This may come as a shock.  Okay, maybe not… But lots of people think only of flutes and drums when they hear the words “Native American Music.”    

But shock or no shock, one thing is abundantly clear.  “Native American Music” is about hip-hop, reggae, classical, electronic, pop, country, and experimental. Even, dare I say, flutes and drums.  

Which is why the  First Nations Composer Initiative  (FNCI—pronounced “fancy”) exists.  Under the auspices of the American Composers Forum, FNCI   promotes, and no less   significantly, provides a virtual gathering place for the artists and aficionados of contemporary and traditional American Indian music.   Established in 2004, FNCI’s commitment is to celebrate the wealth of talent and diversity that comprises Indigenous musical expression.  

“What we’re doing is fostering an opportunity to bring Native music to the forefront,” says FNCI Director Georgia Wettlin-Larsen.  “Native musicians, performers, and composers; FNCI helps them develop wider audiences.” 

In that capacity, the Initiative offers artists their own webpage, free of charge, allowing them to upload touring schedules, MP3 audios, photos and personal information.  FNCI also provides a wealth of resources for composers and musicians to tap into as well as several grant opportunities and youth mentorship programs.  The wide-ranging benefits offered are integral to the organization’s ultimate mission, she explains. 

“We are actively encouraging emerging artists to seek assistance and likewise encouraging established artists to share their expertise.  Also, we are fully committed to mentoring our Seventh Generation of artists through our three Artist-in-Residence Projects.  The response and the results have been phenomenal.” 

Through the Initiative’s Composer Apprentice National Outreach Endeavor (CANOE) project, for example, Artists-in-Residence work at three sites teaching Native youth composition skills in multiple musical genres.  At the completion of the program, students invite non-Native youth to perform their pieces to foster cross-cultural appreciation.  Another indication of the organization’s simultaneous approach of cultivating both emerging talent and a multicultural audience. 

Their two major grant programs bear this out.  FNCI’s Common Ground Grant  is designed to help musicians collaborate with non-Native entities in an effort to expand their audience beyond the Indigenous community.  The Community Engagement Grant, more regional in focus, supports activities that bring Native musical artists into tribal and urban Indian communities throughout Minnesota and the Dakotas.  

Developing future generations of Indigenous composers and musicians—regardless of the genre they practice—will dispel the prevailing image of Native music being, well…only flutes and drums.  If an artist wants to be a hip-hop performer, then he will; if she chooses to write classical pieces, then she will.  

But through it all, their expression will remain inexorably Native.  “This is all Native American music, by the simple virtue of whatever you write and perform, what you create, is Native American,” she says.  “It’s what we create.  We’re shattering the stereotypical image of what is expected.” 

So when asked if an American Indian who writes classical music or reggae is indeed creating “Native American music,”  Wettlin-Larsen says it best. 

“There’s no doubt that it is.  I’m Native and this is my music.” 

With flutes and drums.  Or without. 

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Visit The First Nations Composer Initiative website at:  www.FNCI.org