Alt.Native: New podcast, new release and a voice I almost missed

There’s a saying in Indian Country: “When you’ve seen one tribe, you’ve seen … one tribe.”

By: Brian Edwards, Special to Fry Bread

It’s a reminder that Indigenous cultures aren’t monolithic. Neither is Indigenous music. A new podcast, The Indigenous Setlist, celebrates that diversity, introducing listeners to Native artists working across electronic dance music, hip-hop, punk, country, folk and beyond.

Produced by Indigenous House in partnership with Little Bear Audio, the weekly series premiered June 22 with an episode featuring The Halluci Nation. New episodes will be released through Sept. 7 on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Hosted by Indigenous House founder Crystal Echo Hawk (Pawnee), the series explores the creative process, musical influences and personal stories behind some of today’s best-known Indigenous artists. Season one features Maoli, THRONE, LOV, Aysanabee, Natasha Fisher, Shawnee Kish, AJ Harvey, Fawn Wood, Dead Pioneers, Cherokee Social and Raye Zaragoza.

“The story isn’t that Indigenous music is having a moment,” Echo Hawk said. “It’s that the moment is everywhere, and this show is the front-row seat.”

The opening episode, which dropped June 22, spotlights The Halluci Nation, whose members represent the Six Nations of the Grand River (Mohawk) and Cayuga Nations. The electronic duo became the first independent Indigenous artists from North America to surpass 100 million streams on Spotify.

Produced with Quiet Star Collective and producer Helen Gover (Diné, Pawnee and Choctaw), the series offers listeners an opportunity to discover new artists while hearing firsthand how Indigenous musicians are shaping today’s musical landscape on their own terms.

New Release: Dead Pioneers — Wagon Burner

Dead Pioneers’ third album, Wagon Burner, arrives today (June 26), and it’s the sound of a band stretching well beyond its punk roots. The previously released singles “Nazi Teeth,” “No Kings” and “Never Alone” hinted at a heavier, more expansive record, but the full album goes further, blending spoken word, post-punk, hardcore and even moments of atmospheric rock.

Fresh off a tour with Pearl Jam, Gregg Deal and company aren’t interested in making the same record twice. Guitarist Josh Rivera recently told Guitar World the band “got heavier and dirtier on this record than we ever have before,” while also exploring more atmosphere. If the early singles grabbed your attention, the full record delivers on that promise.

WHAT I JUST HEARD: Hasaatuk

In late May, I was wandering through the ever-expanding Indigenous Coffeehouse playlist on Spotify when “Miklaana” came on. It was the only Hasaatuk song on the platform, so I went looking and found her newly released self-titled debut on a streamer called Audiomack. By the third song, I wasn’t looking ahead at the next track.

Hasaatuk, whose name means “loud and vibrant voice” in Nuu-chah-nulth, is from the Ahousaht Nation on the west coast of Vancouver Island. I hear Florence Welch’s power, Larkin Poe’s blues grit and, every now and then, the emotional intensity of Sinéad O’Connor. Then the record settles into something that’s unmistakably its own.

The songs carry history without feeling like history lessons. “Miklaana” (“War Cry”) grew out of a gathering for families of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, becoming a call for Indigenous women to find the warrior within. “Kingfisher” revisits an Ahousaht story of resistance after Native women were assaulted by an American trading ship in the late 1800s.

Then I learned a little more about how the album came together. Her father co-wrote many of the songs, her mother directed the videos, and the cover art—a baby cradled in a sea urchin shell—was painted by her sister. Once I knew that, the record made even more sense. It doesn’t just sound rooted in family—it was built that way.

In Heavy Rotation

“Call U Back” — Chloe Star

Chloe Star’s been on a tear, dropping a song a month in 2026, and this April release keeps popping up for me (not even algorithm-driven — I’ve got it in a couple different playlists). It’s polished alt.pop and the video is hilarious — don’t miss the antagonist falling upward or the dancing cops. Star’s a queer artist with Indigenous and Persian ancestry, a hundred-plus tattoos and a knack for putting out bangers. Star has a knack for writing songs that feel equally at home on Indigenous playlists and commercial radio.

“Whistle at Night” — Keith Sweat Lodge

Keith Sweat Lodge is the tongue-in-cheek alter ego of acclaimed Apsáalooke hip-hop artist Supaman (Christian Parrish Takes the Gun), but there’s nothing gimmicky about this track. Built around smooth R&B vocals, smart songwriting and an unexpected flute solo, “Whistle at Night” is soulful enough to prove the joke’s on anyone who expected a novelty song.

“Soul Powered” — Curtis Clear Sky & The Constellationz

This one feels less like a studio track and more like a live band having a really good night. Curtis Clear Sky (Nitsitapi and Anishinaabe) layers conscious hip-hop over guitars, crisp female backing vocals, horns and a rhythm section that never lets up. The lyrics celebrate language, land and Indigenous joy. It’s impossible to sit still through this one.

“It’s All Good” — Berk Jodoin

Saskatchewan Métis singer-songwriter Berk Jodoin delivers an easygoing roots tune that swings from the first note. His rich baritone, backed by harmonica, a walking bassline and even a mouth harp, evokes the laid-back storytelling style of artists like Junior Brown and the lo-fi country of David Berman and his band, Silver Jews. 

The Alt.Native column isn’t about a genre. It’s about Indigenous people making great music — whatever that music happens to sound like. If there’s someone I should be listening to, send me a note at bedwards@indiancountrymedia.com.