Indigenous

by Heather Phares
The Native American blues-rock group Indigenous consists of three brothers, Mato Nanji (vocals and guitar), Pte (bass), and Horse (percussion), and their sister, Wanbdi (drums, vocals). The Nakota Nation members grew up on South Dakota's Yankton Indian Reservation and were inspired by their father, Greg Zephier, who had been a musician in the '60s and '70s and later became a spokesperson for Native American rights. The group released their 1998 debut album Things We Do on Pachyderm Records; the video for the title track was directed by Chris Eyre, who also directed the award-winning Native American film Smoke Signals. The group released Blues This Morning EP and Live at Pachyderm Studios in 1999, while winning acclaim from critics and artists like Bonnie Raitt, the Indigo Girls and Jackson Browne. The Circle followed in 2000.