Reservation Blues - Transcript

When we say "blues" what comes to mind?

More than likely, the Yankton Sioux Indian reservation didn't enter your mind. Meet Mato, Wanbdi, Pte and Horse. To this Lakota Sioux family, the blues is...well -- Indigenous. Indigenous just wrapped up their 5th annual Jam at McCormack's MAC Dome in Omaha. Over 6,000 people attended.

[Terry O'Halleron] "The first time I heard about Indigenous, a buddy told me that he had seen them at Trovato's, a little club in Omaha, and it was so jammed that I couldn't even see the band on stage. I was stuck behind the speakers but the energy in the room was just amazing."

[Rick Galusha] "It was one of those things where you're standing in the audience and you can feel it in the small of your back and it slowly just goes up your backbone. And the higher up it gets, the more thrilling it is so I suppose it's like the microcosm of Beatlemania."

In a day when many bands form and break up without even deciding on a name, Indigenous is one group with staying power.

[Galusha] "There's a strong loyalty within the band among the siblings and uh I think a lot of it comes from the fact that Mato is the eldest brother of that family so they rely heavily on him and he knows it.

[O'Halleron] I'm sure that agencies have tried to pull him away and get into being a guitar player in another band but he wasn't willing to leave the band, that he wanted to keep the band together with all his family members doesn't surprise me at all. There's something about him and the rest of the band that is actually kind of intimidating -- they seem so spiritual and they're cool, real people. "

Perhaps it is this 'holiness' that has boosted Indigenous to the top of the Blues music charts.

Indigenous has already in their career had some tremendously high profile gigs.

Despite their numerous accomplishments, Indigenous continues to be confronted with constant comparisons to blues guitar icon -- Stevie Ray Vaughn.

[Rick Galusha] "If you think that Indigenous is a Stevie Ray Vaughn clone, you're not listening and you're not paying attention. And it's time to open your ears and give it a second listen because they really are going somewhere new and I don't know about you, but I don't think Stevie's gonna make many new albums next year and so if you want to hear where the blues is gonna go, you have to listen to the people that took what Stevie added to the pot and went forward."

Not only has Indigenous gone forward, they've hit the stage, screen, and air waves with authority and despite all of their success Mato, Wanbdi, Pte, and Horse have kept their egos intact and remain the gentle sincere people their parents introduced to blues just a few years ago.

[Chris Duarte] "We just have a great warm time with them. We all feel like family. We're all hugging on each other all the time. We really feel close to each other."

[Davey Brothers] "I think they're the nicest people we've ever met. Indigenous...top people...absolutely brilliant."

[Rick Galusha] "You know, I think there's a direct inverse relationship between talent and ego. I've met local bands that haven't sold 100 albums, that have bigger egos than the guys in Indigenous. They're very nice guys, as Jimmy would say, 'They're very gentle cats.'"

[Terry O'Halleron] "I think Indigenous' career is still on the upswing. I don't think they've peaked yet."