Hidden in the grooves: A new book maps Native music’s overlooked legacy

Ryan Nelson was at home in Minneapolis listening to a London radio station stream when something stopped him in his tracks.

“I hear on the radio — unmistakably — I hear Dakota language,” Nelson recalled. “I rushed over to the computer. I’m like, ‘Who is this?'”

The voice belonged to Justis Brokenrope — a musician, record collector and DJ spinning his regular set on NTS Radio, an internet station. Brokenrope, Sicangu Lakota, was doing what he does: unearthing rare Native recordings and spinning them for digital audiences…

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