For example, the U. My thoughts here echo an epistemology of sound and being by the late John Trudell. He says:. That sound, that noise was never ever made β¦ ever. Sounds Indigenous involves listening for sonic sovereignty in indigenous borderlands. As for method, Sounds Indigenous practices t u bits i nak u k u r u , our word for listening carefully.
In the context of colonialism, this project is about listening, too, through sonic dissonance. Scott, Image by Author. At the same time, Sounds Indigenous is also about the soundscapes, the sonic formations, of Comanches and other Natives. With that said, this is a nascent mix and remix of words in an always already failed search of communicating the ineffable: these are words in search of communicating holistically about sonic affect.
Affect is not just emotion; affect is what allows us the capabilities to feel emotion. Something happens. Scott, the tallest peak in the Wichita Mountains. For me, Mt. Scott has long been one of the most remarkable sites in the world, a sacred site carrying a long history with Comanches but that for many may be just another tourist destination.
Scott, climbing its boulders with friends or driving on the roadway that snakes around it to the top. Once at the top, I, like my g-g-g-grandfather Quanah Parker, the most famous of all Comanches, have sat there: observing, listening, exploring, and praying. You may hear tourists laughing, loud talking on cell phones, rocks being thrown, and the revving of Harley Davidsons or, better yet, Indian motorcycles in the now-spacious parking lot at the top.
The loudest noise, though, comes from nearby Fort Sill. Now a military base that has been known to sometimes still go against us, Fort Sill is known for its Field Artillery School and, for those in the Wichita Mountains and Lawton where the base is located, known for its sonic booms of artillery testing, guns, bombs, missiles, and tanks as seen here in an old Fort Sill training film.
