Contemporary Singing

[BigBearStyle]

Hey, just wondering who was the original word singer. I was just wondering on what people have to say about this. I know and have heard alot of people claime they started word singing. But I want to know what you people think. Who do youthink really started it. I know different tribes had words in some songs in some form. But who were or was the person that started it all. The person that really made it popular in pow-wow circles.

[Kiwehnzii]

Heard lots of word songs back in the late seventies.

Red Nations singers did mostly word songs.

So did Chiniki Lake

As did Whitefish Bay.

Rod Hunter is the only individual that sez he gave it a start. He was with Chiniki Lake then.

I'm talking in the sense of non-traditional songs that were used for contest songs, honor songs, family songs, etc.

There always were words for many of those songs.

[Kiwehnzii]

Oh yeah! Remember that guy who put that little "ehhhhhhhh" in between the first & second verses ? He sang with Chiniki Lake.

[pow-wow-wooer]

I can't believe there are some people walking around saying they started this and started that.... You are right to say that most tribes had words in their ceremonial songs, therefore thats where it started. way, way back, to honour creation and everything like that... as far as incorporating pow-wow, thats nothing to brag about. Its almost controversial, as far as I'm concerned. But its the different drums that make words songs sound awsome. Not the whole "word song" ideology..

[sewiyakana]

i would have to agree with mr pow wow wooer, i am sure that the phenom of using the language in pow wow songs is fairly recent and i dont think that there would be one person to say that he/she is responsible for this. Words have been used for many many years in non-pow wow songs, and this is where in my opinion the influence came from. It would seem very 'natural' to bring the language to the pow wow songs as they were already in many of the ceremonial songs etc.

[[]FlyByNyte[]]

kiwehnzii...is that the same Rod Hunter that sings with
Eya-Hey-Nakoda

[itokasniye]

Now is this WORDS in CONTEMP songs or WORDS IN SONGS FIRST???

Havent words been in songs for a long long time? hundreds of years? Since the NDN has had a language?

A short example is the old time lakota songs from the 1800s? I dont think anyone is alive from then that can say they invented it.

And what makes a contemporary song? will it be a traditional song in 100 years?

[Kiwehnzii]

Same Rod Hunter.

He is a powwows.com member. Sonny454 or something like that. Good guy.

[[]FlyByNyte[]]

Kewl...i met him 2 years ago at Schemitz...we sat right beside Eya Hey Nakoda....great guy...actually the whole group is a bunch of kewl peeps....love their singing

but i have heard that he was one of the first to do word songs for powwows