New CD: Native American Musicians
Shingoose and Duke Redbird (pictured) are among the artists featured on “Native North America (Vol 1),” a new Light in the Attic compilation of songs by musicians from the indigenous peoples of Canada and the northern US. The album’s power stems from the convergence of familiar influences (Beatles, Stones, Dylan, especially Neil Young) with the traditions, languages and lyrical concerns of the Inuit, Métis and First Nations peoples. Apart from Buffy Sainte-Marie, the Saskatchewan-born, US-raised Cree singer who became a 1960s folk star, this strand of North American music has been almost entirely forgotten.
