Black Belt Eagle Scout is the alias of Katherine Paul, an indigenous multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter. Her third studio album, The Land, the Water, the Sky will be released on February 10. Concerning the album, she stated in a press statement, “I created The Land, the Water, the Sky to record and reflect upon my journey back to my homelands and the challenges and the happiness it brought.”
She also has released three singles from the album the first was the potent “Don’t Give Up”. She said the following about the song in a press statement, “Don’t Give Up” is a song about mental health awareness and the importance that my connection to the land plays within my own mental health journey. Spending time with the land and on the water are ways that strengthen my connection to my ancestors and to my culture. It helps heal my spirit and is the form of self-care that helps me the most. The lyrics “I don’t give up” mean staying alive. I wrote this song for me but also for my community and anyone who deals with challenging mental health issues to remind us just how much of a role our connection to the environment plays within our healing process. At the end of the song when I sing, “The land, the water, the sky,” I wanted to sing it like my late grandfather Alexander Paul Sr. sang in our family’s big drum group—from the heart.”
The second single was “My Blood Runs Through This Land”, which Paul stated “is about the connection I have with my ancestors. When I run my hands through the rocks at Snee Oosh Beach and dip my fingers into our waterways, I am reminded of where I come from. Paying attention to all of the sounds and the feelings I get when I am immersed in trails of cedar trees and canoeing out on the water deeply grounds me and strengthens my bond to my lineage of the Swinomish tribe. I wanted the delicateness of these moments to meet the intense reality of the history of my people. I like to imagine my blood—all of my ancestors—running through our homelands freely and powerfully.”
The powerful and atmospheric tune is well-complimented by an Evan Benally Atwood directed video.
The third single is “Nobody” a poignant tune about the importance of representation.
“When I was growing up, I didn’t have very many Native role models to look to on TV or the radio,” Paul said in a statement. “It was within my own community that I found inspiring role models through our elders and our community leaders. With Native representation in music and television slowly growing, I often ask myself where I stand within representation in music and how I want to be seen. This song is about the relationship I have with my own representation in music.”
Speaking of representation this video was also directed by indigenous filmmaker Evan Benally Atwood. The visuals beautifully depict a day of an Indigenous family, displaying the moments of kinship that they share with the land and each other.