Mapuche presence in Santiago, and its modes of sounding and listening, is often presented in diametrical opposition to life on their historic territory, Wallmapu, which comprises an extensive stretch of south-central Chile. Without negating the tensions, peculiarities, and intelligibility with which the urban Indigenous experience is perceived, in this presentation I aim to reflect on Mapuche sound and listening practices in Santiago, even as they continue Indigenous modes of being, knowing, and doing. At least three concepts are typically used to refer to the urban Mapuche reality: mapurbe (a neologism that unites the terms mapu and urban), champurria (referring to that which is mixed), and wariache (person of the city). With diverse nuances, the three concepts are used to refer to, analyze, or explain the experience of Mapuche migration to Santiago, and of their descendants who continue to live there. My intention is not to argue for the analytic advantages of these categories. The various preferences for one or another term, and the diverse proposals for their definition, are evidence of debates that connect to contemporary discussions about indigeneity in Latin America, in particular, and in the Americas, in general, and with ethnomusicological attempts to explain the relevance of sound and listening in these processes. Through ethnography and the collaborations that I have developed during the past two years with the musicians Ketrafe, Daniela Millaleo, and Vñvm, I prefer to, instead of listening and reflecting about differences and interruptions, attend to diverse registers and continuities within Mapuche indigeneity.

This working paper explores the influence of the radio program, Radio Free Alcatraz during the 1969 occupation of Alcatraz by the Indians of All Tribes and its contribution to broader Indigenous activism. I present my preliminary findings of the thirty-nine episodes of Radio Free Alcatraz. All of the recordings were transcribed and then coded through NVivo. Additionally, interviews with Indigenous activists and radio DJs were conducted to triangulate themes from the radio archive. Radio recordings from the occupation and interviews help showcase what the occupation sounded like and how it was mediated through the radio, mapping out the connections radio host John Trudell made as he transmitted across settler colonial borders. This working paper explores three preliminary themes 1) education and the importance of centering Indigenous ways of knowing for youth, 2) the importance of Indigenous culture and music, and 3) transnational Indigenous coalition building. Preliminary analysis of the radio recordings and interviews suggests that radio played and still plays a vital role in facilitating connections, sustaining Indigenous culture and music, discussing broader Indigenous issues, and countering false narratives. Through conducting content analysis of archival material and interviews, I examine the reverberations and influences of the occupation on Indigenous technology, music, and self-determination today.

Indigenous music traditions have been frequently conveyed and represented through essentialized and static tropes. Performers within these traditions are most often showcased don in regalia and costumes that serve as markers of their ethnicity and 'indigenousness.' While certain representations echo historical perspectives, they overlook the foundational reality that the cultures and traditions of a community are dynamic, adaptable, and susceptible to change. This study investigates the way musicians from the Kenyan Coast leverage music to articulate their indigeneity within the complex intersections of a postcolonial and globalized world. This paper focuses on the musician Patoi Katoi, famously known as Katoi wa Tabaka. It explores ways in which Katoi wa Tabaka uses musical material (genres, instruments, sound system, and body movement) as an instrument/technology to articulate the identity, values, customs, and traditions of the Mijikenda. Katoi wa Tabaka’s music entails dense structures articulated within a fusion of genres. The density of his music is encoded in musical genres such as mchechemeko trap and mbumbumbu rap ooze with meaning from the fusion of musical material to the corporeal aspects embedded within the genres, and to sociohistorical contexts. This paper attempts to unpack the dense layers and provide an alternative description of the ‘indigenous’ that showcases the ‘traditional nature of being contemporary’ as articulated by Perea (2021).