• THE BADLANDS | Strength in kindness

    May 25, 2018 - By 

    I wish I could say I was pleasantly surprised by the conditions on Pine Ridge Reservation, but unfortunately they lived up to every troubling story I had heard. My heritage is Native, and it’s always pained me to know that the American Indian population is amongst the most impoverished and oppressed in the country. I knew I wanted to help, but until recently I just wasn’t sure what I could offer. Having spent the last seven years teaching music enrichment clinics, I’ve begun to more fully understand music’s ability to access and empower students, particularly those who are struggling in…

  • The Badlands | Solo Travel and Self-Trust

    May 13, 2018 - By 

    I was nervous for this trip. It occurred to me as I was boarding my first flight to South Dakota that I’ve very rarely taken trips alone. I travel by myself often, but it’s almost always to a gig with a bandmate waiting at the other end. This trip out west was my first solo venture funded by my new nonprofit (which I’ll talk more about in the coming posts.) The plan was to perform and teach the students of Pine Ridge Reservation; an area rich with culture that faces devastating hardship. This solo adventure was a new feeling, but…