Protect Them [with Discussion]
This video features Mikko Blaze’s original song Protect Her, a piece that speaks to the realities of violence against Native women and the important of creating change. In the discussion, Mikko speaks to the importance of using art as a call for accountability.
Mikko Blaze is a Minneapolis-based entertainer with a strong presence in the Twin Cities performance community. As the lead singer of Hurricane Blaze and Hurricane Karaoke, a live karaoke band, his work includes cabaret, live event hosting, and interactive music performance.
Learn More About Advocacy Work
Taking Action to End Sexual Violence: An Introduction to Policy Advocacy focuses on strategies for policy-advocacy work and how individuals at home can be empowered to participate in policy work. Panelists include Jolene Engelking (MIWSAC Tribal Sexual Assault Resource Center Coordinator), and Ingrid Anderson (MIWSAC Director of Policy & Advocacy).
Watch Our WebinarProtect Them [with Discussion]
[Music]
It weighs heavy in her heart
Generations on her shoulders
She kept quiet too long
She’s tired of being walked over
Her nations unseen
She’s calling out now
Believe her
She’s not just a picture of the past
She survived all of that
We have to protect her [x2]
She’s your mother
She’s your sister
She’s your daughter
She’s your lover
She’s your mother
She’s your sister
She’s your daughter
[Lewiee Blaze]
Listen
She been workin’ for hours
Nurturing every flower
Down in the garden of paradise
Just sacrificing for our
Well-being and life producing life and keeping power Generating for generations
We nothin’ without her
Too many voices unheard
And too many stories untold
I searched around and I learned
The cold hard truth as it unfolds out
Feeling an ache in my spirit
Praying and hoping and wishing her living conditions could get some attention
I listen so she’s not alone.
She’s not just a picture of the past
She survived all of that
We have to protect her [x2]
Discussion with Mikko Blaze, Songwriter
It was important because it’s a topic that’s… prominent in my family. I have family members that are survivors, and it’s just something that people don’t talk about… Ithink that we need to start talking about it because… it can’t be your family dirty secret anymore.
We have to talk about it so we can stop it, and so people stop being hurt
You have written many song for many different missions. Why was this one different?
Because it’s so personal. When I was writing this song, I actually took this book that had stories from these survivors, and I sat there and read them and cried… I just felt that I had to write this in the way that would honor the stories… I just wanted to really sing something that people were really going to hear because they need to hear this: “This needs to stop.” I just wanted to make sure that I was doing my part to help these survivors by using my voice.
What inspires lyrics for you as an Artist?
I think it’s just the mood. Sometimes, it’s about just some topic that’s been on mind. Sometimes, it’s like I’ve never heard a song sing about this. It could just be something in my everyday life or something that’s big picture, but a lot of it comes from when I hear music. It’s whatever I feel in my soul whenever I hear that music, and I try to marry that idea together.
Why is it important for Artists such as yourself to write songs about social change?
Because we have the ability to move people with our talent. Whether it’s drawing, singing, writing, people listen when we do something, and I think that if we’re going to have that power, we better use it for something good and use it for something meaningful… With all these people that are looking up to you, you have a responsibility to them, as well.
As an Artist, what message does Protect Them give to the world?
It gives them accountability… that this is not just something that the victim has to work through. This is something that’s on all of us… whether it’s protecting your sister, your mother, your daughter, your significant other. It’s about protecting them and doing what you have to do to make sure that other people don’t do harm to them. So I think this is kind of to point the finger that you have the power to do something, and you should do something.
