The Song of Hiawatha tells the story of the life and (high) times of the first black hippie. It includes original music, never seen photos, an FBI file, a letter from J. Edgar Hoover, and testimonials from Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, Wayne Kramer, Niagara, John Sinclair, and others.The documentary traces Hiawatha Bailey’s path as part of the African-American “great migration” from the Deep South to Detroit in the 1950s, to “turning on” to LSD and joining a commune in 1965, and becoming the only Black member of the leftist revolutionary cadre known as the White Panthers in 1968. He served a four-year prison term, and then formed the Cult Heroes, a seminal Detroit punk rock band, in 1978. True to the time, the film floats along in a psychedelic haze as it touches on sensitive issues of race, rock, radicalism, sexual identity, prison life, and antiquated drug laws.Documents featured in the film include a letter from FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, an FBI report, a landmark Supreme Court decision, a contract signed by John Lennon, previously unreleased music by Hiawatha with the Cult Heroes (including a live performance), and many never before seen photos.#punkrock #documentary #filmdocumentar #hiawathabailey #film #filmmaking #filmmaker #filmdirector #punkrockscene #LSD #popculture