"I'm Not a Rapper, I'm an Activist Who Rhymes": Native American Hip Hop, Activism, and Twenty-First Century Identities
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Date
2016-10-27
Authors
England, Megan
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Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
In this thesis, I examine the ways in which a growing number of Indigenous artists in the United States and Canada are using hip hop not only as a form of artistic expression, but also to vent frustration about and to draw attention to contemporary issues affecting their communities. These artists participate in a tradition of politically conscious performance that has influenced and been influenced by Indigenous social movements across North America. Indigenous hip hop serves to affirm and redefine twenty-first century Indigenous identities, disrupting and reinterpreting stereotypical representations of Native Americans in a process which I describe as an “authenticity loop.” By utilizing artistic choices and strategic representations of indigeneity, the artists I examine have firmly established that they along with their communities are not remnants of the past, even as they maintain a continuity between previous generations and the present day.
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Keywords
Hip hop, Popular culture, Social protest