SOUTHWESTERN TRIBES AND INDIGENOUS MUSIC (HISTORICAL AND MODERN)
Learning Targets
- I can identify some attributes of early Southwestern Indigenous peoples.
- I can understand some distinct sounds of Indigenous flutes.
Key Terms
- Apache
- Navajo
- Coyote
- Trickster
- Hogan
- Pueblo
- Yuman Music
- Oral Tradition
- Netting
- Warbling
Learn more about the original Southwestern tribes:
Artwork
Pottery, Basketry, Bead-work https://aifg.arizona.edu/film/apache-indian
Southwestern Indigenous Music
Southwest Apache – Music plays a crucial role in the ceremonies and dances that embody the culture of the Pueblos and the Southern Athabascans
Southwest Navajo – Mostly male voices perform all of the songs either solo or in chorus, accompanied by rattles, bells, or drums.
Modern Indigenous Music
Just like Indigenous culture and Indigenous peoples, Indigenous music is not something that just exists in the past. There are several current and upcoming indigenous musical artists that need to be recognized for their talents and contributions.
A few of these names include:
- Morgan Toney
- Hussein Ahmed, a.k.a. Handsome Tiger
- Sebastian Gaskin
- PIQSIQ
- Mob Bounce
Indigenous Folktale
Navajo Legend Coyote – “Coyote Tales “ is a collection of six Navajo stories about the Indigenous folktale character Coyote. These stories were collected by anthropologist William Morgan and were translated into English by linguist Robert W. Young.
HANDOUT
Art Project – Make a Native Flute (Cho-tan-ka)
Discussion Questions
- What are some of the reasons as to why it is important to understand that Indigenous culture is something that is current and relevant? Why do you think that some people may misunderstand it as something of the past?
“10 Great Indigenous Musicians to Listen to in 2021.” RAVEN Trust, 31 Dec. 2020, https://raventrust.com/top-10-indigneous-musicians/.
“6 Indigenous Artists You Need to Know in 2021 | CBC Music.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, 18 June 2021, https://www.cbc.ca/music/6-indigenous-artists-you-need-to-know-in-2021-1.6067395.
“American Indian and Native Alaskan Song.” The Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200197403.
“American Indian Film Gallery: Apache Arts and Crafts.” American Indian Film Gallery: Cultures of Apache Tribes and Hopi Tribes, https://scalar.usc.edu/works/american-indian-film-archive/apache-arts-and-crafts.
Dunbar-Ortiz, Roxanne. An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States. Beacon Press, 2015.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Southwest-Indians/480468.
The Journal of American Folk-Lore – JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/534896.
Lesley. “Historical Coil Pots – a History of Coil Pots over the Years.” Pottery Tips by the Pottery Wheel, 23 June 2021, https://thepotterywheel.com/historical-coil-pots/#america.
“Music of the American Indians of the Southwest.” Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, https://folkways.si.edu/music-of-the-american-indians-of-the-southwest/american-indian/album/smithsonian.
“Southwestern Native American Coil Pots”
https://www.thesmartteacher.com/exchange/resource/1772/Southwestern_Native_American_Coil_Pots.
“Native American (Courting) Flute.” White Crow Flutes, 14 Sept. 2020, http://www.whitecrowflutes.com/.
“Native Languages of the Americas: Cocopa Indian Legends, Myths, and Stories (Cocopah).” Cocopa Legends (Cocopah Folklore, Myths, and Traditional Indian Stories), http://www.native-languages.org/cocopa-legends.htm.
“The Warble of Early Flutes.” The Warble of Native American Flutes – FluteTree.org, https://www.flutetree.com/nature/Warble.html.