"Usti Waya" (Cherokee for 'The Wolf') is a tribute to this majestic creature, a symbol of protection to the Cherokee. The album is a representation of the sharp schism between civilized man and canis loupus (see below). The story is told through the medium of Drone/Noise.

"Early American Indians and settlers existed together in harmony with the wolf. Respected as a wise and cunning hunter, many of the wolf's ways were adopted by these pioneers. It wasn't until the white man became a 'shepherd', later to be known as the rancher; raising livestock for food instead of hunting wild game, that the wolf became a threat to him, and therefore his enemy.

The inherent nature of the white man is to control that which he does not understand, otherwise destroy it. As he began to hunt wild game as a sport, this further decreased the wolf's popularity. As a result, he set out to destroy the wolf and nearly succeeded. As civilization rapidly progressed, he continued to distance himself further from the wilderness, while the wolf remained a wild predator.

Today, the wolf represents the symbol of our wilderness, a world which man has long since forgotten. We are just now making the attempt to protect and preserve the wolf as an endangered species. The future survival of the wolf depends on whether this mystical creature can be seen at last, for what it really is - an exceptionally interesting part of our wildlife heritage and an outstanding representative of that wilderness, which we are belatedly trying to preserve.

One must understand the wolf in the wild to truly appreciate his inherit right to exist. In their own world, wolves can maybe teach us to see their species in a new light. Have we waited until it is too late to learn to understand this mysterious yet highly controversial animal and give them the acceptance they deserve? Do we dare take a new look at the wolf, to see what is really behind that mask of the myths formed from our own fear of the wilderness, a world yet untamed?

Man is only just beginning to reach a simple knowledge of the wolf. The secrets remain hidden beneath a veil of misunderstanding. Man does not see the world of the wolf in it's proper perspective and does not know how to come to terms with it. Instead, he believes that we are the masters of creation and he refuses to accept that the animals are the ones who are constantly in touch with the realities by which we live and die. But, the wolf can teach us. With it's uncanny perceptions, and a social structure that closely resembles our own, wolves challenge us to be wise."

-Debra McCann