American Indian dance and music

Significance: Native American dance and music, which incorporate and express cultural values, help people from other cultures understand the value that Indians place on nature and balance. Native people have also used dance and music to teach others that they share many motivations and needs.

Native American dance takes a number of forms, some of which are specific to the originating tribe and some that are more widespread. The Fancy Dance began in Oklahoma, where elders of the Ponca tribe called it the “crazy dance,” and it rapidly spread throughout the country. Fancy Dances are characterized by elaborate costumes and intricate footwork and are one of the many attractions at most powwows. The dancers, usually American Indian men, often compete, incorporating acrobatic moves into their steps.

American Indian groups are also known for their social and ceremonial dances, which typically involve beautiful Indian costumes and headwear and often are derived from the ancient legends of the native tribes. In some native cultures, women dance a shawl dance, wearing a shawl to indicate respect for the drums, for the dancers, and for the singers. Most Native American tribes dance hoop dances. The hoop reflects the belief shared by many tribes that time is cyclical and that the cycle of nature has no beginning and no end and includes all creatures and all natural elements. Many tribes use the Ghost Dance to show respect for and to connect to ancient ancestors; others dance the Buffalo Dance, originally performed to ensure a good hunt. Many tribes have ceremonial dances, sometimes called spear-and-shield dances, that relate stories of famous hunts, preparation for war, and battles. The Pueblo Indians of the Southwest perform the Butterfly Dance, in which beautifully costumed women and men celebrate the fertility of the butterfly. The Eastern Woodlands tribes dance the Green Corn Dance; the Plains Indians perform the Sun Dance, and the Hopis perform the Snake Dance, a kind of preliminary rain dance. Various forms of rain dances are common among many tribes including the Hopi, the Tohono O’odham, and the Pueblo Indians. The Tlinglits of Alaska dance raven dances, costumed like the raven, who serves as the trickster in many of this tribe’s native myths and legends.

Many American Indians believe that because ceremonial dances are part of a tribe’s spirituality, people should dance them only if they are members of the tribe. However, others believe that anyone who can appreciate the spirit of the dances and who can learn them should be allowed to perform them. By learning the origins of the dances and by following the stories that some of them tell, members of other cultural groups can develop an appreciation for American Indian culture.

Traditional Music

Traditional American Indian music encompasses a wide range of sounds, from melodies played on wooden flutes to drums and chantlike singing to fiddle bands. One familiar sound is that of the Indian flute. In the Plains cultures, the wooden flute was used by a young man to attract a woman. Once the courtship was over, the young man usually put the flute away. In other native cultures, the wooden flute was used for meditation.

Drums are also a part of traditional Indian music and are often used to accompany dancers. Together the drums and the dancers tell stories of battles, hunts, and other events that teach the listeners and watchers of the history and legends of the tribes. Another aspect of the musical heritage of American Indians are traditional songs. These songs, often accompanied by gourd rattles and basket drums, touch on topics such as fertility, hunting, honoring ancestors, and ceremonies. There are also traditional dance songs and creation songs. These traditional songs very clearly reflect the values and beliefs of the native tribes.

Another type of traditional music is played by the Indian fiddle bands of the Southwest. These bands were originally formed under the direction of Christian missionaries and usually consisted of violins, guitars, and sometimes the Apache fiddle. They played a variety of music including polkas, two-steps, Santiago dance tunes, and chicken scratch music. Musicologists and sociologists point out that the American Indian musicians’ capacity to develop tunes for these bands illustrates their ability to adapt and synthesize nonnative influences.

Since the beginning of the twentieth century, non-Indian composers have incorporated the sounds of native cultures in compositions that express the American identity. Some of the first composers to do this were Henry F. B. Gilbert, Arthur Farwell, John Powell, and Edward MacDowell, who is known for his 1897 composition Indian Suite.

Contemporary Music

In 1968, the American Indian Movement (AIM) was formed to further American Indian interests and defend their rights. AIM encouraged American Indians, particularly the young, to learn about their cultural heritage and to feel proud to be American Indians. Much of American Indian contemporary music grew from this movement and from the effort of American Indians to learn about and to understand their culture and their place within the larger American society. American Indian Buffy Sainte-Marie gained recognition in the 1960s and 1970s with her protest songs, and she continued to write songs that reflected her Cree heritage in the 1990s. Many American Indians combined the sounds and themes of their culture with rock, country, jazz, and blues to produce special strains of American Indian contemporary music. Rock musicians Keith Secola and the Wild Band of Warriors were popular all across the United States and Europe, as were the poet Joy Harjo and her rock band Poetic Justice. Popular singer Wayquay combined the natural sounds and chants of her Ojibway/Anishnabe ancestry with the rhythms of rock and blues to create music that made her popular in both the United States and Europe. John Trudell, an original leader of AIM, sang of his ancestors as well as of the plight of contemporary natives.

Contemporary American Indian music helps non-Indians understand that although the American Indian culture has special values and its members share a special heritage, Indians are essentially Americans who live within the same society and have the same needs, dreams, fears, and experiences as everyone else. All across the United States, American Indian radio stations play contemporary native music so that a large number of Americans have an opportunity to experience the sound and to better understand the culture behind that sound.

Bibliography

Cument, James, ed. Encyclopedia of the North American Indian. New York: Scholastic Reference, 1996. Print.

Heath, Charlotte, ed. The Music of the American Indian. Los Angeles: UCLA Ethnomusicology, 1980. Print.

Heath, Charlotte, ed. Native American Dance: Ceremonies and Social Traditions. Washington: National Museum of the American Indian and Fulcrum, 1998. Print.

Murphy, Jacqueline Shea. The People Have Never Stopped Dancing: Native American Modern Dance Histories. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 2007. Print.