Testify on stage. Photo from Candice Morris / Facebook
Edmund Yazzie serves as a delegate to the Navajo Nation Council, representing the communities of Churchrock, Iyanbito, Mariano Lake, Pinedale, Smith Lake and Thoreau in New Mexico. But Yazzie, 46, has a side job. He's the drummer for Testify, a popular heavy metal band on the reservation that also counts his son as a member. “My dream is to hit it big and make it in metal music,” Yazzie told The New York Times. “And I tell my people, ‘If Sammy Hagar, Van Halen or Metallica calls,’ I told them, ‘I might just have to step down.’” The band's sound is gritty, loud and raw. But its message is positive -- songs pay tribute to Navajo Code Talkers and encourage youth to stay away from drugs and crime. “People have this perspective of metal: It’s going out to party, get drunk and go home,” Yazzie told the paper. “But no — for us it’s a positive thing.” Get the Story:
Looking to Uplift, With Navajo ‘Rez Metal’ (The New York Times 1/26)
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