal experience, and I believe that healing prayers and healing actions such as the Big Foot Memorial Ride can and will mend the sacred hoop.
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 | DesensitizationNot Rated
Released: 2008
Mp3 Price: $4.99
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| Brent Blount @ Skirvin Red Piano Lounge on 07.25.08 | | Venue: | Skirvin Red Piano Lounge | | Date: | 07.25.08 | | Time: | 10:00 pm | | Address: | Skirvin Hotel in Downtown Okc | | Location: | Okc, Ok [US] | | Price: | Free | | Description: | Sax & piano. |
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Straight Ahead Jazz with a touch of the blues, bebop, and the avant-garde...
&
Traditional American Indian flute with modern influence
Brent Blount has been a foundational piece of the Oklahoma Jazz and Blues community for the last 21 years. Doug Hill of Pop Magazine describes the experience of his performance as “Falling into a slow grove, he found intonations that escalated from the icy depths into bright crisp sunshine. Staccato stutter-steps danced off into brass oblivion. Blount played entire long solos with eyes closed, opening at the conclusion as if waking from a sweet dream (2000).”
He began as a saxophone player at Bianca's, a local jazz and blues club, in 1986 in Oklahoma City at the tender age of 16. He fell in love with the Blues. At the age of 12 Jazz would invade his world with confusion at the induction of John Coltrane into his ear, love it or hate it, he was obsessed. By his nineteenth year on earth Ernie Watts would provide clarification and cement the relationship with jazz that would last a lifetime. Brent is classically trained in the art of Saxophone and Clarinet performance and rounds off this talent with outstanding clarity in blues guitar and the Native American flute. He is truly a musician's musician. Ameritone records referred to him as an artist “who melds tradition and originality into his musical range from Bach to late John Coltrane (2004).”
Brent's eclectic talent is well represented in his vast experience. Brent was awarded outstanding soloist at the Wichita Jazz Festival in 1994 and 2001. He has performed with a variety of renowned artist's from the Scott Keeton Band and Danny White to Smilin Vic and the Temptations. He regularly performs at local venues such as Maker's Cigar Lounge and Bourbon Street Cafe. He has also been a staple at local events such as Chocolate Decadence, the Paseo Arts Festival, Oklahoma City Festival of Arts and Stillwater Blues Festival. A varied recording history is available on “Get Some Sauce on Your Monkey” by Big Daddy and The Sauce Monkeys in 1998; “A Suncrush for Sweethearts” by Eric Sarmienta in 1997; and “After All These Years” in which Blount produced in 1996.
Brent Blount: Tenor Sax, Clarinet, Blues and Jazz Guitar, and Native American Flute
1996: Composed, produced and recorded the acoustic jazz album, “After All These Years.”
2005: Composed, recorded and produced an original acoustic jazz album, “Breakfast at Jim's” Album has saxophone, clarinet, electric guitar, and a Native American cedar flute.
Performed “Breakfast at Jim's” live in 2005 at “Jazz in June” in Norman, Oklahoma; opening up before Cathy Cousins and Thelonious Monk Jr. See video here titled “Bad Pun, Live!”
Gear:
Yamaha Custom tenor saxophone with a David Guardala mouthpiece with a 2 ½ or 3 Vandoren V - 16 reed. However, that’s new. “Breakfast at Jim’s” was recorded using an Otto Link 7* with a number 3 Vandoren V - 16 reed.
Press Quotes:
Doug Hill of Pop Magazine describes the experience of his performance as “Falling into a slow grove, he found intonations that escalated from the icy depths into bright crisp sunshine. Staccato stutter-steps danced off into brass oblivion. Blount played entire long solos with eyes closed, opening at the conclusion as if waking from a sweet dream (2000).”
Ameritone records referred to him as an artist “who melds tradition and originality into his musical range from Bach to late John Coltrane (2004).”
Awards:
Outstanding soloist at the Wichita Jazz Festival in 1994 and 2001.
Home:
Oklahoma City, OK |
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| Monday, July 28th, 2008
“Ghosts of Wounded Knee” now in 2 Parts
I stood at the mass grave at the Wounded Knee Massacre last summer, where the bones of Big Foot and Standing Bear are amongst all the others who were massacred in 1890 at Wounded Knee.
Here was then:
Here is now:
In addition to the above photo being the mass grave site, it is also the site of where the massacre began, where two soldiers made it look like a deaf man "started it." Framing him, they grabbed the gun and blamed him as the excuse they needed to begin killing. The soldiers were given forty-six medals of honor for mowing down the disarmed Big Foot's band (46 if memory serves from information from an original news article from "Lakota Times." It was not merely 20 medals of honor). They disarmed them before massacring them. Later in 1973 at the Siege of Wounded Knee 1973, it was also the location of the church which once stood in the "firefight" between the FBI and those at the Siege (that church has since been bulldozed). Amongst those were Crow Dog and Mary Crow Dog. "Firefight" is in quotations, because it shouldn't be called as such. They were defending their lives, family's lives, land, and their way of life.
Allow me to share the words a friend shared with me on the matter.
The big problem on Pine Ridge was economic before, during and after Wounded Knee II, and the big problem tomorrow will likely still be economic. Pine Ridge has always (even before 1973) been the most poverty-stricken community in the nation. And Pine Ridge has a whole lot of valuable natural resources; coal, uranium, an aquifer with millions of gallons of clean water. In 1868 after getting their deserved butt-kick in battle against the Lakota, the US negotiated the Fort Laramie Treaty and right away began breaking the treaty by stealing Indian land and resources. By the 1970s, the Lakota had lost two-thirds of their land and the government had plans to steal even more - especially uranium filled land.
Early in 1972 Raymond Yellow Thunder was beat to death by two white men in Gordon Nebraska. Attacks on Indian people by racists and Dickie Wilson and his GOONS had been increasing on the reservation and the whites who committed these crimes were seldom punished (like rape charges against Governor Janklow).
The traditional camp represented by Chief Fools Crow and Elders like Ellen Moves Camp and Gladys Bissonette, formed Oglala Sioux Civil Rights Organization and began impeachment proceedings against Dickie Wilson, charging him with use of tribal funds, harassing and failing to protect the rights and interests of the Pine Ridge people. Erosion of the tribal land base and acceptance of government money for lost tribal land were at the heart of the conflict.
But, when Raymond Yellow Thunder was murdered, the Traditionals called on AIM and things got a bit better with Fools Crow welcoming Russel Means and Dennis Banks onto the Rez. And then things got way out of hand and grew worse. And I think maybe Fools Crow soon wished he hadn't.
Carter Camp has said "I could still hear the words of the traditional chiefs of my Oglala Lakota Nation, spoken earlier that fateful day...Chief Fools Crow had told us: 'Go to Wounded Knee. There you will be protected.'
Camp: "People were waiting for us to appear on the scene and for some Indians to stand up and say that we're not going to take this shit no more. We've lived under this oppression for so many years. We're going to fight back now. The American Indian Movement is the force that stood for the people as a warrior society and said we're no longer going to allow you to roll over our people, to take our land, to pave over our reservations and dam up our rivers."
But then the FBI - AIM seige happened.
Not a whole lot of people really wanted to talk about what happened in 1973 at the time and they still don't. But a whole lot of key players sure wrote a lot of books about it. The conflicts and accusations between them are enough to make the head spin and makes me wonder if the truth can ever be known!A pretty condensed history is found on the pages of this link.
"Where White Men Fear to Tread: The Autobiography of Russell Means" by Russell Means vs
"Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks And The Rise Of The American Indian Movement" by Dennis Banks and Richard Erdoes vs
"Loud Hawk: The United States Versus the American Indian Movement" by Kenneth S Stern vs "Prison Writings: My Life Is My Sun Dance" by Leonard Peltier, Harvey Arden, Chief Arvol Looking Horse, and Ramsey Clark
"Crow Dog: Four Generations of Sioux Medicine Men" by Leonard Crow Dog vs
"Lakota Woman" by Mary Crow Dog
"Songs called poems (Living in reality)" by John Trudell
"Who Would Unbraid Her Hair: the Legend of Annie Mae" by Antoinette Nora Claypoole
"The Unquiet Grave: The FBI and the Struggle for the Soul of Indian Country" by Steve Hendricks
To compliment this, here's some more information about the Siege Of Wounded Knee 1973:
A TATTOO ON MY HEART: THE WARRIORS OF WOUNDED KNEE 1973 - Synopsis
Nowhere was that awakening more profound, nor reaction by the government greater than around the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Racism and violence against Indians, corruption, and repression of traditional people on the reservations had left many Indians desperate. After the brutal deaths of two Indian men, traditional leaders called upon AIM. Fearing a takeover of tribal headquarters, federal law enforcement, armed with modern weapons and armored personnel carriers moved to protect the tribal government.
On February 27, 1973 traditional and AIM leaders chose another location to make a stand-the site of the 1890 massacre at Wounded Knee. Cold, hungry, and armed only with hunting rifles, fake guns, and one AK-47, they held out for 71 days against the US government. Over 500,000 rounds were exchanged between federal officers and Indians during the siege. Two Indians were killed, and several other wounded.
Nearly 600 federal criminal charges were filed. A Tattoo on My Heart: The Warriors of Wounded Knee 1973 tells this dramatic and emotional story in the words of those men and women who struggled for survival inside the bunkers and ravines at Wounded Knee.
I believe this is a core issue of the Siege of Wounded Knee 1973:
Self-defense Summary: Should the law punish those who use force to defend themselves against criminal acts?
What do you think? I'll say what I think in the conclusion.
Going back to 1890 from 1973, more people survived if they tried to escape through this tree row, because there was more tree cover.
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