Indigenous Resistance — Remains Anonymous

The Release

On June 26, 2013 — thirty-eight years to the day after the shoot-out at Oglala on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation — Eneas Lacy independently released the song “Bring Him Out.” It features the late John Trudell and Steve Robideau, and it was written as an awareness song for Leonard Peltier.

Posting it that day was not a coincidence. It was the point.

The Support

The release drew the attention of the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee, and of Tom Morello — guitarist for Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave — who shared the song publicly. By the artist’s own account, Morello added a line of his own to it:

“Peltier is another we need to bust outta jail!”

Tom Morello, sharing “Bring Him Out” — as recounted on the artist’s Genius page

The Years Away

What followed was harder to carry than the attention. With limited resources, and with pressure building from several directions at once over the issues the music raises, Eneas chose to step back from public activity rather than push forward badly.

He focused on family. He kept writing and kept developing the craft. And he spent the time reading and listening — building out his knowledge of Indigenous history and of the long line of resistance movements the song had placed him inside of.

Back In The Work

After roughly thirteen years, Eneas became active again. He connected with the artist Cosmic Kreature to bring the music and its message to an audience that had never heard it the first time around.

Why Anonymous

The music deals with contested history and with a case the United States government has never been comfortable revisiting. That has consequences for the person who writes it.

Eneas Lacy has intentionally kept his identity and personal background limited. It is a decision made for personal safety, and to keep the ability to live an ordinary life outside of public attention. The work is meant to be heard. The man behind it is not the subject.