Nahko and Medicine for the People

Also known as Nahko Bear, Nahko (Nahkohe Parayno) is a sixth generation Apache/Mohawk with a Puerto Rican/Indian mother and a Filipino father, who grew up with the family that adopted him in an Oregon suburb. He suffered some early childhood identity problems until he began to ground himself in music. Taking up the piano at age six, he gave piano lessons and directed musical productions for local schools in his teens. His talents landed him a seasonal production position in Denali, Alaska, and there, with the wilderness around him, he began to put all the musical, cultural, an...