Nootka Indian Music of the Pacific North West Coast

Various Artists FW04524 / FE 4524

The Nootka people, now referred to as Nuu-chah-nulth, live along the coast of British Columbia, Canada, on and around Vancouver Island. Their music shows a clear history of polyphonic tradition, which the liner notes claim to be the earliest instance in the region. Song leaders begin some vocal songs unaccompanied, but then are joined by followers and drum beats. On many tracks, the musicians offer introductions; the inclusion of the spoken word is significant because it gives both a more complete picture of the singer and a glimpse into the cultural significance and meaning of the songs. The fieldwork experience gathering songs in this region was very challenging due to the fact that each individual song was traditionally personally owned, and permission from the owner was needed in order to sing it. Dr. Ida Halpern (1910–1987), an Austrian-born Canadian musicologist who studied not only the Nootka but also several other coastal tribes of British Columbia, collected these tracks. Other recordings by Dr. Halpern include Kwakiutl: Indian Music of the Pacific Northwest, Haida: Indian Music of the Pacific Northwest, and Indian Music of the Pacific Northwest Coast.