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About the Book
Excerpt from Introduction
"There has been a growing need to compile and present some sort of accounting of Native music recordings. While this volume could never possibly include every musician, group or project, it is thoroughly researched and accurate as to its contents and draws attention to the wealth of material that remains to be included. While this is as definitive as one can hope, there still remains an incredible amount of information yet to be included. It is the author’s intention to provide a representation of what exists, what has been lost and what yet may be found...
I’m aware of many other artists and recordings not listed due to time restraints, unavailability of subjects or lack of information, but I see this project as shaking of a tree to see what falls out. Unfortunately, this single project cannot be everything to everyone. However, contributors are welcome to contact the author regarding the inclusion of relevant information in future volumes."
Contents of the Encyclopedia of Native Music
(The summarized introductory chapters appear below in brackets)
Arctic/Circumpolar Region
(classifications, forms, characteristics, geographical reach, instruments)
Contemporary Artists/Groups Compilation & Soundtrack Albums
Traditional/Archival/Spoken Word Recordings
Chicken Scratch
(history, characteristics, geographical reach, instruments)
Contemporary Music of Turtle Island
(history, characteristics, geographical reach, artists, genres)
Contemporary Artists/Groups
Contemporary Compilation Albums
Contemporary Soundtrack Albums
Spoken Word Recordings
Audio Books
Children’s Recordings
Comedy Recordings
Legends & Story Telling
Poetry Recordings
Flute Music of Turtle Island
(history, characteristics, geographical reach, purpose and instruments)
Flute Music Artists
Flute Music Compilation Albums
Peyote Ritual Music
(history, characteristics, instruments, geographical reach)
Pow wow Music
(history, characteristics, classifications, forms, styles, geographical reach)
Traditional/Archival Music
(overview of recordings by ethnomusicologists/anthropologists to the emergence of the first Native record labels)
Traditional/Archival Music
Solo/Group Recordings
Traditional/Archival Music
Compilation Albums
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Project History
The unwitting research for The Encyclopedia of Native Music began as a playlist for the first radio program I hosted at CKLN in 1985. However, since the first word hit the blank page in 1997, I had no idea that it marked the beginning of an incredible journey. I had originally signed with a music book publisher in Canada in 1999, and after a strange, yet unusually fortunate twist of fate, I emerged from a bad contract with rights and manuscript intact – a little older and a lot wiser. The road to getting the work into print involved a huge learning curve in publishing law, research, compiling and developing a unique blueprint for something that didn’t exist before. The manuscript underwent several detailed reviews by various experts including musicologists, historians, academics, industry and cultural advisors selected by different university presses. The response to the manuscript was overwhelming. The University of Arizona Press offered the best contract and a year after signing, the book was in hand.
Research Parameters
Due to the expansive regions and untold numbers of artists and recordings, the research draws on commercially released recordings starting from reservation-based artists and working out into the mainstream spanning a century of material in all genres. North America, in this context includes the Arctic/Circumpolar Region that stretches from Greenland across the Canadian Arctic to Alaska, and down to the US-Mexico border. The geography is identified as North America in the original sub-title for the book, which suggests that additional volumes dealing with South America and other regions might follow. Manageable research parameters dealing with North America needed to be established. At times, the politics of Native identity and definition, including geographical reach required precise and critical justification. For example, there is a growing number of Metis artists who are entering the music scene as such, as well as a growing number of individuals who claim Metis roots, and many others who self-identify as Native. Mexico presnets an immense research task, and politically, that country considers itself as part of South America. Due to the extensive number of tribes, peoples and nations including Mestizos and Tex-Mex border music, and the inclusion of all other related groups, the inclusion of so much diversity would have rendered this project to be completely impossible. However, I do not intend to deny or diminish their inclusion. Indeed, many indigenous peoples within Mexico and South America prefer to be associated with indigenous roots rather than being referred to as Latin since the term denotes European identity. However, at this point, the project remains to be North America beginning with reservation-based subjects and extending into urban areas with mainstream influence. The inclusion of independent recordings and Native-owned labels is critical in this area of research as a native music industry is beginning to make a greater presence as a whole. The goal is to identify and understand the culture and the music, while, hopefully, enabling people to find and enjoy the songs of the indigenous people.
Assistance/Information
There has never been a project of this depth that presents an informative perspective on commercially released Native music recordings with a critical analysis from within the Native community. It is not the intent of this site to provide background on every music form or to provide definition for all Native nations and their cultures, but to introduce these areas as a foundation for the contemporary music scene that is beginning to come into its own as an industry. However, the relationship of Native musicians in the mainstream and contemporary field has enjoyed a long history. There are many performers and singer/songwriters who have made fundamental contributions to the development of various styles of contemporary music including country and western, jazz and the blues which all have roots in North America, derived from indigenous origins alongside influences from Europe, Africa and elsewhere.
The intent of this site is to provide an insight into the incredible number of artists and their commercially released recordings, as well as providing links and reading lists for further research. This site is a doorway to information detailing the overwhelming amount of Native music that is currently available, while providing a glimpse into the historical presence of Native artists and music in the mainstream.
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