SPEAKER_01 0:01

Welcome everybody to End of Life Conversations Weekly Dispatch. I am Sam Lee Zemke, your uh editor and uh Fire Keeper today. Let's call it that. Yes, the Firekeeper. I love that. Um and speaking of fire, um first let's just acknowledge the fires around the world that are causing untold death, destruction, suffering change. Well, Keel, you were mentioning just before that your uh your kids who are farming can't farm right now because of the smoke. Yeah. And to to farm in full respirators is a uniquely dystopian reality that we now face. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:01

Yeah. And and new normal. I mean, never normal. I grew up in this part of in Seattle area. We never saw anything like we've seen in the last every every year, last three or four years. There's been at least a few days where you know it's unhealthy to be outside um from forest fires. And uh that's just yeah, new normal. Not a not a good normal, but it's the way the world is. Yeah. So yeah, that's a good thing to acknowledge first off.

SPEAKER_01 1:28

Yeah. But also sort of a red herring, because that's not what we're diving into. We're talking about a different kind of fire in the mountains. Yes, yes. Fire in the mountains that we're talking about today is a music festival that I've been going to for many years. Um started out in uh outside of Teton National Park. Oh, Teton National Park, um, just south, and uh outside of Jacksonville, Wyoming. And I haven't been going from the beginning, but the main sort of impetus was enjoying heavy music and ecology at the same time. So there is there is a connection here because it is an environmentally uh centered uh music festival. And and part of what has grown out of that especially now is the capacity for heavy music to aid in the grief process, the healing process, the catharsis, and understanding that one is not alone in the difficult feelings of life. And currently, uh this first this festival is happening uh this coming weekend. Late July, right? Yep. Uh whatever that date is. I'm not looking at it. Click around.

SPEAKER_03 3:13

24th, maybe 25th.

SPEAKER_01 3:14

Is the 24th through the 26th, 27th.

SPEAKER_03 3:17

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:19

On the it is now hosted on the Blackfeet Reservation in East Glacier, Montana. And that process of partnering with uh the Blackfeet Nation has shifted and expanded this project in a way that absolutely makes sense given the trajectory that started. Um, you know, you get a bunch of uh emotionally intelligent metalheads who are ritually oriented, ecologically oriented, um and counter-cultural, and you're very likely um going to start dialogue with indigenous peoples. And you know, counter to maybe the prevailing narrative or a historical trend of heavy metal being associated with, say, like nationalist movements and white supremacy, that's shifting in a really huge way. Oh, good, and in many ways has become much more decolonial and liberatory, uh, which I think makes a lot of sense and is great because I like that music and I love not having to look up as many as diligently every band I listen to to make sure that they're not Nazis.

SPEAKER_02 4:49

That's right.

SPEAKER_01 4:49

That's right. Um always an important thing to check in.

SPEAKER_03 4:53

Always with everything, all of our movies and everything these days. I'm like, uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 5:00

Right. And so in this partnership with the Blackfeet Nation, um arose a nonprofit that the festival folks and the the community members they were talking with, and some Scandinavian nonprofits that were partnering to help support this festival. And they have created a nonprofit called the Firekeeper Alliance, which is focused on mental health and suicide prevention on the reservations because that is a huge, huge issue. Huge issue. And particularly youth suicide prevention. And a lot of it is through uh music programs. They're having um well-renowned uh heavy metal musicians come to the schools and do music programming. Last year they had uh internships in almost every position at the festival where local youth were shadowing and interning and learning the tools of the trade and seeing what it could be like to have uh vital, enlivening, and active things going on in their community. Nice. Really, really beautiful project.

SPEAKER_02 6:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:28

Uh you can find out more information about that at firekeeperalliance.org uh and donate to them, which I would uh encourage everyone to do. We'll add that to our notes. Yeah, yeah. And they have all the all the amazing information there, you know, uh their approaches. I'll just read off a little bit. Um, indigenize clinical constructs regarding suicidal distress, traditional healing practices, strength-based counsel, strengths-based counseling interventions, creative outlets and protective factors, clinical support and professional development, and culturally inclusive post-vention initiatives. Um, and that's just, you know, those are the headlines. Yeah. Um I don't really know where the dialogue comes from here today with us, but it felt really important to one shout out this project that I deeply, deeply believe in. And especially last year, which was the first year on the reservation. On the reservation, not only was there this focus on reef, you know, they do workshops during the day, and there were panels about, you know, people, survivors of suicide, survivors of like friends who had committed suicide, and how music had helped them process and how music had helped them avoid their own um uh terminal impulses. And and talking about cultural revival, cultural connection as medicine to stave off that level of despair, and then massive levels of cultural exchange. You know, you have all of these white metalheads and like Scandinavian people, um like uh neo-folk, neo-pagan, um folk musicians coming and doing ceremony and exchanging ceremony and exchanging gifts across cultural boundaries. Amazing, amazing work to knit communities together. Yeah, to expand you know, cultural connections, kinship relations, and um just like support networks. Just amazing. I can't I can't log it enough. Um so I have talked, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 9:13

I'm gonna I'm gonna jump in because I I've just been listening to you, and I and I want to go do this next year with you because I I would love to experience this. And I also want to acknowledge that you know there are again, there are so many deaths that occur on a daily basis in our world. And when we think that we're not intersecting with death on the daily, like then we're not really having our eyes open. And the fact that we do have a high statistical rate of suicide on reservations, but everywhere, right? Like people are having a hard time for a myriad of reasons. So I would hope that people can hear this this podcast and think about the different communities that they know or inter interact with and and and be on the lookout for how can I help out with you know these conversations with youth, with LGBTQ, POC, uh poverty. Like there's so many, you know, disabled people who are just so fed up with these things. There, we we have so much community right around us who like we need fire in the mountains, a music event that we could just like dance until we're just we have all that grief just kind of like out for the collective container to like witness and figure out a way to compost, right?

SPEAKER_02 10:38

Yeah, so exactly.

SPEAKER_03 10:40

So I hope people get curious and write us about other events that are similar to this because that we're this isn't the only one. This is just like a cool one for for some of us. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:50

For some of us, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 10:52

But yeah, so please, if you if you know of a different one, you know, let us know. We can put it on our resources.

SPEAKER_01 10:57

Yeah, yeah, and especially attention to it. Yeah, yeah. The more unconventional, like maybe not the better, but like not a lot of people say like heavy metal helps my mental health. People go, uh, I'm in a I'm in a ministry training, probably, learning, you know, to do um uh Shirag Sufi ministry and studying with one of the preeminent sort of Sufi-oriented grief counselors and funeral funeral directors. And I said, This is a thing where, you know, I can engage with the crunchy shadow, you know, side of things. And he went, I cannot relate with you at all in any way, shape, or form. And so I made, you know, in that process, made a playlist of of some music to share with my cohort in this. I love it.

SPEAKER_03 11:51

I wrote down some music. Actually, you told me about this month ago. I actually went through and listened to clips and I and in my little notebook I have my my little list that I want to actually create a playlist for. So maybe I'll do it this weekend to pretend I'm there.

SPEAKER_01 12:05

That would be fun. There are some playlists uh on whatever streams to use. Yeah. Uh I think through through the streaming services, if you search FITM2026, it'll have some samples. Oh, good.

SPEAKER_00 12:19

Send that to me so I can put it in the notes. Yeah, Fit. What's the fire? What's the mouth website again?

SPEAKER_01 12:25

Fire uh the website is FITMfest.com or firekeeperalliance.org.

SPEAKER_00 12:35

Okay. Yeah, those are the two. Okay, we'll put both those in. But yeah, if you um yeah, if you want to send send me a list of uh a um connection to a playlist, that would be fun to put in there for folks.

SPEAKER_03 12:48

Uh it would be fun. And and I realize that heavy metal is not everybody like you know, it's not for everybody, and that's okay too. There's no judgment, and you don't have to like this. But if you have a kid who might be interested, or an elder who's like, I used to dig this music in the 70s. What you know, I actually went hiking recently, about two months ago, and I happened to notice somebody who's wearing like a Leonard Skinner or something t-shirt. I don't remember actually, don't quote me on that one, but um but I mentioned I mentioned Fire in the Mountain, and the and I have to tell you, you know, very white presenting, brawny kind of dude hiking by himself with his t-shirt. And I I was like, I want to connect with you about music because you know, and my friend I was I was he's like, I would never have imagined you would even like starting a conversation with that dude. And I was like, true. And what I want to have recognized is that it's not just white men who like this music, absolutely, and you know, and I want him to always think like, oh, like this brown woman also we could talk about this music. So it's part of relationship building, right? Like in the world because I don't want there to be like, there's no way a white Latina could possibly enjoy this music, which is like the furthest from the truth, right? But but um what I really enjoyed is that he his one of his initial statements was like no good, you know, metal music is being made anymore. And I was like, excuse me, and I said this, so forgive me, but I was like, are you some kind of a boomer? I was like, what is your problem? I know that's I don't, I know, but he was he was like in his like early 30s, and I was like, you know, boomers tend to not want to hear anything different and say that the only good stuff is from their formative years. I'm like, if that's your languaging, I was like, then you must be really old. And he's like, no, no. I was like, well, then I think you should probably explore some new music, my dude. Yeah. So, you know, so it was a both in like connecting and like like be curious, because honestly, when you're curious, you learn more things and hopefully you become less like stilted and constricted, and like, like, no, no, no, you know. So, anyways, I'm excited.

SPEAKER_00 15:06

It's also a lesson about not making assumptions, right? Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 15:10

Oh, for me or for him.

SPEAKER_00 15:11

Well, for you or for anybody, you know. But um, I mean, this happened yesterday. I was we were doing our booth. Um, we have a grief booth that we do at a farmers market, and we were doing the booth, and this guy walks by, and he's like, I won't talk about what he looked like or what it was, but I it was just like the last person I would have expected to turn around and go, I have a story I want to share with you guys. And it just blew my mind. I was like, Yeah, okay, don't assume anything.

SPEAKER_03 15:34

Don't assume.

SPEAKER_00 15:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 15:36

Well, the assumption that wasn't an assumption. When he said good metal isn't being made anymore, then I was like, that is such an old fogey kind of attitude. Like, I didn't have to say boomer, I just had to say, like, how old are you, man? Because that is not what old, that's not what young people say. We're always like on the lookout for like what's new, what's what's spicy out there?

SPEAKER_00 15:58

Some of us boomers are too, dang it. I know, babes.

SPEAKER_03 16:02

I know, I know.

SPEAKER_01 16:05

There, yeah, no, no assumptions. That's the lesson, right? And you know, and you know, we have we have elders in this community. There are people from like the first and second generations of black metal who are like here supporting, you know, we have uh one of my friends likes to tell a dad joke that one of them told him. Um and you know, that guy brought his little synth synth setup and and said, I'm going to play my you know, weird synthetic experimental music for you today. And I hope you have a really good time. And it was a blast.

SPEAKER_02 16:42

Love it.

SPEAKER_01 16:42

Um so another thing I would say briefly, it's not just metal, but it is focused on like the heavier side of things. This year there's a huge focus on sort of like uh dark country and dark americana.

SPEAKER_03 16:57

What?

SPEAKER_01 16:57

Um, there's a there's a reunion of a classic band called 16 Horsepower. Oh yeah. Um and and a bunch of other other bands like that that we'll be playing. Last year it was very like neo folk focused. So it rotates through, and because it was just great for me because I get tired of black metal after a while. I'll admit this.

SPEAKER_03 17:18

You know, it's not my you take a dose and then you're like I take a dose.

SPEAKER_01 17:22

Or, you know, it's on it's on the two medicine lake uh sacred space, and there's like a hundred yards of forest in between the stages and the lake. And when it's when I get my dose, I go sit in the lake, and it sounds phenomenal from that far away.

SPEAKER_02 17:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:40

Um but the other thing, what I what I wanted to talk about, or what I was inspired by when when Ana Luisa you were talking about, it's not just something that uh like white Americans or Eurodescent people like. Um one of the huge pieces of this festival is uh spotlighting people of color. And last year they flew in um a band called Sumpantly, which is a uh Mesoamerican death metal band from South America or Central America. Um this year there's another one. They spotlight a lot of native metal bands, which is a growing genre. And and what that says to me, and I I love world music, and so I explore where around the world these genres are blossoming. And I think similar to hip hop and rap, metal provides a really unique way to process to process what's going on and and becomes sort of a universal language that can incorporate the cultural qualities and specificities and and unique um experiences from different places. And that also provides a common language for people to relate and connect and process together and see see reflected experience in like it's not just like you know, I see these other people that look like me who are who are experiencing the same feelings, yeah. But uh it's also like people around the world, yeah. Right. Cross pollination. Cross-pollination.

SPEAKER_03 19:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:41

All of these people feel the heaviness of the world and express it in a common language with different accents.

SPEAKER_00 19:51

Yeah, love it. I think it's really wonderful too that we we're you're talking about, did you say um Swiss people or no Scandinavian? Scandinavian people. Because that's you know, that's uh yet another indigenous uh likelihood, likely connection to the indigenous or many of us who live in the United States now. And um, so I love that that's a part of it too. And probably, as you say, it's it is worldwide, and it is and it does go down to that last to that very deep cultural uh connection in every one of us to our grief for the world, our grief for losses in general, and and and another way to express that. I love it. I love it. Yeah, so thank you for thank you for bringing that to us. Yeah, free pictures.

SPEAKER_02 20:35

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 20:37

That was uh that was a whole part of the dialogue last year and part of what helped me feel like oh, this is a place where my particular desire in ministry and cultural reconstruction and and utilizing ancestral connection to build those connections and subvert white supremacism and white supremacist systems, not only in the community, but more broadly too. You know, there's I remember I was listening to a podcast about um the German Volkish movement during the Nazi era and how those folks became really obsessed with how the Germanic tribes had successfully fought off the Roman Empire. But instead of taking that opportunity to say, look, we can be in solidarity and we connect with peoples around the world who have been resisting colonial colonization and imperialist control, they said, Yeah, but we'd actually rather become the Roman Empire. So there's a total like missed opportunity to connect with the rest of the world. And I see it functioning in that way when we recognize that there are places where all of us at some point in our gen like in our genetic lineage, in in the love that has created uh our our ancestors and our bodies, there is an there is an understanding, a shared understanding of being part of the pank planet, being part of the cycles of life and death, being not a part. And um and I think that's such a powerful, powerful medicine.

SPEAKER_00 22:35

Yeah, I love it. I love this just as another example of you can get there from many, many directions, right? As long as you get there.

SPEAKER_03 22:42

Yep, as long as on your journey.

SPEAKER_00 22:44

Thank you, Sam. That was a that was really, really cool, really important. So we'll look forward to everybody check it out, even if you're a boomer. Yeah, even if you're a boomer.

SPEAKER_03 22:53

Oh, come on, not even. Everyone.

SPEAKER_00 22:58

Everyone.

SPEAKER_03 22:59

If you won't check it out, you're a boomer.

SPEAKER_00 23:04

No labels, no labels.

SPEAKER_03 23:05

I'm kidding. I know it.

SPEAKER_01 23:08

If you listen to this today and you go, damn, I really want to go to this, I'm pretty sure there are still tickets.

SPEAKER_03 23:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:16

Go. Go. Yeah, I love it. If not to be here for next year. Next year I'll be able to.

SPEAKER_03 23:22

I'm going next year. I have tickets to the underground music showcase this year. So I will be three days of musicing myself this weekend.

SPEAKER_00 23:28

All right. All right. Thank you so much. Again, everybody, thanks for watching and participating with us. Please check in with us on our Substack. Uh subscribe on Substack, and uh, we have a chat going on, ongoing chat there. Please come on and tell us what you think and what you'd like to talk about. And like us and tell all your friends and thanks again.

SPEAKER_03 23:51

Thank you.