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This is a list of Native American musicians and singers. They are notable musicians and singers, who are from peoples Indigenous to the contemporary United States, including Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Native Americans in the United States.[1][2] While Native American identity can at times be a complex and contested issue, the Bureau of Indian Affairs defines Native American as having American Indian or Alaska Native ancestry, and legally, being Native American is defined as being enrolled in a federally recognized tribe or Alaskan village. Ethnologically, factors such as culture, history, language, religion, and familial kinships can influence Native American identity.[3]
All individuals on this list should have reliably-sourced Native American citizenship, to be listed as Native American (or ancestry, to be listed as a descendant) not just personal claims/belief. Historical figures might predate tribal enrollment practices and would be included based on ethnological tribal membership, while any contemporary individuals should either be enrolled members of federally recognized tribes or have cited Native American ancestry and be recognized as being Native American by their respective tribes(s). Contemporary unenrolled individuals are listed as being of descent from a tribe. For guidelines on naming conventions and sourcing Native American and identities, see Determining Native American and Indigenous Canadian identities and WP:Ethnicity.
For Indigenous musicians in and from Canada, see List of Indigenous musicians in Canada.
Classical
edit- Steven Alvarez (composer, percussionist, film & stage producer)(Yaqui/Mescalero Apache/Upper Tanana Athabascan)[4]
- Timothy Archambault (composer and flutist)(Kichesipirini Algonquin First Nation)[4]
- Dawn Avery (Mohawk),[4] composer, cellist, vocalist, educator
- Louis W. Ballard (Quapaw/Cherokee), "known as the father of Native American composition[4]
- Raven Chacon (Navajo), composer and visual artist[4]
- Atalie Unkalunt (Cherokee Nation, 1895-1954), opera and Indianist singer[5]
Country and folk
edit- Joanne Shenandoah (Oneida Indian Nation, 1957–2021)
- Buddy Red Bow (Oglala Lakota)[6]
- Trixie Mattel (Bad River Ojibwe), Country and Folk Musician
Gospel
editJazz
edit- Mildred Bailey (jazz singer) (Coeur d'Alene)
- Jim Pepper (Muscogee/Kaw)
- Big Chief Russell Moore (Pima, 1912–1983)
Native American flute
edit- Robert Tree Cody (Hunkpapa/Maricopa)
- Brent Michael Davids, (Stockbridge Mohican) composer and flutist
- Joseph FireCrow (Northern Cheyenne)
- Charles Littleleaf (Warm Springs/Blackfoot)
- Kevin Locke (Lakota)
- Tom Mauchahty-Ware (Kiowa/Comanche)
- Bill Miller (Mahican)
- Robert Mirabal (Taos Pueblo)
- R. Carlos Nakai (Navajo/Ute)
- Sonny Nevaquaya (Comanche)
- Andrew Vasquez (Kiowa Apache)
- Tommy Wildcat (Cherokee Nation/Muscogee/Natchez)
- Mary Youngblood (Aleut/Seminole)
Native American protest singers
editNew age and world music
edit- Brulé (Sioux)
- Joanne Shenandoah (Oneida Indian Nation, 1957–2021)
- Verdell Primeaux and Johnny Mike (Oglala/Yankton/Ponca/Navajo)
Pop and rock
edit- Chuck Billy of Testament (Pomo)
- Jimmy Carl Black (Southern Cheyenne descent)
- Blackbraid[8]
- Blackfire (Navajo)
- Blackfoot
- Jim Boyd (Colville)[9]
- Jesse Ed Davis (Comanche/Kiowa/Muscogee/Seminole)
- Willy DeVille (Pequot)
- Gary Duncan of Quicksilver Messenger Service (Skidi Pawnee)
- Nokie Edwards (Cherokee)
- Joy Harjo and Poetic Justice (Mvskoke)
- Indigenous (Nakota)
- Debora Iyall of Romeo Void (Cowlitz)
- Jana (Lumbee)
- Grant-Lee Phillips (Muscogee (Creek)), Red Earth
- Redbone, members are mostly Yaqui/Shoshone descent
- Keith Secola (Bois Forte Chippewa)
- John Trudell (Santee Dakota)[7]
- XIT, members are Colville, Isleta Pueblo, Diné, and Muscogee Creek
- Spencer Battiest (Seminole/Choctaw)
- Sky Ferreira (Chippewa Cree)
- Samantha Crain (Choctaw Nation)
- Black Belt Eagle Scout (Swinomish/Iñupiaq)
- Quinn Christopherson (Alaskan Athabaskan/Iñupiaq)
Rap and hip hop
editPowwow music
editSee also
editReferences
edit- ^ Notable American Indians
- ^ Famous Native Americans
- ^ "IV. Our Nation’s American Indian and Alaska Native Citizens." US Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
- ^ a b c d e Hirschfelder, Arlene B. and Molin, Paulette Fairbanks (2012). The Extraordinary Book of Native American Lists, p.376-7. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810877092.
- ^ Callam, Katie A. (April 2020). 'To Look After and Preserve': Curating the American Musical Past, 1905-1945 (PhD). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
- ^ Miller, Fritz (15 August 2019). "Red Bow". South Dakota Public Broadcasting. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
- ^ a b "John Trudell". Biography. Archived from the original on 2008-02-22. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
- ^ Vincentelli, Elisabeth (5 July 2023). "Meet Blackbraid, a Black Metal Musician With Native American Roots". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 9 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ "The Jim Boyd Band". Jim Boyd. Archived from the original on 2008-03-22. Retrieved 2008-03-04.