Frank Waln

Mitakuyapi Oyate Teca Obmani emacapiyelo. My name is Frank Waln. My Lakota name is Oyate Teca Obmani, which translates “Walks With Young/New Nation” in Lakota. As an Indigenous Hip Hop artist/musician/music producer/performer, my art and I exist at the intersections between politics, history, and community. I was born and raised on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. My connection to community, family, and land are at the center of my art. In my music, I share personal stories of what it means to be a young Indigenous person reconnecting to my culture and unmasking a painful history. I speak to Native youth and do music workshops to create relationships with the communities that resonate with my work. Like my ancestors, I have developed a way to use my art as a tool to heal, educate, build community and carry on our stories.