ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses why indigenous North America should be described as a “cultural area” and offers insights in the vast cultural diversity of the people who faced colonization. Although European invasion and settler colonialism was devastating for native peoples in the Americas, their music and dance traditions survived, and now old ceremonies and new songs flourish side by-side in cultures where continuity, adaptation and innovation have always been vital elements of life. The chapter includes “classical” (art) music by native composers (such as symphonies and ballets), Christian hymns and popular music, as well as professional dance theatres and age-old ritual drama (contemporary native theatre is more connected to oral literature traditions). In this chapter, the primary focus is upon the two most widespread musical performance genres: traditional musics associated with specific tribes, and intertribal musics, which can be performed by native people regardless of their tribal affiliation.
