The track is in support of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) Movement
Rickey Medlocke, a founding and current member of Lynyrd Skynyrd and frontman for southern indigenous rock band Blackfoot, shares “Never Run Out Of Road” on storied record label Rock the Cause Records, to help provide funding, awareness, and resources for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) movement.
Per his wishes, a portion of proceeds from downloads and streams of the track will be directed to the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center (NIWRC), an organization that works to end gender-based violence against Native American women. Proceeds will also benefit other Seeing Red-based causes, and the International Wolf Center, TBA by Rickey Medlocke.
“I want to give back to my native community through ‘Never Run Out Of Road,’ and I want to educate others on the MMIW crisis and empower people to get involved,” Medlocke shares.
“Music has taken me from playing with my Granddad Shorty Medlocke to the early days of Lynyrd Skynyrd-to Blackfoot-& back to Skynyrd now for the last 28 years! Writing and recording is always a part of this. This is new personal music with the Rickey Medlocke Band. The song ‘Never Run Out Of Road’ includes lyrics relating to my past and ongoing life of touring. This includes all of the songwriting and guitar styling of hard-hitting southern rock, with signature slide guitar, double leads, and big vocals, and arrangement, including some great players and friends of mine. ‘Never Run Out Of Road…’til the Good Lord Leads Me Home.'”
Being of self-identified Native American ancestry, specifically Lakota Sioux and Cherokee, Medlocke was inducted into the Native American Music Hall of Fame in 2008.
The MMIW is a movement that advocates for the end of violence against Native women and seeks to draw attention to the high rates of disappearances and murders of Native people, particularly women and girls.
Native Americans are one of the most heavily affected demographics for both sex trafficking and labor trafficking–particularly women and youth. Despite a staggering lack of studies documenting this issue, there is glaring evidence that points to this being a severe problem for indigenous peoples across the map.
In a study conducted at four sites throughout the US and Canada, an average of 40% of women involved in sex trafficking identified as Native American or First Nations. When taking into account that Native women demographically only comprise less than 10% of the general population, the weight of this study’s statistic becomes shocking.
