A land dispute between two Native tribes in the California mountains is analyzed. Mesa Grande's perspective is highlighted through a full history of the tribe, an interview with members of the tribe, and an analysis of where the parcels are geographically. To understand the full land battle, a review of the history of the battle, case brief, and counterarguments will be presented. The thesis will then delve into the ambiguities in government language that led to Mesa Grande’s understanding that the disputed land was theirs and review evidence that the land was long intended to be Mesa Grande by the federal government. Many of these points were ignored by the federal court system in their early rulings.

In recent years, several Indigenous female artists have emerged in country music. Given that country music is closely associated with whiteness, it may seem an unexpected form of expression for Indigenous women. So, why and how do Indigenous women make country music? I argue that country music appeals to these women due to its adaptability as a genre and its propensity for telling stories. Additionally, I identify several distinct strategies that these women use to interact with the genre and approach their own music making. I support my argument through a series of analyses of three country songs by Indigenous female country singers: “All I See is Red (Ten Little Indians)” by Kelly Derrickson; “Pray Sister Pray” by Crystal Shawanda; and “Run Carly Run” by Jade Turner. Some of the strategies these artists employ disrupt norms of the genre, foregrounding these women’s Indigenous identity and activism, while other strategies more subtly exploit resonances between Indigenous concerns or cultural practices and aspects of country music to assert their position within the genre. My discussion of these strategies draws on theorizations of intertextuality, interdiscursivity, and positionality from linguistic anthropology. Examining the strategies Indigenous artists use and highlighting the agency they have in the creation of their music reveals not only how they take up the genre but also how they are reshaping it.