Singing For the People: The American Indian Activism of Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson

Abstract

Throughout the history of the United States, American Indians have suffered from oppression. Despite atrocious events, such as the 1890 Wounded Knee massacre, the “Red Power” movement, partly inspired by the Civil Rights Movement, took hold in the 1960s and grew in the 1970s. The American Indian cause received support from one of the most unlikely allies imaginable in American culture: the American country music scene. I analyze two songs written by the two most salient members of the Outlaw Country Movement: “The Ballad of Ira Hayes” by Johnny Cash and “Johnny Lobo” by Kris Kristofferson.