Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights

March 15, 2017

First Nations Band Member Denied Entry into U.S.: Massive Scar Era Halted at Border



Censored News

Three more bands have announced that they would not be performing at this year's South by Southwest [SXSW] music festival in Austin, Texas, because their members have been prevented from entering the United States, National Public Radio reports.
Massive Scar Era was one of these and denied a First Nation's band member entry.
National Public Radio reports:
According to Massive Scar Era, a Customs and Border Protection [CBP] official also questioned the band's bassist, Dylan Pieter Wijdenes-Charles, about proving his ethnic identity.
In the video, Amr recounts a purported exchange between the immigration officer and Wijdenes-Charles. "Dylan is a First Nation," she exclaims. "He's allowed to go to the States whenever he wants to, work whenever he wants to, because he's First Nation ... He [the CBP officer] looked at him and he's like, 'Next time when you come, you have to show a blood test that you're First Nation.'" The band says that Wijdenes-Charles was carrying an official card identifying him as a First Nation member.

More at NPR:

Three More SXSW-Bound Bands Denied Entry Into The U.S.

http://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2017/03/13/520010920/three-more-sxsw-bound-bands-denied-entry-into-the-u-s

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