Sousa on the Rez: Marching to the Beat of a Different Drum

Music has always been an important part of Native American culture, although this informative documentary focuses on ensembles that have eschewed traditional sounds and images. Instead of folk-oriented material produced with flutes and tom-toms, they play brass band standards. Clips from old movies and animated shorts (such as Betty Boop) show Native American characters playing Western music for humorous effect, but tuba player Steve Lopez of the Fort Mojave Tribal Band—who has been involved with marching bands for 45 years—doesn't see anything unusual about doing what feels natural. Says trombone player Jeremy Printup of the Iroquois Indian Band, "I can't sit still when I listen to John Phillip Sousa." Narrator Richard Ray Whitman notes that Native American involvement in brass bands dates back to the federally-run boarding schools of the late-19th century, which aimed to eradicate indigenous culture. Young women studied piano, a drawing-room instrument, while young men donned military-style garb and learned to play brass instruments, a practice intended to instill discipline. These groups would then go on to perform at presidential inaugurations, the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge, the Chicago Exposition, and other major historical events. The now widely denigrated boarding school scheme failed in many ways; in this particular situation, the participants held on to their traditions and simply added brass-band expertise to their skill set. In fact, they would often perform in headdresses and buckskins, although contemporary groups have toned down their look. Printup's band mate, clarinet player Eva Espinosa, also sees it as a way to connect with non-Natives. When they watch her group play, she says, they can see that "we're not so different after all." Recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)