Annotated Bibliography: Native American Song and Dance Traditions and Culture

Student’s Name

Professor’s Name

Course

Date

Native American Song and Dance Traditions and Culture

Diamond, Beverley. Native American music in eastern North America: Experiencing music, expressing culture. Oxford University Press, 2008

This book focuses on elevating Native American ontologies from the perspective of indigenous performances. In the first chapters of the book, the author clarifies various stereotypes and misconceptions that are often associated with Native American songs and dances. Beyond that, Diamond iterates how indigenous performances are influenced by traditional social values and cultural history. In some sections, Diamond indicated that there are parallels that exist in the performances of different Native American tribes. In this case, Beverly summarizes the ideology behind Native American traditions as well as the indoctrination of modern aspects of indigenous songs and dances.

Bloechl, Olivia A. Native American song at the frontiers of early modern music. Cambridge University Press, 2008.

            The article by Olivia Bloechl seeks to elucidate the development of postcolonial Native American musicology. For that reason, Bloechl incorporated various musical compositions and theories from this era. Instead of focusing solely on Native American practices, the author concentrates on the relationship between English, French and indigenous music traditions. Nonetheless, it is important to understand that Bloechl’s findings are quite convoluted unless one already possesses prior knowledge relating to Native American songs and dances.

Swann, Brian, ed. Sky Loom: Native American Myth, Story, and Song. University of Nebraska Press, 2014.

            This book rationalizes a number of myths, stories and songs based on Native American customs. Several performances were selected for cross-examination in accordance with whether they represent the larger perspective of native folklore. For this book, the historical and cultural significance of Native American songs and dances were briefly summarized. Rather than evaluating the interpretations of different narratives, Swann centered on the ethnolinguistic translations and themes of Indigenous songs and dances. All in all, the insight garnered from this book outline the familiarities between major Native American performances.

Murphy, Jacqueline Shea. The people have never stopped dancing: Native American modern dance histories. University of Minnesota Press, 2007.

            Jacqueline Murphy detailed the contemporary implications of Native American traditions to modern dance choreography. On top of that, the author cited incidences where people took an active role in impeding the growth of indigenous songs and dances. The twentieth century is portrayed as a time of great upheaval due to the incorporation of Native American aspects to modern performances. In addition, the author addresses the stereotypes typically linked to Native American musicology. In brief, the focus of this book is the enactment of indigenous dance choreographies rather than the representation of cultural traditions.

Prichard, Robin. "Honoring the Past, Changing the Future: Bringing Native American Voices into Dance Theory Courses." Journal of Dance Education 16.2 (2016): 39-47.

            Robin Prichard wrote this article with the main aim of guiding instructors who teach Native American dance. In this article, the author stresses that there are numerous unnoticeable pitfalls associated with Native American performances. The author focuses on the application of indigenous concepts in the classroom environment. With that said, this editorial proposes suitable practices for helping ignorant instructors understand the intricacies of Native American dances. In the end, Hollrah explains how people can apply contemporary knowledge of Native American traditions to performances, specifically through dancing.