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Life & Work with Pretendians Band

Today we’d like to introduce you to Pretendians Band.

Hello Pretendians Band, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Our band is called Pretendians Band. We are a 4-piece Native American rock band based out of Northeast Minneapolis. Despite the name of our band, we are not pretending a thing. The majority of the band represents the Oceti Ŝakowiŋ (7 Council Fires) of the Dakhota/Lakhota Nation, hailing from Standing Rock, Rosebud, and Crow Creek tribes. Most of our songs have a societal and political viewpoint, told from a modern Indigenous perspective, touching on topics about racial profiling to the Native homeless crisis in South Minneapolis, and a song about our ancestors, The Dakota 38, among many other Native-centric topics.

Pretendians Band was formed in 2014. You could say that we found each other by accident. It was simply happenstance that we met. Neither of us had intentions of forming a band with one another, let alone a Native American rock band; it simply happened. We happened to be at the same place at the same time. That place happened to be a rehearsal studio in Northeast Minneapolis.

After casually jamming together, over the course of several months, we decided to see what would happen if we played music together on a regular, recurring basis and if we played a show or two together.

Our first performance as a new band was a Saturday afternoon gig at Art-A-Whirl in the parking lot of the California Building just down the street from where we rehearse in Northeast Minneapolis. We were well received. After the first show, we ended up combining rehearsal spaces from two separate rooms, down to one. It was a done deal.

What makes our group interesting is the different musical styles and influences we each have. We all came from musical interests from different genres. It’s through those different musical influences, we’ve been able to create a sound that is representative of all of us, as a cohesive group. We have a lens that we speak through that is unique and it comes from a generational need to speak our truth.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The challenges that we face are unique to being a Native American band.

One of those challenges is our name: Pretendians Band. The word “pretendian” is considered an offensive word in Indigenous culture. People who are considered “pretendian” are usually Caucasian folks, who appropriate Native culture by wearing headdresses, carrying tomahawks, infringing upon, and abusing our Native spiritual beliefs, and falsely claiming to be of Native descent when they are not. We’ve all heard someone claim that “My great, great, great, Grandmother was a Cherokee Princess…”. First of all, there is no such thing as a “Cherokee Princess”. And yeah. It’s as ignorant and as old as it gets.

The word “pretendian”, itself, sometimes brings up a lot of issues for Native people. It’s offensive to hear about non-Native people trying to step into and try to represent us when they have no business being in that space, to begin with.

So then, why did a group of Native musicians name their band ‘Pretendians Band’, if we knew it was going to raise some hairs?

Initially, it was an inside joke. It made us laugh. Then, after we had many a heated conversation about it amongst ourselves, we thought about why on a serious, deeper level: It’s a conversation starter.

There is a lot of misunderstanding about how you express yourself as an indigenous person. What or who is considered a pretendian? How do we judge who is or who is not a pretendian? Do we base those judgments on our preconceived notions of white colonists? Or of our own people?

We’re here because we are not pretending anything. We are living our truth as Indigenous people based on our life experiences and by telling our own stories, some of which may not fit into the common ignorant narrative put forth by people who may not want the truth; those same people who tried to exterminate us.

As a band, we are making a stand against those things: Against the appropriation of our culture, our history, of our image. Our lyrics speak to that, and it becomes clear that we are attacking non-genuine images of our culture. It’s not acceptable.

After all, is said and done with the controversy about our name, we have been well-received within our Native community. We absolutely adore our Native audience. We are asked to play at many Native-based shows in Minnesota and beyond. In August of 2022, we were asked to perform at a Native American music festival called Tribalpalooza in Yakima, Washington. Our music is played regularly on Native radio programs locally and across the country. Our music has been nominated for the Native American Music Awards, referred to as ‘The Nammy’s’, three times. Our music is currently part of several Spotify playlists dedicated to modern Indigenous music. We were even featured in a local TPT television short called ‘Art Is’.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Our music could be described as dynamic, rock-fueled music. The songs in our set range from fast-tempo punk songs to funk-inspired rock, folk-influenced music, and even a rock ballad or two.

Our current CD release is self-titled and was released in 2018. This coming Spring 2023 we will be heading to Sparta Sound to record our long-awaited 2nd album.

You can find Pretendians Band’s music on social media, Spotify, Bandcamp, and YouTube.

Also, on February 22nd, 2023, we are playing a show at Mortimer’s in South Minneapolis.

Who else deserves credit for your story?
Pretendians Band is:

• Thomas Draskovic – Vocals/Guitar
• Al Grande – Guitar
• Jilleo Candyhands – Bass
• Christine Bartyzal – Drums

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Courtney Conk, CC Photo Arts

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