Medicine Cat

Hola kitties! Back when I was a Twitter dj, we used to have themes for our pawties. Many of the themes were hard to fill an hour with songs fitting the theme. One week the theme was "Cowboys and Indians." I knew which side I was on but I was worried I wouldn't have enough music to fill an hour. The town I live was once the territory of the Hackensack and Tappan, of the Turtle Clan, or Unami, a branch of the Lenni Lenape.

I'm this month's musical conductor and co-host for the Music Moves Me blog hop. I'm joining Curious As a Cathy and the rest of the #4M crew. On August 3, 1990, President George H. W. Bush declared the month of November as National American Indian Heritage Month which became Native American Heritage Month. I thought this would be a great weekly theme.

I'd met a Twitter furrend named @LttleCrow whose dad was Native American. He was also a musician so I axed him for advice. Not only did he innerduce me to some amazing music but he made my avatar too using medicine man makeup. Thank you @LttleCrow's dad. I wish Grooveshark was still around so I could go back and check my original setlist but I think I remember most of the important musicians.

My setlist consists of traditional Native American musicians followed by some better known artists and a few that you may not know had Native American heritage. I chose some gorgeous instrumentals and a few "protest" songs because Indigenous people were screwed by the Europeans who settled their country and committed atrocities against them.

Richard Ball—"The End of Darkness" Funny I would begin the set with a song with this title. He happens to be @LttleCrow's dad and an accomplished flutist. Flute plays an important role in Native American music.
Richard Ball—"The World of the Crow" Did you hear the crows singing to the music? You can learn more about him at his website or download his music for any amount you'd like here.
John Trudell—"Heart Taker," "I Went so Willing" and "Blue Indians" A trio of songs by this poet from the Santee Dakota tribe.
Native Song—"Ly O Lay Ale Loya (Circle Danger)"
"Amazing Grace in Cherokee" Simply beautiful.
Robert Mirabal—"Medicine Man"
R. Carlos Nakai—"Shaman's Call"
Buffy Sainte-Marie—"My Country Tis of Thy People You're Dying" and "Now that the Buffalo's Gone" Some political music by one of the better known Indigenous musicians.
Jim Pepper—"Witchi-Tai-To" Jim wrote this song which you might recognize since it was covered by Brewer & Shipley. Jim was a member of the Creek & Kaw tribe.
Paul Revere & the Raiders—"Indian Reservation" A hit from the '70s. And, yeah, YouTube got the title wrong.
Indigo Girls—Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" Another Buffy Sainte-Marie song interpreted by Atlanta's Indigo Girls.
Willy DeVille—"Cadillac Walk" We didn't know that Willy DeVille's ancestry is Pequot but now we do.
Grant Lee Buffalo—"America Snoring" Grant Lee Phillips bleeds Creek blood.
Walking Eagle—"Lament for Crazy Horse" Walking Eagle is Richard Ball. I though it would be fitting to end as I begun.

Hope you enjoyed my tunes. Thank you for having an open mind and listening despite this not being the new wave and punk I usually share. Here's a gratuitous cat pic. That's not food on my nose. It's just the way the light was hitting it.