Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Introduction:
A woman hums songs to a child. Three old ladies sing as they pick choke-cherries or cactus buds, husk corn, or dig camas root. A woman's high-pitched lu-lu-lu-lu rises over the men's voices at the end of an honoring song for returned veterans. "Chorus girls" back up the men's lead song at the drum during a war dance. The pulsating, driving hand-drum beats and magic-making songs women sing at a stick game. The woman whose songs make the Sun Dance circle right. These are the voices of Native women. Like the drum whose heartbeat is that of a woman, these women and their songs are at the heart of Indian Country. But unlike the drum, their songs and voices are rarely heard beyond their communities.
Along with the first of two recordings made available on Smithsonian/Folkways (Heartbeat: Voices of First Nations Women, SF 40415) the two-week presentation at the 1995 Festival and its accompanying program book essay were part of an effort to present an overview of music by Native women - traditional, new, innovative, and little known. Included were traditional women's songs from tribes in the United States and Canada as well as material usually sung by men and recently taken up by women. The recording, essay, and festival program also emphasized fresh material, Native women's music that merged traditional music with many styles of popular American music.
Very little women's music is known and appreciated, even by those who value and know Native American music. People may see Native women dancing when public performances take place, whether they are on stage or in a community setting. Still, men's dancing dominates the public arena. Because much of Native women's traditional singing occurs in a private setting associated with family, clan, ceremonial, or work activities, those who are unfamiliar with these traditions rarely see or hear women sing. Thus the common perception is that women have little presence or significance in the performance and preservation of Native musical traditions. A few tribal or regional collections have included women's singing and instrumental music. Recordings by contemporary Indian women musicians like Buffy Sainte-Marie first received favorable attention in the late 1960s. Since then, the ranks of such women have grown.
In recent years, particularly in the Northern Plains, changes are also underway with respect to the place of women at the drum, previously seen by most as an exclusively male domain. Increasingly, women describe being called to the drum, to sit at the drum, to be the drumkeeper in the way that men have talked about it. Increasingly, powwow singing in the Northern Plains has brought the advent of mixed drum groups and - as demonstrated at the Festival - all-female groups.
All these ways of singing and music-making exist among Native women. Much of the old music exists today, joined by newer ways. As Festival audiences could experience at the 1995 Festival, Native women's music is vital and dynamic, very much a part of the process through which Native peoples are preserving and revitalizing Native life and culture.
Rayna Green and Howard Bass were Curators, and Arlene Reiniger was Program Coordinator.
Heartbeat: The Voices of First Nations Women was produced in collaboration with the Division of Cultural History at the National Museum of American History, with support from The Recording Industries Music Performance Trust Funds, the Smithsonian Educational Outreach Fund, the American Encounters Project, the National Museum of the American Indian, the National Museum of American History, the John Hammond Fund for the Performance of American Music, and the Smithsonian Institution Special Exhibition Fund.
Presenters:
Barry Bergey, Olivia Cadaval, Harold Closter, Judith Gray, Orin Hatton, Charlotte Heth, Marjorie Hunt, Phil Minthorn, Betsy Peterson, Alice Sadongei, Gwen Shunatona, Tom Vennum, Jr.
Participants:
ASSINIBOINE-NAKOTA SINGER-SONGWRITER
Georgia Wettlin-Larsen, vocals, hand drum, rattles, River Falls, Wisconsin
IROQUOIS WOMEN'S SOCIAL DANCE
SIX NATIONS WOMEN SINGERS -- SIX NATIONS WOMEN SINGERSSadie Buck, vocals, water drum, Six Nations Reserve, Ontario, CanadaCharlene Bomberry, vocals, rattles, Six Nations Reserve, Ontario, CanadaBetsy Buck, vocals, rattles, Six Nations Reserve, Ontario, CanadaPat Hess, vocals, rattles, Six Nations Reserve, Ontario, CanadaJanice Martin, vocals, rattles, Six Nations Reserve, Ontario, CanadaMary Monture, vocals, rattles, Six Nations Reserve, Ontario, Canada
KIOWA SINGERS
Mary Ann Anquoe, 1931-2002, vocals, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Dorothy Whitehorse DeLaune, vocals, hand drum, Anadarko, Oklahoma
Anita Anquoe George, vocals, hand drum, Sapulpa, Oklahoma
Gigi Horse, vocals, Washington, D. C.
MAKAH SONGS & DANCE
Melissa Peterson, vocals, hand drum, rattles, Makah Reservation, Neah Bay, Washington
Samantha Della, vocals, dance, Makah Reservation, Neah Bay, Washington
MALISEET-PASSAMAQUODDY DRUM
THE WABUNOAG SINGERS -- THE WABUNOAG SINGERSMargaret Paul, Fredericton, New Brunswick, CanadaAlma Brooks, Fredericton, New Brunswick, CanadaConnie LaPorte, Fredericton, New Brunswick, CanadaJoan Milliea-Caravantes, Fredericton, New Brunswick, CanadaAlice Claire Tomah, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
MOHAWK SINGER-SONGWRITER
ElizaBeth Hill, vocals, guitar, Ohsweken, Canada
NAVAJO SINGER-SONGWRITERS
Geraldine Barney, vocals, flute, guitar, Tohatchi, New Mexico
Sharon Burch, vocals, guitar, Fairfield, California
NAVAJO SOCIAL DANCE SONGS
SWEETHEARTS OF NAVAJOLAND -- SWEETHEARTS OF NAVAJOLANDLillian Ashley, vocals, water drum, Navaho Reservation, Chinle, ArizonaDarlene Hardie, vocals, Navaho Reservation, Chinle, ArizonaEileen Reed, vocals, Navaho Reservation, Chinle, ArizonaAlberta Wilson, vocals, Navaho Reservation, Chinle, Arizona
NORTHERN PLAINS DRUM
CRYING WOMAN SINGERS -- CRYING WOMAN SINGERSCelina Jones, Fort Belknap Reservation, MontanaJackie Blackbird, Fort Belknap Reservation, MontanaToni Blue Shield, Fort Belknap Reservation, MontanaCora Chandler, Fort Belknap Reservation, MontanaChristina Jones, Fort Belknap Reservation, MontanaRamona Smith, Fort Belknap Reservation, MontanaGarrett Snell, Fort Belknap Reservation, MontanaRochelle Strike, Fort Belknap Reservation, MontanaSandra Wuttunee, Fort Belknap Reservation, Montana
RED EAGLE SINGERS, WIND RIVER RESERVATION, WYOMING -- RED EAGLE SINGERS, WIND RIVER RESERVATION, WYOMINGColleen Shoyo, Wind River Reservation, WyomingClaudenise Hurtado, Wind River Reservation, WyomingChardell Shoyo, Wind River Reservation, WyomingEvalita Shoyo, Wind River Reservation, WyomingLaMelia Shoyo, Wind River Reservation, WyomingBernadine Stacey, Wind River Reservation, Wyoming
PLAINS BIG DRUM
LITTLE RIVER SINGERS -- LITTLE RIVER SINGERSJohn Fitzpatrick, Washington, D.C.Bernard Covers Up, Washington, D.C.Gene Elm, Washington, D.C.Jerry Gipp, Washington, D.C.Roger Iron Cloud, Washington, D.C.
POMO SONG TRADITIONS
Bernice Torres, vocals, hand drum, rattles, Sebastopol, California
SEMINOLE SINGER AND STORYTELLER
Betty Mae Jumper, 1923-, vocals, Hollywood, Florida
SOUTHERN PLAINS SONGS
Gwen Shunatona, Pawnee-Otoe, vocals, Washington, D. C.
TRADITION-BASED CONTEMPORARY SONGS
ULALI -- ULALIPura Fe, Cherokee-Tuscarora, vocals, rattles, hand drum, Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaJennifer Kreisberg, Cherokee-Tuscarora, vocals, rattles, hand drum, Hartford, ConnecticutSoni Moreno-Primeau, Aztec-Maya, vocals, rattles, hand drum, Staten Island, New York
WARM SPRINGS AND WASCO SONG TRADITIONS
Mary Ann Meanus, vocals, hand drum, Warm Springs, Oregon
YUPIK SONG TRADITIONS
Elena Charles, 1918-, vocals, hand drum, Bethel, Alaska
Mary Stachelrodt, vocals, hand drum, Bethel, Alaska
ZUNI CEREMONIAL DANCE AND SONG
OLLA MAIDENS -- OLLA MAIDENSCornelia Bowannie, vocals, hand drum, frog box, Zuni Reserve, Zuni, New MexicoLoretta Beyuka, dance, Zuni Reserve, Zuni, New MexicoJoy Edaakie, dance, Zuni Reserve, Zuni, New MexicoArliss Luna, vocals, hand drum, frog box, Zuni Reserve, Zuni, New Mexico
Collection Restrictions:
Access to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is by appointment only. Visit our website for more information on scheduling a visit or making a digitization request. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1995 Festival of American Folklife, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
