Dead Indian

• Dead Indian was formed in 2012 and disbanded in 2015 in Northwest Arkansas.
• Band Members: 
  • Jesse Wells (Guitar and Vocals)
  • Dirk Porter (Bass)
  • Simon Martin (Drums)
• Genre: The band’s music was alternative rock, with a sound compared to artists like Kurt Cobain and Kyle Craft.
• Albums: The band released two albums during its existence:
  • Lead Me to the Sky (2013)
  • When We Live (2014)
• EPs:
  • Grey (2013)
  • Far Out— The Covers (2015)

Dead Indian was named not by Jesse, but by the drummer Simon Martin (who is also extremely important in Jesse’s journey and should have everyone’s respect and love).

In the insert of Resist (the Dead Indian compilation), Simon talks a bit about the name. He was born on St Regis Mohawk Reservation, and was the true reason Dead Indian has its name.

A lot of folks have asked, “why Dead Indian?” and it’s a fair question. It gives people some trouble, it can make you feel guilty or angry or sad. It’s heavy and it’s real and it’s rough around the edges, and you can be assured that people will take it on face value without listening to the message or asking about it. I was born on St. Regis Mohawk reservation, in upstate New York where my father’s fathers have lived for centuries. Jess and Dirk were raised just outside the heart of Cherokee country, in the south, surrounded by ignorance and racism. None of us grew up wealthy or well-off, no silver spoons or handouts. We all lived in the shit one way or another and we’ve all witnessed the bastardization and slow destruction of a culture, my culture, by various media outlets and consumerism and “SOCIETY.”

When you have a voice or some sort of privilege, you use it to reach out to the people who wouldn’t otherwise listen. We didn’t have much, but tried to use it to bring up things that people don’t want to think about, to make folks uncomfortable- that’s what art is for. People don’t like to consider the millions of indigenous peoples who were killed or marched or forced to assimilate just so great-great-granddad could get his 40 acres and a mule- it makes them feel like the bad guy. If we can invoke that feeling from music, or art, or even just a band name then I think we’re doing exactly what we’re meant to do. This is only more relevant now with recent happenings at Standing Rock, which you don’t see anything about on your TV because if they had their way you wouldn’t even know about it. It’s the same story over and over, salt the earth and re-write the narrative so you don’t have to be the monster. The upside of the modern-day social media face space opinion machine is that it’s finally giving some people a small glance into this world where they’re responsible for some of the bad shit that’s going on.

The band issued a statement on July 21, 2015, announcing they were disbanding. The reason, though not dramatic, was practical — Jesse was finishing school and looking to move on to a more serious, career-level pursuit of music.

While Jesse is now known for his folk-style songs, he was previously known for rockier music with bands like Dead Indian. After the band, Welles went on to form other bands and eventually found success as a solo artist, releasing music as Jesse Welles.