Singing the Songs of My Ancestors: The Life and Music of Helma Swan, Makah Elder (The Civilization of the American Indian Series)

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Description

Ever since she was once a small child, Helma Swan, the daughter of a Northwest Coast chief, loved and learned the music of her people. As an adult she began to sing, despite the fact that traditionally Makah singers had been men. How did this sort of situation develop? In her own words, Helma Swan tells the bizarre story of her life, her music, and how she became a singer. An excellent storyteller, she speaks of both musical and non-musical activities and events. Along with discussing song ownership and other Makah musical concepts, she describes songs, dances, and potlatch ceremonies; proper care of masks and costumes; and changing views of Native music education. More typically, she speaks of cultural changes that have had profound effects on contemporary Makah life.

Drawing on more than twenty years of research and oral history interviews, Linda J. Goodman in Singing the Songs of My Ancestors presents a reasonably different point of view-that of the anthropologist/ethnomusicologist interested in Makah culture and history in addition to the changing musical and ceremonial roles of Makah women and men. Her information provides a context for Helma Swan’s stories and songs. Taken together, the two perspectives allow the reader to embark on a vivid and absorbing journey through Makah life, music, and ceremony spanning a few of the twentieth century. Studies of American Indian women musicians are rare; this is the first to focus on a Northwest Coast woman who is an outstanding singer and storyteller in addition to a conservator of her tribe’s cultural traditions.

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