Sharing the Gift of Lakota Song

This groundbreaking music teacher's guide was written in response to requests from teachers for assistance in introducing Native American music in general, and Lakota music in particular, into school music curriculums. The inclusion of numerous and sometimes lengthy commentaries by well-known Lakota singers will also make the book of interest to readers interested in the history of Lakota traditions, contemporary Lakota culture, Lakota secular music, traditional Lakota humor, musicology and ethnomusicology, traditional Lakota dream & vision interpretation, traditional Lakota storytelling as a teaching methodology, and the Orff-Schulwerk approach to music education.

About the Book
45 color and 9 black and white photographs of historic and contemporary Lakota singers and drum groups, various contemporary Lakota singing venues, and photographs of contemporary Lakota and Plains Indian dancers and dance costumes, selected traditional Lakota musical instruments and articles of traditional Lakota apparel are included in the book.

The fundamentals of Lakota music theory and Lakota singing practices are clearly described in plain language to aid beginning students. In addition, the importance of honoring Lakota cultural norms relating to performance of sacred and secular music is emphasized and discussed in detail. Comparisons with western musical theory and practice and specific teaching methods for instructors wishing to introduce Lakota music to students accustomed to western musical styles are also provided.

A 77-minute CD, inserted in a plastic sleeve attached to the inside of the back cover of the book, contains examples, 19 songs in all, of all the contemporary Lakota social music genres discussed in the book. Also found on the CD are a discussion of traditional flutes and their role in Lakota musical tradition in addition to two lengthy narratives by Calvin Jumping Bull and Nellie Two Bulls, well known Lakota singers.

These charming narratives describe the process by which each of them became singers and discuss the functions and duties of traditional singers in contemporary Lakota society. The discussions are illuminated with examples of songs appropriate to particular elements in each narrative. Mrs. Two Bulls also gives a charming recitation of the double-woman dream/vision she experienced as a child that led to her receiving the gift of song.

The Lakota words to each song, with English translations and an explanation of how and when each song is used, are provided within the covers of Sharing the Gift. The student or interested reader will be able to see the Lakota words and hear them spoken by native Lakota speakers. The English translations will aid non-Lakota speakers in learning each song and in understanding how and when each is used.

A general Lakota Pronunciation Guide and a Glossary and Pronunciation Guide to Lakota Musical Terms are also provided to assist the student.

Writing with the insight of an insider who is both a credentialed scholar and an accomplished singer, and who has been a participant in these traditions for over four decades, Dr. Theisz has in this unique teacher's guide managed with unusual grace the challenging task of keeping himself in the background while letting Lakota singers describe Lakota traditional music and explain its importance and function in contemporary Lakota society in their own words. His efforts at laying out the fundamentals of Lakota singing practice and Lakota musical theory in plain language and in cultural context will make Lakota music in particular, and Plains Indian music in general, far more accessible to students and to the general public than they have previously been.

Even experienced Lakota singers may find things of interest in this book.

About the Author
Dr. Ronnie Theisz retired as Distinguished Emeritus Professor of English and American Indian Studies at Black Hills State University in Spearfish, SD, in 2008. He previously taught at Long Island University, Fordham University and Sinte Gleska University, the Rosebud Sioux Tribal university.  He has been an active traditional Northern Plains style singer since 1963, and from 1972 was a core member of Porcupine Singers, a widely recognized Lakota drum group, with whom he recorded 10 albums. He has also performed with Red Leaf Singers and currently with Shunka Ska Singers in New Mexico, where he resides in Albuquerque.  Among his publications are: Buckskin Tokens. Contemporary Lakota Oral Narratives; Songs and Dances of the Lakota, with Ben Black Bear, Sr.; Standing in the Light. A Lakota Way of Seeing, with Severt Young Bear, Sr.; and Sending their Voices: Essays in Lakota Musicology, as well as numerous articles and poems. His contributions in the field of Lakota song tradition have been recognized by awards received from the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the Native American Heritage Association, among others. In April 2003, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the South Dakota Humanities Council. He has also served as contributor and performer with the South Dakota Symphony's "Lakota Music Project".