A Tribe Called Red Remembers Murdered Native in "Woodcarver"

A Tribe Called Red, the Ottawa native collective and coiners of “powwow step,” dropped another surprise on the Internet last night. In their inventive tradition of using dubstep as a political vehicle, they highlighted a 2010 killing that shook the native community to the core.

The track “Woodcarver” is a tribute to John T. Williams, a First Nations totem wood carver who was shot by an officer in Seattle last year. The shooting was ruled as totally unjustified overkill.

John T. Williams may have been a lost, sad chapter in history, but A Tribe Called Red has a way of making you remember their messages forever…and giving you serious chills in the meantime.

The track has the bubbling dubstep bass, native calls and clicks, and sampled news clips from the incident — including the time officer Ian Birk (pictured) claimed that Williams threatened him with a knife.

The video took actual surveillance footage from the time of the shooting, and other crossfaded footage of a native man running in the sunset.

Watch “Woodcarver” and get ready for goosebumps.

woodcarver from Bear Witness on Vimeo.

Screen grab from Vimeo