Complimentary CDs to be distributed to new parents at Hastings Hospital, Tahlequah City Hospital and through other Cherokee Nation programs

In celebration of the Cherokee Nation’s rich musical heritage, the Cherokee Nation Foundation is releasing CDs of seven traditional Cherokee lullabies, the first Cherokee lullabies to ever be recorded.

This ground-breaking project began two years ago as an effort to preserve a rich tradition that, until now, has only been passed down orally.

“Cherokees are very private,” said Ed Jumper, Cherokee Nation Foundation. “Songs typically stay within communities and are not shared with outsiders.”

With the number of native speakers on the decline for many years, songs and stories passed on through traditional means are at risk to be lost without documentation. Despite the oral tradition, Cherokee Elders saw these recordings as an important opportunity to preserve the songs for future generations.

“Singing to your child in Cherokee is a sacred and intimate thing,” said Kimberlie Gilliland, executive director, Cherokee Nation Foundation. “We wanted to perpetuate this part of our culture so that Cherokee children can grow up knowing these songs and in turn sing them to their children and grandchildren.”

The Cherokee Nation Foundation went into several Northeastern Oklahoma Cherokee communities with a video camera and recorded Cherokee Elders speaking and singing throughout 2009 and 2010; the end result is the release of seven lullabies on two CDs. In the first, titled Usdi Yona meaning “Little Bear”, Cherokee citizens and speakers Wade Blevins, Ed Jumper, Ken Masters and Benny Smith re-recorded the recovered lullabies, traditionally sung by men. The singers are accompanied by traditional instruments and sounds, and each lullaby is introduced by a story in Cherokee.

The second CD, titled Songs of Nightingale, features contemporary songs with Cherokee lyrics sung by world-renowned mezzo-soprano and Cherokee citizen, Barbara McAlister, as well as the work of critically-acclaimed pianist and conductor Timothy Long. The CD also features Cherokee stories read in English by Loretta Willis.

The release of both CDs was made possible by The Cherokee Nation Foundation through the generosity of private donors. The recordings will be distributed at no charge to new parents at Hastings Hospital and Tahlequah City Hospital, and through Indian Child Welfare, Cherokee Immersion School and Cherokee Nation Head Start.

For more information, please contact the Cherokee Nation Foundation at (918) 207-0950.