“If someone in the sweat goes down, you pick them up. Well, then I'd go to these punk shows ... you're shoulder to shoulder with your people.”
“So us walking into clubs with like hats and braids and stuff and everyone's just like, where's your mohawk, bro? And like, I don't, I don't, I have braids dog.”
Continuing Punkast's guest-hosted conversations highlighting Indigenous creativity and music, guest host and producer Kristy Martinez, UCLA PhD candidate, musician, and archivist, speaks with Gabe Colhoff of 1876, an Indigenous punk band based in Portland, Oregon. Gabe traces his musical upbringing through powwow music, hip-hop, punk, ska, and two-tone, recalling the connections he found between Northern Cheyenne ceremonial life and punk shows through singing, community, and mutual care. They discuss forming 1876 during the pandemic, DIY recording, and the Pow Wow Punk Rock EP series, which brings powwow drumming, traditional languages, and experimental sounds into punk.
Kristy and Gabe also discuss the women who shaped his life and music, from relatives featured on the band's album covers to “Nississa,” a song on which Kristy collaborated. Their conversation explores songwriting, Indigenous representation, resistance, censorship, and the contradictions of punk scenes that don't always live up to their stated commitments. Moving through touring, festival politics, and community organizing, they consider the relationships and responsibilities that sustain 1876's music across Turtle Island.
About the guest
1876 is an Indigenous punk band founded by Gabe Colhoff in Portland, Oregon, in 2020. The band proudly represents the Northern Cheyenne, Blackfeet, Comanche, Kanaka Maoli, Pikanii, Siksika, and Tsitsitsas nations. Playing across Turtle Island, from sweat lodges to punk clubs, 1876 infuses rebellious, aggressive punk rock with powwow drumming, traditional languages, and experimental sounds, drawing on ska, hip-hop, and hardcore. Through music, visual art, and community work, the band brings attention to Indigenous experiences and narratives often neglected by the music industry while giving back to its communities. They have performed and collaborated with Lo Ca$h Ninjas, Subhumans, Total Chaos, the Casualties, Patrick Stump, and others.
Guest host and producer
Kristy Martinez is a UCLA PhD candidate in Musicology, vocalist, and archivist researching punk, emo, and subcultures in Southern California through music, ephemera, placemaking, and visual culture. Raised in the San Gabriel Valley, with family roots in Sonora, Mexico, she founded the DIY Indigenous Punx Archive, documenting Indigenous punk through flyers, photographs, videos, and band histories. The archive has been featured at the Punk Rock Museum in Las Vegas and the Denver Art Museum.
Recorded September 2026.
Content note: This episode includes discussion of violence against women, the Highway of Tears, police brutality, and political conflict.
Links + References
Credits
Punkast is hosted and produced by Jessica Schwartz.
Guest hosting, production, and audio editing: Kristy Martinez.
Transcript:
Theme Music:
Lady Bits, "Bitch-a-thon," Lady Bits.
Related:
Jessica Schwartz co-hosts the Punk Scholars Podcast.
About Punkast:
Punkast is a weekly podcast exploring punk in the historical present through critical conversations, inquiry, and collaboration.
Connect with Punkast:
Instagram: punkastucla
Email: punkastucla@gmail.com
Stay tapped in. New episodes every Friday.
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