Music of indigenous Americans
Floyd “Red Crow” Westerman
He was born as Floyd Westerman on the Lake Traverse Indian Reservation in South Dakota. He was a Dakota Sioux musician, country singer and a political activist in his early life. His indigenous name is Kanghi Duta which means “Red Crow” in the Dakota language. When he was just ten years old Floyd was sent to Wahpeton Boarding School. In this school, the native American children were forced to live a “white” lifestyle. They had to cut their long hair and were not allowed to speak their native languages.
As an adult he reclaimed his heritage and became an advocate for Indigenous cultural preservation. Westerman Graduated from Northern State University with a bachelor's degree in secondary education. After he served two years in the U.S Marines, he began a career as a country singer. His songs often looked at the impact of European culture on his native culture. Westerman’s most popular song is called “Wounded Knee.” It was a song protecting against the boarding schools he and the other Native Americans were forced to attend. In 1990 he toured with Sting to raise funds to preserve the endangered rainforests. Over his career, Westerman won many awards including the Lifetime Achievement Award, Award for Generosity, and The Living Legend Award and many more. Westerman was also in film and TV shows, including an appearance on the “Dharma and Greg Show” that I watched.
Hoop Dancing
Hoop dancing is a choreographed prayer. The hoops represent the animals and symbols that are sometimes put together to make circles. Native American's do Hoop Dances because.... The Hoop dance is a symbol to the never-ending circle of life it does not have a beginning or an end. They dance the hoop dance at traditional healing ceremonies, and the hoop's significance enhances the embodiment of healing ceremonies.
Hoop dancing uses homemade hoops that shift into different positions and hula hoops are made of plastic and it goes around your waist. They use feet or hands to represent other things. Sometimes the hoops look like different animals. No one really knows how long people have been hoop dancing. Some of the hoop dancers dance with 50 hoops, other dancers use 3 hoops. The hoop dancers wear traditional costumes while they dance to show respect to their culture. The first nations dancers wear specially made costumes. Costumes are colorful and often match the specially made hoops the dancer us. Hoop dancing is passed down onto the younger generation from the older generations. I like how there is no age limit to hoop dancing like the other traditions. Hoop makers make the hoops for the dancers. The dancers do not buy their hoops from the store. Hoops are made out of willow and they are soaked in water until they could bend . Some dancers still use wooden hoops, today it is more common to see hoops made out of reeds and hoops made of plastic since they last longer. They sometimes do hoop dancing at Powwows.
https://www.aaanativearts.com/hoop-dance-pow-wow-dances
Navajo Yei Be Chai Chant
The Navajo Yei Be Chai is a traditional Native American chant that can be performed at traditional Native American events. It is performed by the Mesa Verde Group Singers. The Mesa Verde Group Singers is a Group of Native American singers who sing many traditional Native American Chants and Songs. They are based off of the Mesa Verde peoples found in areas of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. The Navajo Yei Be Chai is a healing ceremony . During the first four days of the healing ceremony the patient is sweated sometimes in a small sweat lodge often by being placed upon a spot previously heated by a fire and covered with heavy blankets. The first to days of the ceremony are brief with a few people after dark the singer is assisted by two men.
https://navajopeople.org/blog/yei-bi-chei-night-chant-first-day
When I listen to the music from Hoop Dances or The Navajo chants for healing, it reminds me of...it sounds like, I hear hints of Harmony and melody like modern day pop has and I also hear a simple steady beat like in modern rap songs. It doesn't sound the same as modern day rap or pop.
Wow! I never knew hoop dancing could fascinate me so much! The significance of the hoop symbolizing the cycle of life and that it is never ending makes so much sense and after reading your blog I understand so much more about it now. Watching the video and looking at how they would do a hoop dance in modern time it looks extremely difficult! I was watching and was baffled at how they do it. Awesome blog over all!
ReplyDeleteI really loved the detail you went into about your topics! Very thorough! Westerman’s song was also really cool to listen to. I think my favorite part to read about your blog was the hoop dancing. The video was amazing and you provided a lot of details. Thanks for the post!
ReplyDeleteThis is really well put together, Katy! I loved hearing about the whole process of how they make their hoops and how it is essentially part of the tradition of the dance to make it themselves. It was also awesome to watch the video! I's amazing how natural they look when performing. The hoops almost look like they're connected to each other. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI found the Westerman story to be very interesting. I did not know that Native American children were actually forced to cut their long hair when they were put into the schools. I find it so cool that he actually toured with Sting and raised the funds to help the endangered rainforests. I did not realize that hoop dancing is a prayer dance and that it represents the circle of life.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you looked more into Floyd Red Crow Westerman because I was actually really interested in him when I saw him in an interview in class. I even listened to some of his music on my own. It was interesting to find out he went to college and went into the military. I didn't know he did so many things before coming a country singer.
ReplyDeleteInteresting facts and information about Floyd Red Crow Westernman. Thanks for the introduction into the Yei Be Chai chant. I think that it was super weird for me to listen to, but I got use to it after a while and even listened to it again. It almost sounds like a war chant, but it is actually a healing chant. I can almost picture them dancing around a person while using this chant.
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