Music of Indigenous People

1.     During class we have watched many videos about Powwows and different dances. Well, I didn’t quite grasp the amount of dances the Indigenous people have. It’s an unbelievable amount and they are all used for a number of reasons. Some examples of the dances are Fancy Dance, Ghost Dance, Gourd Dance, Grass Dance, Hoop Dance, Hopi Snake Dance, Rain Dance, Stomp Dance, Sun Dance, and War Dance.  While in my German and Native American class, we have talked about the Chicken Dance. The purpose of the Chicken Dance is to mimic the male Lesser Prairie-Chicken. Men in the Southern Great Plains prairie community with dress in fluffing feather and display the male prairie chicken rituals; strutting, picking motion, tapping the ground whole moving and spinning. This is a way to celebrate the connection the Native American have with the prairie chicken. 

2.      I wanted to know a little bit more about the turtle shells being made into shakers. David Crawler is the one making the turtle shell shakers. Of course, the shakers are made out of turtle shells but the shells have to be dried out on a very hot day. After they are finished drying out, there are holes drilled into the turtle shell. The turtle shell is filled with rock, stones, or pebbles to add the shaking part to them. David says the shell have to sound the same so sometimes you have to add or take away the stones or pebbles for them to sound the same. The video clarified that the turtle shell shakers are meant for women to wear them. The women don’t sing with their voices because they use their shakers as them. The men are the ones singing the vocables. David takes pride in making these shakers and he knows making the turtle shell shakers won’t die out because the young ones and grandchildren watch and are interested in them. I really find this process really interesting and I would have never realized this would be such a big part of their culture and especially the stomp dance. 

3.     Jingle dresses are worn during competitive powwows where they dance in them. Jingle dresses have a long history but I was curious as to what the jingle dresses were made out. To make that certain noise I knew it would have to be metal. In fact, jingle dresses are an idiophone and the metal cones on the dress are made out of the top of metal dip/snuff cans. The metal cones are now usually machine made and not a dip can lid. After the cones are shaped, the 365 cones are then sewed into the dress. When the cones hit each other, they are supposed to sound like the rain falling. The woman dancing is staying light on her feet and moving them to the drum. She needs to pay close attention because when the beat stops, she needs to stop. 

Bibliography:

“The Interconnection between Native People and Prairie-Chickens.” Lesser Prairie-Chicken Initiative, 26 Mar. 2015, www.lpcinitiative.org/prairie-community/the-people/american-indians/. 

Ratna. “Cultural Significance of Turtle Shell Shakers (Part i).” By Tribal, 2 July 2020, www.bytribal.com/native-american-artists/cultural-significance-of-turtle-shell-shakers-w-britteny-cuevas-of-the-mucogee-creek-nation/. 

G, About Paul. “Jingle Dress Dance: Native American Meaning and History.” PowWows.com, 10 Aug. 2021, www.powwows.com/jingle-dress-dance/.