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 Indigenous peoples 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 Indigenous men, often compete, incorporating acrobatic moves into their steps.

American Indigenous groups are also known for their social and ceremonial dances, which typically involve beautiful traditional 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 people of the Pueblo tribes 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 Indigenous people 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. 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 Indigenous 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 Indigenous culture. In the twenty-first century, more Americans have been able to see and learn about American Indian dances through social media and performances at mainstream events, like the 99th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Traditional Music

Traditional American Indigenous 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 Indigenous 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 Indigenous is 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 Indigenous 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 Indigenous 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-Indigenous 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 Indigenous interests and defend their rights. AIM encouraged American Indigenous, particularly the young, to learn about their cultural heritage and to feel proud to be Indigenous. Much of American Indigenous contemporary music grew from this movement and from the effort of American Indigenous people to learn about and to understand their culture and their place within the larger American society. Native American 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 Indigenous people combined the sounds and themes of their culture with rock, country, jazz, and blues to produce special strains of American Indigenous 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/Anishinaabe 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 Indigenous music helps non-Indigenous understand that, although the American Indigenous culture has special values and its members share a special heritage, Indigenous people 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 Indigenous radio stations play contemporary native music so that many Americans have an opportunity to experience the sound and to better understand the culture behind that sound.

Bibliography

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