There I was making 120 bucks a week at the Whisky as a musician. … I’ve always liked fringe jackets. I went out and bought one right away with some pants and a turtleneck shirt. Oh yeah, I thought I was heavy. I wore them on some TV shows and whenever we worked. Then I went to this place on Santa Monica Boulevard near La Cienega. I saw this great Comanche war shirt, the best jacket I’ve ever seen. I had two more made. The group was Western, the name Buffalo Springfield came off a tractor, so it all fit. I was the Indian. That’s when it was cool to be an Indian.
Authors John Einarson and Richie Furay add that the music press really dug the idea: “Many people believed Neil was, in fact, an Indian because magazines like Teen Screen and TeenSet constantly referred to him as ‘Neil the Indian.’”
With so much talk of cultural appropriation and misappropriation—see Paul Frank Industries’ “Dream Catchin’” party (and surprise happy ending)—we’re curious to know whether any Natives feel Young, who was born in Canada and has no known Native heritage, ever crosses the line with his enthusiasm for American Indian culture. This one is a little trickier than a pair of “Navajo” panties from Urban Outfitters because, speaking very broadly, a lot of Indians really like Neil Young’s music. Musician Bill Miller, Mohican from the Stockbridge-Munsee Community in Wisconsin, for instance, included two Neil Young tunes in his list of 10 Essential Songs for Native Musicians.
Sorting out what uses of American Indian culture are respectful and what ones aren’t is a personal decision—perhaps Neil Young’s Native fetish is uncontroversial because everyone feels it’s done in a completely respectful way. Or does he get a pass because, well, he’s Neil Young?
I don't know much about Neil Young or his music, so I can't answer the question. But I can suggest some questions that would help determine the answer.
If the answers to these questions favor Indians, we can surmise Young is the genuine article: an honest Native enthusiast. If the answers don't favor Indians, we can surmise he's a wannabe. That's how you determine these things, in general.
For more on celebrity identity issues, see Justin Bieber Thinks He's Native and Gary Busey the Adopted Sioux and
Below: "An undated publicity photo of Buffalo Springfield with 'Neil the Indian' at upper right."
As a lifelong fan of Neil Young and growing up to "Harvest" in the 1970s, I always knew that Neil Young was not native. I have heard some say he was Canadian Sioux, but that never convinced me. Neil Youngs earlier music with his band Crazy Horse in particular makes natives references in "Cortez the Killer" and "Pocahantas". In Pocahantas (1975), his lyrics paint modern scenarios with traditional settings.
ReplyDeleteAurora borealis
The icy sky at night
Paddles cut the water
In a long and hurried flight
From the white man
To the fields of green
And the homeland
We've never seen.
They killed us in our tepee
And they cut our women down
They might have left some babies
Cryin' on the ground
But the firesticks
And the wagons come
And the night falls
On the setting sun.
They massacred the buffalo
Kitty corner from the bank
The taxis run across my feet
And my eyes have turned to blanks
In my little box
At the top of the stairs
With my Indian rug
And a pipe to share.
I wish a was a trapper
I would give thousand pelts
To sleep with Pocahontas
And find out how she felt
In the mornin'
On the fields of green
In the homeland
We've never seen.
And maybe Marlon Brando
Will be there by the fire
We'll sit and talk of Hollywood
And the good things there for hire
And the Astrodome
And the first tepee
Marlon Brando, Pocahontas and me
Marlon Brando, Pocahontas and me
Pocahontas.
Whether this song is exploitive or pro-indigenous depends on whom you talk to, but Americans in general and media powers consistently claim the rights to redefine what is and who are native and who are and what is not.
Jesse Edwin Davis, a full blooded Kiowa from Oklahoma worked with some of the biggest people in music from the Beatles, Eric Clapton, BB King, Neil Diamond, Taj Mahal, and Bob Dylan, but he never got, not gets, any credits from mainstream media, period.
Why does artists like Neil Young get publicity just for wearing a leather fringed jacket? Are Americans that shallow and dumb about what defines Indians? If anything, Neil Young is the rock and roll version of Iron Eyes Cody.
I'm a long term Neil Young fan myself, and was surprised to read about his wannabe-ism.
ReplyDeleteYes, Pocahontas was the first song of his that came to mind for this subject also.
The narrator of Pocahontas may be a modern Indian, but I'd say the song falls squarely into the "lamenting the past" category.
ReplyDeleteConsider: This narrator has nothing but memories. He dreams of a homeland he's never seen. His eyes are blanks and he sits in a little box. It sounds pathetic and nothing like the Indians I know.
Don't forget about Jim Jarmuschs film "Dead Man" with Gary Farmer and Johnny Dapp, Neil Youmg did the soundtrack and Farmer got no praise from anyone!
ReplyDeleteStick with comic books Rob and leave music and lyrics to Neil Young!
ReplyDeleteI'm not writing lyrics, Anonymous, I'm analyzing them. That's a different skill entirely--one I'm better at than most people, including Neil Young.
ReplyDeleteAnon: Yes, apparently Rob is doing as you have requested. I've never seen him present examples of his own music or lyrics here.
ReplyDeleteWell pat yourself on the back again Rob, your the token analyst!
ReplyDeleteNeil Young is respectful to current Native people and Native concerns. His newest 2016 song is in support of Standing Rock. In this song he sings "Our Brothers and Sisters are protesting against us,what we've done". He respects the identities of Native people, and refers to himself as the white culture. He traveled with San Carlos Apache Stronghold as his opening act, one example of consistent financial and social support of Native people and Native concerns. Anyone out there listening to music and current events can see he's an ally to current Native people, in word and action, not claiming to be Native. Let others say he may have Native heritage (I think he does but he may not) but he himself has never said that and speaks as a white man in his lyrics, that's why Native people appreciate his support to their current issues and people.
ReplyDeleteNeil Young, Native enthusiast or not, is loved by many Americans because of his music. Thanks, Neil
ReplyDeleteIf he had any knowledge at all he would know Indians are from India. There are Sioux, Pima, Kiowa and many tribes indigenous to what is now North America. None of them are Indian. Stick to the music, Neil Young. It’s OK to be White.
ReplyDelete