Frank Waln, with Samsoche Sampson & OPLIAM
Rooted in a deep legacy of Indigenous storytelling through song and dance, Frank Waln and the Sampson Bros reimagine traditional dances and instruments to create a performance that expresses their healing and resistance in a way the world has never seen before.
Watch the Performance
Frank Waln
Frank Waln is an award winning Lakota music artist, speaker and writer from the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. As a Gates Millennium Scholar, Frank Waln earned a BA in Audio Arts and Acoustics from Columbia College Chicago. Frank utilizes music, performance and writing to share his story with the world in order to shed light on Indigenous history in the US and inspire others to deepen our understanding of how settler colonialism has impacted us all around the world. Frank Waln has appeared on MTV, ESPN and NPR and has written for The Guardian, The School Library Journal and was a contributing author on America Ferrera’s New York Times Best Selling book American Like Me. Frank Waln currently resides on the southside of Chicago and has built a career traveling the world as a music artist, public speaker and performer.
Above photo by Bailey Rebecca Roberts
Samsoche Sampson
Samsoche Sampson is a Seneca/Muscogee Creek Indigenous Interdisciplinary artist. He graduated from Columbia College Chicago in 2015 with a BFA in Fine Arts. Samsoche grew up in the arts working in the film industry from a young age, to performing for schools/universities throughout the world. Much of his work blends traditional Indigenous culture with contemporary influences to create innovative fusions that bring together his experiences. When not performing or traveling he likes to do screen printing, paint, or graphic design.
OPLIAM
OPLIAM is a multi-instrumentalist whose music crosses all musical boundaries. He plays rock and roll, hip hop and reggae. Sometimes separately, sometimes cosmically interwoven. OPLIAM has toured internationally, playing shows in Australia and New Zealand. In 2019, OPLIAM played both the Indigenous Peoples March in Washington, DC as well as the 23rd Annual World Peace and Prayer Day, held by Chief Arvol Looking Horse. In 2019, OPLIAM also had the opportunity to open for Kweku Collins on the Manifest Urban Arts Festival Main stage, Downtown Chicago. Manifest’s previous headliners include Chance The Rapper, Common, Ella Mai, Vic Mensa. OPLIAM has also played shows with Indigenous, Frank Waln, and members of Gogol Bordello in 2019. OPLIAM is Native American on his father’s side and has never forgotten where he comes from as a musician. OPLIAM’s family is Mohawk, one of the six Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) nations, originating from Kahnawake Mohawk reserve outside of Montreal, Quebec.
About the Performance
Rooted in a deep legacy of Indigenous storytelling through song and dance, Frank Waln, with Samsoche Sampson & OPLIAM, reimagine traditional dances and instruments to create a performance that expresses their healing and resistance in a way the world has never seen before. Their performance connects Indigenous history in the US to issues currently affecting Native American communities and all Americans living on colonized land. Join us for this one-of-a-kind experience that will connect us all to our past, present and future through songs and dance.
