Music Review: Native Americana
Exciting New Music from Indigenous Artists
Photo by Marcelo Pinto via Unsplash, 2021.
Indigenous North American artists have a strong if under-reported historical and more current role in country and Americana music, both as artists and as fans. Native music and artists have helped shape the genre from its earliest beginnings, when instruments and techniques from many cultures came together organically to create new music. And today, indigenous artists continue to produce exciting and innovative Americana music.
While this is barely scratching the surface of what’s out there today—even as I was pulling together this intro, I discovered another band called Dirt Rhodes that I want to dig into!—Jaclyn and I wanted to share some of our favorite recently discovered music. These four albums are as eclectic in sound as they are varied in the viewpoints they reflect and the ways they speak to indigenous experiences and culture.
You can also listen along on the
Buffalo Weavers, The Dark Is Getting Bright album cover art.
Buffalo Weavers, The Dark Is Getting Bright
Helmed by Ben Weaver and Tatanka Ohitika (“Strong Buffalo”), a Dakota elder and poet from the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate, this Minnesota band mingles spoken word with singing, and Native drums with banjo, guitar, fiddle, bass and washboard. Backed by Twin Cities mainstays such as Mikkel on washboard and Liz Draper on bass, their album The Dark Is Getting Bright is an atmospheric blend of poetry and music that’s at turns meditative, thought-provoking and inspiring.
Strong Buffalo via Franconia.org.
The lyrics evoke Minnesota nature as well as the tragic and brutal history between whites and Native American people, between whites and the land. The interconnectedness of it all is especially clear in “B’dote,” where Strong Buffalo muses on the place now called Fort Snelling (which is not only a site of atrocities against Native Americans throughout the years but is also named after a slave owner and is one of the Minnesota places where enslaved Black people lived, including Dred Scott).
Must-listen tracks via Bandcamp:
“The Dark Is Getting Bright” and “B’dote.”
William Prince, Gospel First Nation album artwork.
William Prince, Gospel First Nation
Award-winning First Nations singer-songwriter William Prince from Manitoba has a long and fascinating family history, as detailed on his website. His relationship with the Christian faith is also complicated due to the colonialist intentions of bringing the religion to First Nations people, and he explores the nuance in an artist statement about his latest album, Gospel First Nation: “The very singing of these songs and belief in a Lord and Saviour is the success of a plan to extinguish Indian identity. This album is an amalgamation of two realms.”
William Prince via CBC. Photo credit: Glassnote Records.
Gospel First Nation is even more enjoyable and profound when the context is understood, but even without that it’s a breathtaking record of pure throwback country (think Charley Pride). Prince has one of the most beautiful baritone voices I’ve heard in a long time, reminiscent of Conway Twitty or Johnny Cash but softer and huskier. The album contains a seamless mix of classic covers, Prince originals, and a couple of songs written by other First Nations artists (including one by his own father, Edward Prince).
Must-listen tracks:
“Gospel First Nation,” “Just a Closer Walk with Thee” and “This One I Know.”
David Huckfelt, Room Enough, Time Enough album artwork.
Various artists, David Huckfelt’s Room Enough, Time Enough
While not Native himself, Huckfelt is a longtime activist who has collaborated with many Native artists through the years in both music and the fight for social justice. This album boasts an impressive roster of Native talent contributing supporting and lead vocals, instrumentation, spoken word, and songwriting, and is a great jumping-off point to learn more about Keith Secola, Quiltman, Jackie Bird, Buddy Red Bow and more.
Keith Secola via his website.
This incredibly eclectic album ranges from reinventions of traditional cowboy songs to a Patti Smith cover, telling gritty stories, ruminating on spiritual matters and calling out injustices. Each song is a sonic and lyrical surprise. The galloping tempo of “Journey to the Spirit World” is like an uplifting counterpoint to Johnny Cash’s “Ghost Riders in the Sky,” while three songs later, distorted electric guitars rumble to kick off a cover of Smith’s “Ghost Dance.” You never know what you’re going to get next, but you’ll be glad Huckfelt and his collaborators invited you on this journey.
Quiltman via Folk Alliance International.
Must-listen tracks:
“Cole Younger,” “Journey to the Spirit World” and “Ghost Dance.”
Jackie Bird, West River Eagle. Photo credit: Jody Rust.
Annie Humphrey, Eat What You Kill album artwork via artist website.
Annie Humphrey, Eat What You Kill
(written by Jaclyn Nott)
Born and raised on the Leech Lake Ojibwe Reservation and the daughter of poet and artist Anne Dunn, Annie Humphrey has been a mainstay of the local Americana music scene for over 25 years. Having toured with bands such as the Indigo Girls (one of my all-time favorite bands) and performed for a myriad of benefits for social justice and environmental conservation, her music has been featured on film soundtracks such as, Edge of America and she was awarded Female Artist of the Year and Best Folk Recording at the 2000 Native American Music Awards.
A former marine stationed all over the world, Annie came to music, painting, and sculpture as a way of processing the complex and tumultuous generational trauma of simply being a Native American. A staunch advocate against oil drilling on Native land, the majority of the songs on her most recent album, Eat What You Kill, are fueled by anger, frustration, and defiance. With a voice reminiscent of Suzanne Vega and a sound similar to the Indigo Girls, each song reflects a plaintive melancholia steeped in remembrance, reverence, and resilience. On her website bio, she shares the advice of her direct ancestors—her father and mother—that have influenced her art and life:
“Things my dad taught me:
‘skin a deer, set net, clean fish, make maple syrup, harvest wild rice, play basketball, ride motorcycle[s], go without if you can't afford it, play guitar.’
Things my mom taught me:
‘draw, paint, sew, write, laugh, wonder, forgive’.”
Must-listen tracks via Annie’s Bandcamp site:
“Sacred Rage,” “Now She Dances,” and “Home,” with guest artist Keith Secola.
Annie Humphrey via Land of 1,000 Streams.
Any other indigenous Americana artists you would like to recommend? Let us know and we’ll add them to our YouTube playlist!
