Outside the Classroom

Jan Term allows students to learn a whole bunch of neat information in such a short amount of time but because of that topics are sometimes rushed. There is only so much time we can spend speaking about the music of Native Americans and Sub Saharan Africa. So today I decided to share some information that we didn’t get time to hit in class.

Buffy Sainte-Marie is a Candian native singer-songwriter who’s apart of the Cree First Nation. Cree is one of the largest indigenous groups located in Canada that is apart of the First Nations. She was born on the reserve but then taken away in her early life to be adopted by a family in Massachusetts. In an NPR interview, she goes into detail about how for generations children will be removed from their homes and forced to assimilate to a culture they’re unaware of. In the same interview, she speaks briefly about her abusive life but clearly states about how that is not what her story is about. Her story is about “going beyond that,” which leads to how she discovered her passion for music. Her music revolves around bringing the truth in social/political issues on top mentioning topics about indigenous life. Below I’ve attached two songs that quickly stood out to me from her most recent album Medicine Songs. The first song “The War Racket” tackles the topic of the economic hierarchy around the world. The second song “Starwalker” is supposed to be a musical analogy about indigenous healers. Also, if anyone is interested I’ve embedded the NPR article.

Before we received modern artists like Sainte-Marie we have to throw it back to where these ideas even originated. In this section, we will speak about the history of the jingle dress and it importance in the Native American culture. These dresses were first seen with the Ojibewea tribe but soon spread to places like Wisconsin. The dress was originally created to help cure a granddaughter who grew ill with what many are claiming was the Spanish Flu. The dressed received its name because of the ziibaaska’iganan or metal cones that were sowed onto the dress. The dance itself involved minimal effort/movement because they believed it could be performed by people who are ill. Now the meaning has been shifted is used more towards competitive use. Jingle dancers usually will dance to the beat of a drum that was made from animal skin and wood. Below is an example of the type of music they would dance to using that dress. The dance being presented is known as the Side Step. I’ve also embedded a neat video by National Geographic relating to powwows.

Lastly, we will travel over to Uganda and talk about the people of Baganda. They are currently the dominant Bantu speaking ethnic group located in central Uganda. The Baganda has a variety of dances ranging from topics of love, politics and so much more. They would also use dance to worship God much like the Native Americans and spirituality. Kiganda dances are known for there consistent circular waist movement and tiptoeing while hands are out to the side. The main sound that is heard during the dance would be one of a drum. The drum that gave the dancers the main beat was known as the Empunyi. The Namunjoloba is another drum that controls the dance itself. A xylophone styled instrument called the Amadinda gave the music a melodic structure. The video below was the best quality video I could find but it highlights the features explained in this paragraph plus its children dancing.

I hope you enjoyed learning some more cool facts!