More merging cultures

Late into the night after Christmas, reminiscences sweeping over me like the gentle waves of the Patuxent, turned on PBS. I had enjoyed an extended nap on my new bed in the late afternoon, so not really sleepy. A time warp back to the 60’s when I stayed up late doing my night school homework, after the family was asleep. I haven’t changed much. Still a night owl.

Anyway (an old Ruark quote), Looking at late night PBS TV turned into a serendipitous moment. In my novel, “The Saints Lost Their Way”, I found a time and a place and a reason for numerous cultures to meet and merge into a strong relationship. PBS was airing a documentary on their ‘Independent Lens’ series, entitled, “Rumble: The Indians who rocked the world”.

You know the back story. Generations of arrogant racist Europeans continued to invade the Americas, attempting to annihilate the indigenous people. Needing a work force in order to profit from the stolen land, they began to import and enslave African captives.

Over the years, Americans, white, black and native, found each other, and the smart ones accepted the others and learned the values that each brought to the relationship. Over generations a population emerged that had an exotic genetic cocktail of genes. Society and Hollywood attached many labels to the progeny of this culture.  ‘Creole, Mulatto, Quadroon, Octoroon, Half-Breed. Squaw-man’, and many other derogatory terms.

But the documentary gave evidence to the amazing amalgam of the arts; music, wardrobe, dance, décor. Fred Lincoln Wray, known as ‘Link” on stage, was classified as 45^th in ‘Rolling Stone’s’ list of top 100 rock guitarists. Link is a Shawnee. He invented new methods for rock guitarists. Jimi Hendrix coming on stage at Woodstock wearing a fringed shirt as a symbol of his Cherokee heritage and playing the national anthem on guitar. A rendition that was both angry and mesmerizing.  And drummer, Randy Castillo who played with Motley Crew, Ozzie Osborne and many other rockers. His father had a tribal and Hispanic heritage, but he died when Randy was young, and he never learned the details of his native tribal history.

Over all, as a writer who found a long list of similarities between the Irish and the Choctaw nation, and a musician, I felt a deep connection to this production.

“Rumble: The Indians who rocked the world”, The trailer and the entire show is available on YouTube. Check it out