Native American music: Quick Facts

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Photos and Videos

Native American musicians in colorful regalia play a large decorated drum together at a pow wow, with drumsticks striking the drumhead.

Gerimiah Holy Bull of the Sicangu Lakota Oyate tribe performs a Fancy Dance in colorful regalia on grassland in Badlands National Park, with rocky cliffs in the background.

Yaqui Deer dancer

Mayan tripod vessel with rattles

Kwakiutl man in traditional dress

A dancer in a bright pink shawl with fringe, wearing traditional regalia adorned with blue and black accents, performs at an outdoor cultural event.

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Topics

huehuetl teponaztli peyote music panpipe trutruka Native American South American Indian Middle American Indian Indigenous peoples of the Americas music Western music African music Oceanic music and dance Middle Eastern music opera Notre-Dame school Native American art Japanese music jazz harmony

Key People

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Louis Ballard

American composer and music educator

Young girl wearing a demin jacket playing the trumpet (child, musical instruments, Asian ethnicity)

Sound Check: Musical Vocabulary Quiz