NW Musician Black Belt Eagle Scout Is Grappling With “Pretty Scary Health Issues”

Katherine Paul, the musician who performs as Black Belt Eagle Scout, has canceled all upcoming shows in the wake of “some pretty scary health issues.”

Paul is a singer-songwriter whose Swinomish and Iñupiak heritage influences her alternative rock, such as on the 2023 release The Land, the Water, the Sky. She lived in Portland for many years but moved home to the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community in La Conner, Wash., during the pandemic.

Paul posted the following on social media last week:

Earlier this year, I started experiencing some weird symptoms that I thought were from pinched nerves in my neck and spine. After many doctors visits and medical tests, and having to advocate so hard for myself within the medical system, via MRIs, I’ve finally been able to get some answers. I am now working with a top neurologist in Seattle who suspects I have relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS).

Paul goes on to note that she is having a hard time with energy, mobility and playing music due to the symptoms of her illness but that her husband Camas Logue (Black Belt Eagle Scout’s drummer) has helped keep her in a positive mindset.

Paul and Logue did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“Love you, sending strength and healing thoughts your way,” Carrie Brownstein of Sleater-Kinney wrote. Black Belt Eagle Scout opened for Sleater-Kinney on a national tour this spring.

As of July 30, Black Belt Eagle Scout’s GoFundMe is approximately $10,000 short of its $75,000 goal; about 1,000 people have contributed. The GoFundMe will help the couple make up for lost income from canceled shows and help offset all of the out-of-pocket health expenses.

“KP has been getting the rest she needs to heal and has even had some energy to play keyboard and dream up some new songs,” Logue wrote in a July 28 update. “It’s not always an easy day but we are feeling all the love and appreciate you all so much.”