Flux Of Pink NDNs

Ottawa’s native DJ collective A Tribe Called Red has issued another surreal A/V remix of group member Bear Witness’s favorite offensive caricatures of native peoples. His videos have a way of  contrasting the high visibility of cartoonish representations of native Americans in pop culture (The Braves, warbonnets-as-fashion-accessories) with the near invisibility of actual Native Americans everywhere else. Sometimes they seem to say: “Oh, that’s not offensive? How about now when I make it screaming pink and sync it to a sick dubstep remix?”

Not all Tribe Called Red videos follow this formula. The somber video for “Woodcarver” is one departure. But this latest is classic Bear Witness. This time the track “NDNs From All Directions” riffs on Super Cat’s “Scalp Dem.” The song, off the dancehall deejay’s 1994 album The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, and The Crazy, contains the refrain “Indians from all directions.” We’ll let the Western-themed context alone for now. Lifted out of context (and set against a ghettotech style beat) the irresistible hook takes on the sound of a rallying cry.

The visuals are a mix of things, including footage from Cliff Richard’s idiot shivers-inducing version of “I’m an Indian Too.” It’s hard to watch in its raw form. Much better when it’s pink and synced to some brand new ATCR ish. Get it:

NDNs From All Directions from Bear Witness on Vimeo.