The University of New Mexico’s KIVA Club hosted the 15th Annual Native Beats Concert on Sunday in the Student Union Building. Signs were draped along the performance space with messages that read “Abolish ICE” and “Protect Chaco Canyon.”
Indigenous musicians and vendors participated to benefit Native communities in the Chaco Canyon area who are affected by fracking, a drilling process that extracts natural gas and oil.
Performances ranged in genre from spoken word, to hip-hop and rock. The KIVA Club encouraged performers to speak about issues that affect their own communities to offer different tribal perspectives.
“There’s a lot of Navajo people who come here and a lot of the times we’re always represented,” said KIVA Club Vice President Hope Alvarado. “To have more people from different tribal communities who come through and share with us about what’s going on inside their communities is really important.”
Albuquerque resident and Zuni performer, Bishop Underdog Jones, took the stage with his own unique message to rap about. This is his second time performing at this event. Jones said he uses his music to cope with the struggles he has endured throughout his life.
“I try to bring my traumas in poetic form so I can resolve them in myself,” Jones said.
Jones took pauses between his songs to talk to the audience about topics such as Native identity, asking people to really consider what it means to claim that heritage. He said he tries to put out a realistic message in his music and chooses not to censor his lyrics for children.
“Too often than not we’re thinking that the youth don’t perceive things in the ‘adult manner,’” Jones said. “These kids are real smart and they’re real clever and they’re real understanding with what’s going on. They probably have better solutions for current problems.”
Jones also started his own organization that provides self-defense classes for women of color. He said he did so in response to missing and murdered indigenous women.
Although this event is open to students, many non-students and Native family members attend. Alvarado said she enjoys the event because she does not have to travel back home to be with members of her community. The KIVA Club strives to make their events a community hub for indigenous people.
“I always look forward to Native Beats just because it’s a time on campus where our people come here instead of us always having to travel back home,” Alvarado said.
The event also highlighted other indigenous communities around the world as well as undocumented immigrants.
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“We want to talk about immigration and talk about standing with undocumented people and communities,” Alvarado said.
Alvarado said it’s important for her to also acknowledge her privilege when she hosts events with the KIVA Club at UNM.
“A lot of the time we fail to realize in the city that we benefit from the exploitation of (Tewa) people. This border town Albuquerque… is unseated Tewa land,” Alvarado said. “Me as a Diné person, I’m a guest here.”
Justine Lopez is a culture reporter at the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @justine_lopez95.
