Katherine Paul BA ’11

07/08/2019

Katherine Paul BA ’11 is an artist, talent booker, and frontperson for the indie rock band Black Belt Eagle Scout. Her first album, Mother of My Children, was rereleased by Saddle Creek Records in late 2018 with plans for a national tour. Paul’s music deals with the personal and the political, from the pain of a fading love to the fury of social injustice. Paul’s identity–she was born and raised on the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community in Washington–is key to her work as an artist. “I think it’s important,” she says, “for people to know that native women exist and native women are strong and resilient.”

02/19/2019

Katherine Paul BA ’11 is a rock musician and the frontperson of the indie rock band Black Belt Eagle Scout. In a conversation with Pacific Standard Magazine, Paul talked about using music to explore her indigenous and queer identity in a culture that is dominated almost completely by white male artists. She was raised on the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community reservation in Washington, where she found inspiration in the powwow drumming traditions of her family and the riot grrrl scene of the Pacific Northwest. “I want to talk about my music and background, and hopefully other indigenous and queer voices can be raised up too.”

06/07/2018

Katherine Paul BA ’11, who performs as Black Belt Eagle Scout, has released her first solo album, Mother of My Children. She recently received a shout-out in Willamette Week’s “Best of Portland” issue. Since studying at Lewis & Clark, Paul has performed with various local bands, including Genders and Forest Park. Her desire to go her own way stemmed from a need to branch out creatively. “I wanted to feel fulfilled and to flourish in music,” she said in an interview with Oregon Public Broadcasting.