Indigenous

The blues-rock outfit Indigenous, whose roots lie in the Native American community, is built around siblings Mato Nanji on vocals and guitar, Pte on bass, Horse on percussion, and Wanbdi on drums and vocals. All four Nakota Nation members spent their formative years on South Dakota’s Yankton Indian Reservation, where their father, Greg Zephier—a veteran of the music scene in the 1960s and 1970s—later championed Native American causes and served as an influential role model. Their first full-length release, the 1998 album Things We Do, appeared on Pachyderm Records; Chris Eyre, the director behind the acclaimed Native American feature Smoke Signals, helmed the clip for the title track. In 1999 the band issued the Blues This Morning EP alongside Live at Pachyderm Studios and drew praise from reviewers as well as fellow artists Bonnie Raitt, the Indigo Girls, and Jackson Browne. The Circle arrived the following year.