Significance of Blues Music

When I was reading this book, I was reminded of a paper I once wrote about the significance and origins of Blues Music in the context of African American culture and experience. Many scholars believed that blues music had its origins in the field call songs and traditions of African American plantation slaves. As I continued my research, I found out that blues music was cultivated and continued by African American communities, and my studies regarded the importance of blues music to African American history and culture. Blues music was important because these songs often recalled the history of slavery and abuse; a history that white Americans wanted to erase. These songs became the voice of pain and suffering, and many scholars agreed that even after slavery ended, the evolution of blues music provided significant insight into the changes that took place in the lives of African Americans. So what does this have to do with "Reservation Blues"? While Blues music was founded and cultivated by African American culture, it seems to have the same effect for the Spokane Indian community in the book. That is, through blues music, these Native Americans are able to voice their painful memories and present situation. It is a way of recording their trauma and pain; a way of remembering their struggle, even if the rest of America wants to conceal the reality of their history.