Heartbeat: The Voices of First Nations Women
odd: label: Introduction
content: 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.
label: Presenters
content: 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.
label: Participants
content: 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
name: label: Collection Creator
content: Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
setName: label: See more items in
content: Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1995 Festival of American Folklife
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections
identifier: label: Identifier
content: CFCH.SFF.1995, Series 4
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials