Introduction
This page explains how to search for books on Indigenous music using the library catalog. The box below includes search tips so that you can do some browsing on your own. If you don't know where to start and want to see a selection of what the Library has available, check out the box at the bottom of this page.
Search Tips
Conducting a keyword search in the library catalog is always a great place to start. Use the "Material Type" filter on the right of the "Advanced Search" screen to limit your results to "Books."
Search for Native American, Amerindian, Indian, First Peoples, First Nations, Aboriginal, or Indigenous as keywords. You can also link multiple words from this list together using "OR" to get more results (e.g. Native American OR Indian OR Indigenous)
Because of the interdisciplinary nature of studying Indigenous musics, you will find related materials in many of the libraries on campus, so avoid limiting your search to only the Music & Performing Arts Library.
After finding a relevant book in the catalog, use the topics (listed in the subject field of the record) to find related materials. At this point, if you've identified several promising materials that have the same subjects listed, consider clicking on any of the subject headings to launch a new search for similarly classified items.
For a more exhaustive list of call number ranges to browse and suggested subject headings, see the Tips for Exploring the Collection box on the "Getting Started" page.
Selected Books
Music of the First Nations by Call Number: Online and MPAL ML3557 .M875 2009This unique anthology presents a wide variety of approaches to an ethnomusicology of Inuit and Native North American musical expression. Contributors include Native and non-Native scholars who provide perspectives on aboriginal culture, incorporating both traditional practices and contemporary musical influences.
Visions of Sound: musical instruments of First Nations communities in Northeastern America by Call Number: ML3557 D52V5The most comprehensive study ever undertaken of the musical instruments of native people in Northeastern North America, Visions of Sound focuses on interpretations by elders and consultants from Iroquois, Wabanati, Innuat, and Anishnabek communities.
Heartbeat, Warble, and the Electric Powwow by Call Number: MPAL ML3557 .H38H4 2016Despite centuries of suppression and oppression, American Indian music survives today as a profound cultural force. Heartbeat, Warble, and the Electric Powwow celebrates in depth the vibrant soundscape of Native North America, from the "heartbeat" of intertribal drums and "warble" of Native flutes to contemporary rock, hip-hop, and electronic music.
Hip Hop Beats, Indigenous Rhymes by Call Number: MPAL ML3531 .M29H5 2018Argues that Indigenous hip hop is the latest and newest assertion of Indigenous sovereignty throughout Indigenous North America.
Aboriginal Music in Contemporary Canada by Call Number: MPAL ML3563.6 .A154 2012First Nations, Inuit, and Métis music in Canada is dynamic and diverse, reflecting continuities with earlier traditions and innovative approaches to creating new musical sounds. Aboriginal Music in Contemporary Canada narrates a story of resistance and renewal, struggle and success, as indigenous musicians in Canada negotiate who they are and who they want to be.
Intertribal Native American Music in the United States by Call Number: ML3557 .P47I5 2014The development of a shared musical heritage amongst the various Native American tribes reveals a history fraught with the tension of the give-and-take between cultural maintenance and new cultural creation. In Intertribal Native American Music in the United States, author John-Carlos Perea explores this tension and shows how traditional sounds have developed into increasingly recognizable forms.
