Category: Indian Bands

Julia Keefe’s Indigenous Big Band

ta ‘c meeywi folks (good Morning)

The Joseph Center was fortunate to have Julia Keefe’s quartet perform here in February. For those who have not followed this Nez Perce musical thread, here is a press release about Julia’s Indigenous Big Band’s upcoming performance at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.

This press release captures many things that we have worked on at the Center, first and foremost our “Nez Perce Music” exhibit, which traces the use of music in assimilating Indians, and Native peoples’ use of music and the tools of music to resist. That exhibit–which features photos of the Carlisle Boarding school band and an 1890 Nez Perce musician there to Julia Keefe today, photos of an 1800s Spalding Nez Perce hymnal and of Nez Perce drumming and dancing on the Colville Reservation in the early 1900s–just came black from display at Eastern Oregon University, and is available for display elsewhere. Call or email us!

Here’s the link to Julia’s press release:

https://www.juliakeefe.com/so/bcOyxB8d4?languageTag=en&cid=9d221399-b4b1-43c9-a348-807f7d32f0f8

Mohave Indian Band

So after the last post friend Bill Yakes sent this photo of the Mojave Indian Band, circa 1915. Bill’s grandfather was in Needles taking pics at the time, though this is not one of his.

Here are some details Bill picked up about the band:

— the marching band was established in 1906 by “Professor Albert J. Eller,
who taught music at the Fort Mojave Indian Boarding School.” It later “fell
under the directions of both Ned White and Jack Jones [both Mojaves] at
separate times between 1910 and 1952.”

— they played at the dedication of Hoover Dam (1930) and the reception for
Gov. Earl Warren (1950), as well as numerous other occasions.

— There is a photo dated 1924 of “Jack’s Mojave Jazz Band”. I assume this
was Jack Jones.

— The band was also known as the C. A. Simon’s Indian Band “in the early
years, played every Saturday evening for over 25 years on Front Street in
Needles, California, for Liberty Theatre owner C. A. Simon.”

NOW. Does anyone else have stories of Indian bands in early nineteenth century? Does anyone know how much Carlisle had to do with training Indian musicians, or if there was some overall program that put music into Indian schools?

Would be good to use this blog as a place to trade research notes.

best for today,
rich