Des Melton (they/she), a 35 year old woman from Phoenix AZ and a member of the Tohono O’odham tribe shares her thoughts about the connection between indigenous cultures and music festivals.
A bit about the Tohono O’odhams:
Tohono O’odham: means the desert people
Tribe size: 28,000 across the globe with ~16,000 living on tribal lands across southwestern Arizona
Diet: The Tohono’s raised tepary beans, squash, melon, and sugar cane. They gathered wild plants such as saguaro fruit, cholla buds, and mesquite bean pods. They hunted for only the meat that they needed, including deer, rabbit, and javelina.
An Insightful Interview
Jack’s question: How has your ancestry and cultural ties to your tribe shaped your view of the music festival world?
Des’s response: It has excited me. I love the idea of music– music festivals. The thing that brings me sadness is the lack of acknowledgment. The lack of acknowledgement that there were people here before that held similar traditions that involved music, and dancing, and food, and vending, and you just don’t see it [acknowledgement]. It’s not something that is prominent. Indigenous cultures are not recognized. And that’s the only thing that brings me sadness because, at the end of the day, all the people who are drawn to these spaces to celebrate, they all have ancestry that connects them to the earth in the same ways. They had songs, and dance, and music, and vending, and community, and connecting.
So I’ve been new to this experience, but in the three California festivals I have been to, not once did I come across, or see acknowledgment of, the indigenous peoples that used that area in a historical sense. People from all over the world come to attend a music festival, but they don’t know the historical context of that land. They don’t understand that land had always been a place where people had gathered. We are together. We are different people from different places communing to dance, and sing, even the use of drugs– that’s all very traditional. It’s connected to traditions across the world.
Jack’s Question: How do you see the festival space improving upon its acknowledgment of, and involvement with, the indigenous tribes that have been, and still are, the caretakers and the peoples of the land?
Des’s response: At this point in our history, we are all responsible for the land that we dwell on because we have all stepped over the same land and the same imaginary lines. I think by even just setting up a booth or an area that would support land stewardship for indigenous communities, or even directly supporting indigenous communities, and making it a point to invite indigenous vendors and artists and include traditional and modern Indigenous performers.
When I was in Texas in early April for the Texas Eclipse festival, I saw that they put on their website that they do not want any one dressing in traditional headdresses or other regalia, and to me that was incredibly important because it set the tone for the type of respect that other people should show to those traditional dressings and regalia. And also, they incorporated, as part of their festival, indigenous ceremonies led by indigenous people, and I think that if more festivals, especially these longer camping festivals, were to incorporate things like that it would help bring the indigenous community and the rest of the [music festival] community together.
Jack’s Question: What positive benefits do you see that could result from the merging of these two worlds at a festival?
Des’s response: The information. It is people recognizing and realizing the historical context. By spreading information, I believe that it can create more respect for the lands and for the peoples who had stewarded those lands. And even encourage others to steward as opposed to what we’ve been doing, which is more kin to destroying in my opinion.
I believe that when all of us, every human, recognizes, and understands, and respects differences, then we will be able to come together for the things that really matter. Song, and dance, and food, psychedelics or medicine. We can focus on those things while still accepting each other. And I hope that that’s the world that one day, if I end up with children, that I would want them to have and to see. We are all responsible. We all live on one planet, and we only have one.
Closing Convo
Jack: You really have a way with words. It has been such a joy hearing your perspective and your thoughts, and I am really honored that I had the opportunity to speak to you on this really important topic.
Des: I’m thankful for your curiosity because it is not out there, and I think what you’re doing with your clothing swap at festivals is huge. It’s innovative. It’s taking what we have and instead of focusing on destroying we are focusing on creating, on sharing. I love that.
Jack: Thank you.
Des: You’re welcome.
Jack: I’m really excited to keep bringing swaps to festivals. People love and adore it so much, and there is so much clothing out there. We don’t need to keep creating more.
Des: Right! Exactly. Especially when there are so many pieces that can be reassembled and become something totally new right there.
Jack: Yeah! I created a new outfit out of pieces that I got at the clothing swap, and it was fun piecing together these random pieces. Someone even commented on Raveival’s Instagram post my grandmas sequin top. That is just wild. And now here I am wearing it at a festival.
Des: Right! And then making it a statement on top of that.
Jack: Super cool.
Des: I’m here for it.
Jack: I would love to consider this an ongoing conversation on how we can bring more historical knowledge about the land that festivals are now occupying because I agree that this is something that is lacking. I agree that focusing on not what makes us different– but what makes us the same– would really help heal a lot of things in the world. I think the festival-goers are a really open and receptive community to start bringing this dialogue into. I am excited to continue sharing what I learned from you, and what we will learn together, and keep trying to bring positive change.
Des: Yes, absolutely. Jack, you’re doing amazing work, and I am looking forward to seeing where it goes and how I can be a part of it and help with your movement because it is amazing.
Interested in learning more? Check out Des’s blog finding himdag and our blog post Acknowledging Native Land at Music Festivals. To get involved with the Tohono O’odham, Des recommends taking food, herb, and medicine harvesting classes at Tucsons’ Mission Garden and taking one of the numerous crafting and education classes throughout the year at the Tucson Convention Center.
