Happy August! We hope you are enjoying your summer break. We are still in the midst of our renovation here at the Music Library and so are continuing our virtual displays. This month we are recognizing International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. Please read through this blogpost to find highlights from our collection that feature Indigenous stories from around the world and the music that shapes them.
Let’s first explore some of the regional Indigenous music in the library’s collection. We have several that focus on Australia, including Ngarra-burria : new music and the search for an Australian sound by Christopher Sainsbury; The sounds of aurora australis : a history of Australia's musical identity by Beatrice Dalov; and Enacted Relations : Performing Knowledge in an Australian Indigenous Community by Franca Tamisari. Each of these details what Indigenous Australia sounds like and what some of the key tensions are.
We also have stories of Indigenous music in the US. "'The stories are told by us'/U.S.: politics of telling stories about Indigenous languages with (and without) music" by Yamane Maxwell and Mary Phillips details how Indigenous storytelling can reclaim Indigenous sovereignty.
"(Re)Claiming a Vocal Vernacular: Revival and Modernization of Kömei in Contemporary Kazakh Music" by Saida Daukeyeva describes how a practice of throat-singing brought to Kazakhstan from Siberia has been reconfigured by their Indigenous community.
Another interesting perspective showcases music in Asia Pacific in Community music in Oceania : many voices, one horizon edited by Brydie-Leigh Bartleet, Melissa Cain, Diana Tolmie, Anne Power, and Mari Shiobara.
Singing and survival : the music of Easter Island by Dan Bendrups traces the renewal of the Rapanui people of Easter Island through their contemporary music culture.
Everyday musical life among the indigenous Bunun, Taiwan by Jonathan P.J. Stock is an ethnographic study of a village in Taiwan populated by Indigenous Bunun, which seeks to understand how they engage with music.
"Performing Indigeneity through the Musical Piece "Miti Sunai" on Yonaguni Island, Okinawa" by Yuan-Yu Kuan details the history of this Indigenous group through one of the island’s oldest musical pieces.
"Intercultural Transformation Practices Exoticization of The Indigenous: Art, Music, and Childhood" by German Andres Santofimio Rojas explores the Nasa We’sx arts in Southern Tolima and the ways their music informs protest and emancipation.
Next, let’s expand on decolonial work currently being done. If you’re interested in this work specifically in Canada, you can find it in our June blogpost.
Decolonising and Indigenising Music Education: First Peoples Leading Research and Practice is a book by Te Oti Rakena that showcases work being done by Indigenous scholars in music and education from around the world. Each chapter focuses on a different topic and region, and each are worth the read.
"Recording Indigeneity" by Jessica Bissett Perea is a book chapter that interrogates how (and by whom) Indigenous records are kept and the differences between Indigenous and non-Indigenous records. In a similar vein, Indigeneity and the decolonizing gaze : Transnational imaginaries, media aesthetics, and social thought by Robert Stam explores interrogates western and Indigenous media and how this has shifted over time.
"Coalition Building towards Postintersectional Futures through Sámi Activist Music" by Klisala Harrison highlights the ways that Sámi musicians use music to build coalition in social movements. So too does "Claiming Back the Arctic: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Music as a Voice for the Indigenous subaltern" by Kiara Wickremasinghe highlight how Indigenous music has supported social movements, particularly those for climate justice. "Counting Coup on the Compartmentalization of Indigenous-Made Rap Music" recounts Indigenous rap music through Talon Bazille Ducheneaux, from Oceti Sakowin.
Music, indigeneity, digital media, edited by Thomas R. Hilder, Henry Stobart, and Shzr Ee Tan, explores the way that Indigenous music intersects with digital media. Indigenous communication : a global perspective by Eno Akpabio similarly explores Indigenous communication practices globally – especially with regards to digital communication.
"Decolonizing Assessment in Dance Education: Ubuntu as an Evaluative Framework in Indigenous African Dance Education Practices" by Alfdaniels Mabingo offers a re-thinking of dance education through the philosophy of Ubuntu. This offers mutuality, connection, and care, among other principles, as its basis.
Many of the materials we’ve highlighted above contain examples of Indigenous music that we encourage you to check out. In addition, here are just some of the examples of musical works we have within our collection:
- Nabunum's water : for chamber orchestra, fixed-media and video, 2017 by Melody Eötvös
- "Wallum" an indigenous name for a tropical part of Australian land : for string orchestra by Natalya Vagner
- La Sangre de los cerros : antología de la poesía quechua cantada transcribed by Raúl R. Romero y Rosalina [Rosa Elena] Vásquez
- Peru : music of the indigenous communities of Cuzco = Pérou : musiques de communautés indigènes du Cuzco
- My people by the group Cha Wa.
If you’re looking for Indigenous artists from a specific region, you can take a look at the list from International Indigenous Music Summit (an external site).
Thank you for reading through our exhibit for this month. If you have any suggestions for content to add feel free to suggest a purchase for the collection. See you in September!