Indigenous musicians Keith Secola and Gary Farmer tour northern Minnesota

Anishinaabe songwriter Keith Secola and Cayuga actor and musician Gary Farmer recently spoke with MPR News host Nina Moini about touring northern Minnesota together as part of the Ancestral Fire Music Tour. The tour began March 12 and includes performances in Virginia, Bemidji and Grand Rapids before concluding March 15 with a show in south Minneapolis.

Secola, a member of the Native Music Hall of Fame, and Farmer, known for acting roles including Nobody in the 1995 film “Dead Man” and Uncle Brownie in the television series “Reservation Dogs,” are performing contemporary Native blues, rock and traditional music during the tour. Farmer said he is performing with guitarist Jaime Bird Yellowhorse of the Navajo and Pueblo peoples, while Secola discussed his recent album Ranger, recorded with a group of musicians rooted in northern Minnesota. The artists described the tour as a way to bring people together through music and shared cultural expression.