Hello, this is Jenny your guest blog author for the Front Lines Tour. I met up with the tour in Phoenix, and I'll be flying out of LA in a few days. All I can say is that being on the road makes crazy people even crazier (let Cuttz out of the bus and he will run 100 miles per hour up a vertical cliff), but that it's been all in all, mad fun. Beautiful sights, good people, and just a little too much road food (when I get home no one will cut me off from gas station pickles!) I hope I can be as witty and entertaining as your master blogger Latin – here goes.
We pulled in to the Dooda Desert Rock Camp around 5 pm on Saturday, after driving 10 miles down a dirt road in the middle of the New Mexico desert. Latin got the fun of driving down the bumpy-ass road that we thought would never end and throwing all of us all over the bus. When we got there we were too nervous to pull the bus down this steep hill to the parking area so we left it perched on the top of a hill before a beautiful backdrop of colorful cliffs, making for an amazing bus picture (see the pictures!).
Honestly, when we looked out I was a little concerned - even though it was supposed to be a big music festival, there were only about 10 cars. But in the next 24 hours we would learn so much from many amazing people, while telling our own stories and fulfilling the true mission of the Front Lines Tour.
When we first walked up Elouise Brown, the President of Dooda Desert Rock, was speaking on stage. Dooda Desert Rock was formed to stop a proposed coal power plant that would wreak environmental havoc on Navajo lands. "Dooda," pronounced "dough-da," means "no" in Navajo. The group is truly grassroots; although held together by a few local residents of the Navajo Nation, they have made great strides in the last 2 years and have so far held off the building of the power plant. The supporters say it will bring jobs to the Navajos, but according to the old ranchers at the site, they don't want those jobs- they just want to work on the land. Their struggle is such an important one, because there is so much money (3.2 billion dollars) and power (the Navajo Nation President supports the power plant) literally fighting them. Helicopters fly over their camp when they have events, and if they leave for a few days their property gets vandalized. Despite all of the resistance, Elouise and her family and supporters refuse to give up. During one of her inspirational speeches, she talked about sacrifice for the cause, and the need to keep pushing no matter what. "Sometimes I think I am crazy for continuing this fight," she said. "And then I realize I am crazy, but it is a good kind of crazy."
The ReadNex performed both days of the festival. The first day's set was a full and energetic one, with the crew performing "Youth," "COCA," Ready for War," and a full set by DJ H20. There was a man who was recording the whole event with super amazing professional equipment (the footage is so beautiful it looks like there is a fake background! Look for it soon.) The second day they performed some acapella poems and then Decora and Cuttz started off a freestyle session that lasted about 30 minutes. They were joined by Luv from LA and I think it was the funnest freestylin they've ever done. They had the crowd cracking up and in awe by the time they were done.
The other artists ranged from traditional Native music to contemporary hip hop and poetry. The bus from the Longest Walk got in the second day, and they all told their stories on stage. It was amazing to make the connection between the hip hop storytelling culture, based on the African griots, and the Native American tradition of storytelling. All there was to do there, really, was talk and listen, share and receive gifts.
During the hot sunny day Decora, Graham and I wandered off and found a clay mud pit, and let our inhibitions go until we walked back to camp covered head to toe in silty clay mud. At nighttime you could have found Cuttz and Graham exploring the surface of Mars, and the rest of the crew chillin in the bus watching Family Guy.
Despite the conditions that come along with being in the desert, like the lack of showers, excessive heat, and cactus needles that always seem to find your feet, I think it was a truly inspiring stop on the tour.
Before I left I asked Elouise for some fliers, so I could read more and maybe spread information about their struggle when I get home. To my surprise, they didn't have any. I guess I know for sure how I am supposed to share their story.
Check out Dooda Desert Rock and please support in any way you can!
-Jenny
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