Musical Trip with Black Lodge Singers: Northern Plains Native American Music
"Black Lodge Drums Group" (Roberts)
As I was thinking about where I should take this "musical trip" to, as in which country, what artist, etc. My Spotify was on shuffle and Old Blackfeet Song by Black Lodge Singers started to play. Then I thought to myself "wait, I come from a whole culture that has music involved both spiritually and for entertainment". This is what helped me land on focusing this trip to the Northern Plains in the United States of the famous Black Lodge Singers. Among this region are different tribes which all have their own unique culture, I am from the Blackfeet Nation. One thing we all have in common here on the plains is our love for the powwow trail and celebrating our culture through traditional songs and dancing.
Every summer as a kid, I was most excited for my peoples huge powwow called "North American Indian Days" located in Browning, Montana. It was a time for my family to gather, enjoy food, the rodeo, and of course the main event; the singers and dancers that make this powwow whole. A powwow is a "large intertribal gatherings of Native American singers, dancers, and spectators that have become a ubiquitous part of musical and social life for many Native Americans living on reserves and in urban areas" (Scales 4). Now that you have a very basic idea of what a powwow is, allow me to deep dive into what is most important behind this blog; the music.
The reason why powwow music is very different from other music is because there are only two components that make up the timbre; drum and vocals. This creates a very loud sound not only from the drums but within the vocals as well. Both of these sounds really push each other upwards to create this heavy, rich sound that complement each other nicely. It can be described as "tense, tight, and strained vocal style; Northern tribes prefer a high vocal range" (Burton 12). The beat can be a steady but this all depends on which type of song the drum group is asked to sing. If the group is asked to play some good ole 49er songs (round dance song-also the Love Song by Black Lodge Singers on this blog is considered a round dance song), it would be a three-quarter time signature. While you are at a powwow, you are definitely going to hear what sounds like a heartbeat coming from the arbor/dancing arena. This "heart beat" sound is coming from this huge powerful drum made out of "rawhide of deer, elk, or buffalo" (Nath). I have always been told that this is the heart beat of Mother Earth and it represents the sounds a baby would hear inside their mother's womb.
I wanted to explore my favorite drum group called "Black Lodge Singers" who are actually 8 time Grammy Nominee's ("Grammy Awards"). These are the two examples I have added to this blog below. I really hope you enjoy them as much as I do. This drum group is led by "Kenny ScabbyRobe of the Blackfeet Nation" ("Black Lodge Singers"). ScabbyRobe is accompanied by his twelve sons as well in this drum group ("Black Lodge Singers").
No matter where I am in the world, if I put on Black Lodge Singers, then I feel like I'm home. The sound of that drum beat really heals something inside of me. Maybe it is because I haven't lived on my peoples reservation in over 5 years and my heart longs for home. Whenever I hear Black Lodge Singers, I am immeditatley filled with pride because they carry our ancestors voices and I am privileged to be able to listen to it and share it with others. In my language we say Niitawatsipiikinitaki which means "I am lonesome for home". When I listen to Black Lodge Singers I am not only lonesome for home but I am grateful for where I am today and the people I come from.
Love Song by Black Lodge Singers by Gewajega, 2 Apr. 2008, USA.
SpongeBob SquarePants- Black Lodge Singers by proudnish, 27 Nov. 2008, USA.
SpongeBob SquarePants- Black Lodge Singers by proudnish, 27 Nov. 2008, USA.
Work Cited
"Black Lodge Singers." Wikipedia/; The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 09 Sep. 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Lodge_Singers
Burton, J. Bryan. Native Peoples of North America. Miami University. Accessed 17 Mar. 2026. http://staff.lib.muohio.edu/~millarj/music/486118c6e1dd4z.pdf
"Grammy Awards." Grammy, Accessed 17 Mar. 2026. https://www.grammy.com/artists/black-lodge/15791
Roberts, Chris, "Black Lodge Drum Group" (2006). Chris Roberts Kyiyo Powwow Photographs.11. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/roberts_photographs/11/
Scales, Christopher A, Recording Culture: Powwow Music. Duke University Press. 2012. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=S4abELwIj-YC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=native+american+powwow+music+&ots=RScERQMG2x&sig=TcuM8d3FfDsCelgTzCXdjVCMkMk#v=onepage&q=native%20american%20powwow%20music&f=false
I thought that your blog post was pretty interesting. I did my blog post on the music from the Alaska Native culture and noticed some similarities. The first similarity that I noticed was that the drums and the vocals are both very important to the music of the cultures that we talked about. The second similarity that I noticed was that the drums are also very important and are made from animals. I do see why the singing from the Black Lodge Singers reminds you of home. I like it too.
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