Heartbeat of the People: Music and Dance of the Northern Pow-wow

by Tara Browner

The intertribal pow-wow is the most widespread venue for traditional Indian music and dance in North America.  Heartbeat of the People  is an insider's journey into the dances and music, the traditions and regalia, and the functions and significance of these vital cultural events. Tara Browner focuses on the Northern pow-wow of the northern Great Plains and Great Lakes to investigate the underlying tribal and regional frameworks that reinforce personal tribal affiliations. Interviews with dancers and her own participation in pow-wow events and community provide fascinating on-the-ground accounts and provide detail to a rare ethnomusicological analysis of Northern music and dance.

Genres: Music, Native American

200 pages, Paperback

First published February 11, 2002

Reviews

[Katy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Browner, a dancer of the Southern Cloth and professor of ethnomusicology and Native American studies at UCLA presents the Northern Pow-wow in this nicely organized, clear, informative, yet easy to read text. Browner includes diagrams and pictures of the dance and music tradition as well as interviews with Native musicians and dancers. A pleasant and informative read.

[Luke Koran · Rating 4 out of 5]

I attended my first pow wow this summer, after a lifetime of feeling a deep kinship with everything the traditional Native American way of life represents. I have always been drawn towards the drum that is at the core of intertribal songs, along with the vocables that predominate the music I have been familiarized with in Minnesota and the Dakotas. Though this is a scholarly endeavor and is - at times - a dry read, Tara Browner digs deep into the northern pow wow and helps those unfamiliar with the intricacies and background knowledge of Indian tradition to better understand what is taking place. I now have a greater appreciation for what I witnessed at my first pow wow this summer, and am looking forward to better understanding the next one I may witness. After reading this work, I am certain that you, too, will be able to literally feel the heartbeat of the people.

[Allison Cawthon · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a Native person and an ethnomusicologist scholar, I thought this book was an incredible bridge between Indigenous ways of knowing and Western methods of knowledge. Extremely informative and well laid-out, and very crucial for better understanding current Native culture.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing story! I love musical theory, and to get it given to me in this perspective was just beautifully done! Learned a lot.