Cool Stuff No.1: Native American Music

 Hello, everyone! Welcome back to my blog! If you're new here, welcome!

Without further adieu, here's my blog of things that I find fascinating about Native American Culture and Music.

The first item on my list is the Round Dance. From the moment we listened to the audio clip of the song by the Northern Cree Singers, I couldn't help but be intrigued. For one, I was roped in by my admiration for communal activities. I grew up in an extremely community-based culture, so I've always been fascinated with observing how others gather. I also was interested in discovering more about the type of gathering that would inspire such a soundscape and whether or not it'd be similar to the ritualistic idea my brain had concocted. Upon further research, I discovered that the Round Dance began as a ritualistic healing process for a community to grieve together and its origin lies with the Cree. The story goes that the ritual was created by a mother to comfort her daughter who'd devoted her entire life to caring for her and had become inconsolable after her death, Sadly, I could not find a YouTube video with the origin story but I did link the article below. Beyond its intriguing origin, this type of round dance is specific to the Native American tribes of North America and though they are individual to each tribe, there are uniting similarities. For example, each Round Dance has a steady beat that is often, if not always created by a drum. Also, each Round Dance song contains certain elements like those we discussed in class like call and response and vocables, though some do contain specific lyrics. The main thing aside from the aspects of the song that changes each time is the dance itself. In these Round Dances, the dance begins with everyone together but each individual is allotted a time to do their own choreography.

The next topic on the list is the representation of Native American Music in music awards. Speaking as someone who has been forced to watch countless music awards and subjected to their countless ads about their categories, I knew that the place it received was definitely not as well-advertised. Apparently, starting in the year 2001 the Grammys began offering an award for the Best Native American Music Album, but sadly this award was short-lived as it was discontinued in the year 2011 to be merged with a broader category. Sad but not surprising. With that being said, finding out about N.A.M.A. was a breath of relief. N.A.M.A or the Native American Music Awards is an awards show solely centered around Native American Music and afforded it the credit that pop culture and North American mainstream society refuses to give. Though upon their creation in 1998, the NAMA were founded as an access point for exploitation by big music industry producers, it has since gained major traction in the United States and Canada. In fact, the NAMA awards show even has its own Hall of Fame with Jimmi Hendrix being inducted as its first person in 1998. Sadly, no footage could be found for this year as it hasn't happened yet and may not get to due to COVID-19.

Sources I Gathered Information From:

1. Round Dance: 

¹ https://www.powwows.com/what-is-a-native-american-round-dance-history-music-meaning/

2. Music Awards:

¹ https://www.nativeamericanmusicawards.com

² https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammy_Award_for_Best_Native_American_Music_Album

3. Instruments