NATIVE AMERICAN MUSIC
Native American music is fairly homogeneous
Common Native American instruments are singing and drums
Typically there are eight different musical areas
Plains style: Blackfoot “War or Grass Dance song,” Textbook CD 3, track 12
Eastern style: “Creek Stomp Dance Song”, Textbook CD 3, track 13
Lummi Stick Game Song Textbook CD 3, track 14
Intertribal styles have developed in recent times
Pawnee Ghost Dance Song: “The Yellow Star,” Textbook CD 3, track 15
Kiowa Peyote Song: Opening Prayer Song and Sunrise Song, tracks 16 & 17
The powwow is an intertribal event that builds a sense of ethnic identity
Two Modern Powwow Love Songs, Textbook CD 3, track 18
Popular music includes Indian rock music and Native American flute music
Native American songs tend to be very short, but sung in large groups for specific rituals
The voice is the primary instrument, with drums, rattles, scrappers, and flutes the most widespread instruments
The singing style usually features a tense, pulsating voice
There are eight regions that have common musical cultures
Music serves as a mediator between us and the supernatural world
Individual skill is not valued as highly as group participation in performance
Today, Western pop influences—including rock and rap—have led to a new type of intertribal popular music
Since a musical system is a reflection of the rest of the culture, how is it so in Native American cultures?
Since a musical system is a reflection of the rest of the culture, how is it so in African cultures?
Since a musical system is a reflection of the rest of the culture, how is it so in Asian cultures?
Since a musical system is a reflection of the rest of the culture, how is it so in American popular culture?
How can powwows be seen as an existing Native American culture on the one hand and a vanished culture on the other?
Will powwows ever be enough to bring back older Native American cultures?