The Tulalip tribes of the Pacific Northwest were the successors in interest to the Snohomish, Skokomish, Snoqualmie and other tribes and bands who signed the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliot. It was the lands settlement treaty between the Native American tribes of the Puget Sound region and the United States government. It guaranteed both fishing rights, and reservations for some, but not all of the tribes and peoples.
The rights given up by these indigenous people were rarely surrendered voluntarily. With the aid of the U.S. military and local militias these were usually rendered by coercion. Rarely were treaties construed as the giving of rights to the American Indians. Instead they were established as the granting of rights to the white European-American settlers. And we all know how well that worked out for the different parties involved.
Standing in solidarity with his brothers and 
sisters from other tribes who are protesting at Standing Rock, ND, hip-hop artist Komplex Kai, who carries the blood of the Tulalip tribe in his veins, has released a new record in support of their shared cause. “Do Right” is a collection of seven songs in which he shares his thoughts and concerns about those defending the Standing Rock Indian Reservation water rights and sacred grounds as well as his experiences of growing from boy to man on a reservation.
Raised as an Indigenous person on a Washington state reservation without the constant presence of his father made growing up tough for him. Not all the choices he made as a young boy were the best ones, and as is often repeated, boys will be boys. Along the rough road of life Kai was introduced to music and he chose to hone his skills as an emcee by engaging in rap battles with his friends.
The protest against the Energy Transfer Partners’ Dakota Access Pipeline and the potential harm it will only compound the hardships of reservation life that Native Americans must endure. Single moms, incarcerated fathers, alcoholism and heroin abuse are a common occurrence where, for many of the inhabitants, each day is a fight for survival. That’s what it’s all about. So, welcome to the world that Komplex Kai and others of his lineage live in. The music on “Do Right” is not always pretty, but for many, many Native Americans, it always very, very real.
