Q&A: Pete Sands

By Hamidah Glasgow | November 28, 2019

Pete Sands is a Navajo singer-songwriter, musician, filmmaker, and actor. Sands was born and raised on the Navajo-Indian reservation in southern Utah. His current projects include being featured in the television show Yellowstone as an actor and singer-songwriter, a documentary film on missing and murdered indigenous women and girls, and a new album with his band Pete Sands and the Drifters on the way.

Link to Facebook version of The Hurting Song. http://bit.ly/2L28rt3

HG: Your video of The hurting song is hauntingly beautiful. The power of the young women's voices paired with the landscape, dance, and music is both heartbreaking and ethereally beautiful. Please tell me about the inspiration for this song and video?

PS: I had initially envisioned something colorful and scenic. I just happened to come upon two very talented sisters who also coincidentally come from my hometown of Montezuma Creek, UT, which is on the Utah side of the Navajo Nation. So, I had worked with the girls before this project on some songs they were recording for their English album. I could hear their voices on a song I had been thinking of for quite some time. So, I chatted with the Tewakeedah, the older sister, and told her about what I wanted the song to be about. After some lengthy discussions, she wrote a song that I thought embodied the entirety of the film. The theme if you would. Their mother is a Navajo language specialist and instructor, so she helped translate the song into Navajo. Once I heard the song, I could immediately see what I wanted the video to look like. The tough thing about filmmaking is capturing what you see in your mind. So we went out and filmed it around our hometown. The funny thing is when people from the area see the video they are astonished when I tell them where we filmed it. I've always seen the magic in the area I come from, and I am happy that I was able to capture it. The color, the landscape, the angles, it all came together seamlessly.

HG: How did you decide to make a film about MMIWG? What was the catalyst?

PS: It always starts with a dream for me. I had a dream one night that really disturbed me about indigenous females being taken away to a dark place and never return. So I awoke from the dream pretty shaken by it. So I began drawing. I didn't know what I was drawing, but I drew anyway. It was a drawing of a woman smearing red on glass, and from that, my vision was brought to me. So I began taking photographs of the Martin sisters (Tewa and Dach) and trying to capture what I had seen in my dream. It took only a few minutes to capture it. I was pretty excited to get back to my workspace and start putting the photos together. Once I did, I realized what it was I had to do.

My brother Taylor Sheridan was a huge influence on me as well as his wife, Nicole Sheridan. They encouraged me to go after what I wanted to do and to keep doubts at bay. I did so much reading and research into this subject that it began to depress me. The darkness was slowly creeping in, and then when I realized that when you are dealing with such a dark subject matter, one has to step away from time to time to keep it from overtaking you.

HG: The song is theirs then, and the film/video is yours? How long will the film/video be when it is finished, or is it finished now?

PS: Well, when you work with someone, what they contribute must be acknowledged and respected. She wrote it for the film, and I am forever indebted to her for writing such a great song. The film should be completed by the summer of next year (2020).

HG: It occurs to me that these two issues are related in the way that dominant American society has a murderous history with indigenous peoples and a dismal relationship with women in general and with indigenous women in particular. Can you talk to me about this relationship and how you understand this relationship?

PS: American history is one that is distorted, and I don't think it'll ever be crystal clear. Nevertheless, there are certain issues and people that should not be overlooked. Indigenous people have always been the outsiders to our own country. But we can't use that as a crutch to keep ourselves down. Women have had to fight hard for their rights in this country, so for an indigenous woman to expect such things is tantamount to pushing a boulder uphill. So when an indigenous woman pushes that boulder to the top, she's stronger than anyone could imagine. Sadly, most Indian reservations are often compared to third world countries. When American's boast that the US is the richest country in the world, why don't Indian reservations reflect that statement?

Most indigenous cultures are matriarchal society's so one would reasonably expect that women would be safe and respected on Indian reservations. Sadly, this is not the case. Indigenous women as a group have the highest rates of murder, abuse, addictions, sexual assault, and other crimes. People much smarter and wiser than myself have worked to find answers to this problem, yet a solution eludes us. Why don't we look out for one another? Why don't indigenous men protect and care for their indigenous women? Why are indigenous women not safe on the land of our ancestors? So many questions and minimal answers. Or maybe we have the answers, and it's just so simple that our minds can't comprehend this. We, as a society, can send people to the moon, discover things so far away, dive deep into the ocean, but we can't seem to learn how to help one another. Make sure our neighbor has enough to eat and has a place to sleep without expecting anything in return.

HG: Yes, I think about why people are so unkind to each other a lot. It is complex and, I believe, ultimately unanswerable. I know that you bring wood and supplies to people that need them, especially elders. Doing for others without any expectations is essential.

I guess we do what we can to make the world a better place. In an interview I found online, you talk about being inspired by Johnny Cash, his down to earth qualities, and his music. You also talked about many other influences, who is inspiring you now?

PS: I find inspiration all around. There is so much going on around us how can we not be inspired? People are creating amazing things with the technology available there are countless possibilities for what one can do. I have to visualize things before I can even attempt to make it come to life. I guess in that sense; there are limits to what I can do. If I can't see it, then I can't do it. Knowing your limitations is critical in this game as well. Be very cautious of stretching yourself too thin and promising to deliver something you know aren't able to do.

HG: That's good advice.

HG: The Navajo sisters, in the video, joined you for fashion week in New York. How did that happen, and how were their appearance and music received?

PS: The sisters are Tewakeedah and Dachuneeh Martin. There is also another extremely talented young lady who came with us to New York as well. A Navajo violinist by the named Kylie Jim. Kylie is also an exceptional talent who caught my ear during a trip I made earlier this year to Flagstaff. My plan was always to include as many talented Native youth into my film and music to showcase their talents.

I had an indigenous fashion designer, Hazel Stabler, reach out to me online via social media. She had heard of the film I was making, and her latest clothing line was inspired by spreading the message about "Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls." So she contacted me about an event she was putting together with a friend of hers named Jennifer Wright in Kansas City. We made plans for myself and my producer Sahar Khadjenoury to go out there to be present for their event to show some footage from my film. So as things go, Hazel was invited to take part in New York fashion week, and one of the organizers wanted to help spread the word about the issue as well. They wanted us to come as well to screen footage in New York during the fashion show. My executive producer Corrie Caster was the one who made it all possible by making the necessary arrangements so I could take all the girls and their mothers with us.

HG: Where do you see this work going? How do you want this work to function with audiences?

PS: It's hard to say where it's gonna go. I can say that I would like for this to be a starting point for people to really see that there is a huge problem that is being overlooked and washed over. What I am happy to see is that Native people are starting to appear in mainstream media. We appear more and more on television shows and films. There are more Native filmmakers directing major network TV shows and contributing music to said mediums. More indigenous writers are coming through as well, and fashion designers are infusing their cultures into contemporary clothing designs. It's a very exciting and optimistic time for all Native artists from all creative backgrounds to bring forth their ideas and making them a reality.

HG: What else are you working on?

PS: I am currently working on finishing up the film and making the music for it. But I was also fortunate enough to work out some programs in partnership with the Utah Navajo Health System to help my hometown. I also just finished up my next album with my band, so we are just about ready to launch that sucker out. I got a lot of photography I have been working on as well. So I guess I do have a lot going on some I didn't mention, but I am happy to be able to do what I am doing.

HG: Thank you for your time!

PS: Thank you.