Savage Family Values: Healing with Hip Hop

From NativeVue's Incomparable. ..

Their performances are not just music and Hip Hop though they can really jam. They are there for those who’ve lost their way—those kids at risk of losing their way and who need hope and reinforcement to keep on the Red Road. Through the arts, this multi talented family of artists, singers and entertainers has introduced kids into the world of the multimedia. Their hands on approach won over the hearts of even the hardest of neglected youth. They are an enigma within the entertainment world fore they are not about themselves; they are about traditions, growth and the future of our youth and our culture. The Savage Family is a virtual light in this darkened ambivalent world of indifference.

“WE ARE THE PEOPLE. THE UNWANTED, THE IGNORED, THE MARGINALIZED AND FORGOTTEN. WE DO NOT ASSUME THAT ONE IS ANY BETTER THAN ANOTHER AND HAVE COME TO THE REALIZATION THAT AS LONG AS OUR COMMUNITIES ARE UNHEALTHY WE CANNOT CONSIDER OURSELVES TO BE HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS REGARDLESS OF WHAT WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO ACHIEVE OR ACCOMPLISH. UNTIL ALL ARE FREE WE ARE ALL IMPRISONED AND WE HAVE COMMITTED OURSELVES TO LEAVE NO ONE BEHIND IN OUR STRUGGLE FOR TRUTH AND RECOGNITION OF OUR PURPOSE TO EXIST AS PEOPLE AND SPIRIT” ………The Savage Family

Where were they when I was growing up in this world filled with hatred and negativity? I know they would have offered me a step in the right direction when I was faced with the many negative options in life like racism, hatred and indifference. These challenges actually have not changed much since I was a kid; t has gone underground for the most part. To view the faces of kids they have performed to and see all those smiling joyous children of all ages just brought tears to my eyes. I reflected in the absolute hardships I faced when growing up. I remember the hopelessness of my plight since there was no one to talk to, no one to look up to and no one who cared. Proof of their commitment is obvious by the smiling children in their videos and photos.

Many of you don’t know how it is to grow up on the streets alone with no direction. The loneliness, confusion and emptiness a child feels when there is no one to turn to or confide in. It is still hard to describe the emptiness I felt as a kid living on the streets with no role models and always wondering if I was going to be killed by the people around me. I also know how easy it was to get involved in crime and bad behavior because at some point in time nothing mattered anymore. If only there were people like the Savage Family that could have given me a positive role model, a champion who would have lifted me out of the darkness of street life. Maybe I would not have had such a dark past and lived on the edge of sanity in the grey areas of society.

The Savage Family are the faceless few who are making a difference in the lives of many, one reservation at a time. To me, they are the light at the end of the tunnel and hope for the lost and forgotten youth society has thrown away. Go and see and listen for yourself. Take a gander at what can happen if someone lends a helping hand. Look at all those happy smiling children who found the feeling of belonging, hope and Native Pride. They are well worth our support for they are warriors fighting the war of ambivalence. Their weapon of choice is music and the arts in a rich blend of traditions and contemporary jams.

And one more thing. The Savage Family’s music is bad to the bone as well. It just doesn’t get any better than that.

Buffalohair

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And now, the music…

"The Savage Family" MP3 Selections