If you are new to listening to Native American music, these are some excellent artists to start with.

The first Native American to record Indian flute music, and the first to go Gold, a must-have for anyone's collection. Canyon Trilogy is an all-time top-seller, a classic R. Nakai, also In Beauty We Return,- Best of R. Nakai is a good one. If you like piano as well as flute, Through Windows and Walls is beautiful.

Of Navajo-Ute heritage, R. Carlos Nakai is the world's premier performer of the Native American flute. Originally trained in classical trumpet and music theory, Nakai was given a traditional cedar wood flute as a gift and challenged to see what he could do with it. Since 1983, he has released over 35 albums on the Canyon label.

 Nakai has earned two gold records for Canyon Trilogy and Earth Spirit and has received seven Grammy® nominations. Nakai’s career has been shaped by a desire to communicate a sense of Native American culture and society that transcends the common stereotypes presented in mass media.

P.S.  Want some Native American Christmas music?  Try his Winter Dreams.

When Grammy winner Mary Youngblood lets the winds flow through her Native American flutes, the result is always one of beauty and joy.  Inspired by the wisdom of nature, she writes that "The trees have given a voice to me, the voice that signs to you now."  In Dance With the Wind she writes, plays and signs her own songs. Its a winner in my book!

A Native American musician with traditional roots and a contemporary sound. My favorites include Taos Tales and Johnny Whitehorse.

Living with his family at the foot of sacred Taos Mountain, Robert maintains a traditional life, keeping the centuries-old customs of the Taos Pueblo people. Described as a Native American "Renaissance man"—musician, composer, painter, master craftsman, poet, actor, screenwriter, horseman and farmer—Robert has traveled extensively and played his music all over the world. His first flute came when he was 18 with money he borrowed from his grand mother, and shortly afterwards he had the opportunity to meet Native American flute player Carlos Nakai.

In the years since, Robert has continued the evolution of his flute making and has also become a concert performer and recording artist. His eight albums of traditional music, rock and roll, and spoken word present a contemporary view of American Indian life that is unequaled.

A leading proponent of world music, Robert has merged his indigenous American sound with those of Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, tapping into a planetary pulse with a style that defies categorization. Whether as a composer, songwriter or musician, Robert has won many honors including two-time Native American Artist of the Year, three-time Songwriter of the Year, and a 2006 Grammy Award for Sacred Ground, Best Native American Album of the Year. His 2002 breakthrough PBS musical production, Music From a Painted Cave, remains a benchmark of mainstream Native American storytelling. A new recording, Johnny Whitehorse, blends all of Robert's influences into a musical landscape that conjures up both the historic and contemporary West.

Bill Miller, Mohican Native American music

I love the spirituality that comes across in his lyrics. Bill Miller is multi-talented; he sings, plays flute, guitar, drum. Spirit Rain and Ghost Dance are both excellent Native American vocals.

The son of Mohican-German parents, Bill grew up amid the streams and woodlands of the reservation (his tribe is properly called Mahicanuk, which means People From Where The Waters Are Never Still). Even then, water made a deep impression. "I've always been connected to water," says Bill. "My reservation was in northern Wisconsin, so I grew up near lakes and rivers. There's a mystical energy in water. Every Native creation story has water in it." Bill Miller has long been one of the most admired figures in the Native American music arena and beyond. As an award-winning recording artist, performer, songwriter, activist, and painter, he's been a voice for the voiceless, a link between two great and clashing civilizations. On (one of his latest albums) Spirit Rain, he walks the path of reconciliation in a set of fourteen heartfelt songs and evocative instrumentals. Perhaps the album's most touching track is "Prayers For The Truth," which restates all that the Native American community hold sacred, while offering forgiveness to those that nearly annihilated an entire people. "I don't want anyone to carry around this guilt," says Bill. "All we need is to be allowed to speak, to mourn, to express anger, then be allowed to forgive our oppressors. That could lead to a deeply powerful spiritual change in the U.S. and the world. It could be a statement about the peacemaking that comes with courage." Another of my favorites Ghost Dance brought Bill some long-deserved recognition at the 2000 Native American Music Awards. He took home five Nammys that night, including Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, and Song of the Year.

Joanne Shenandoah has a gorgeous voice! Try Eagle Cries and Peace & Power: Best of Joanne Shenandoah.

A GRAMMY Award and 10 Time Native American Music award winning artist; and Wolf Clan member of the Iroquois Confederacy, Joanne Shenandoah has fulfilled the promise of her Native American name, Tekaliwah-kwa, (She Sings) . " She's become one of the most acclaimed Native American recording artists of her time." Associated Press. "She weaves you into a trance with her beautiful Iroquois chants and wraps her voice around you like a warm blanket on a cool winter's night," said Robbie Robertson, formerly of the Band.

Walela, Cherokee

The name of their best selling album is Walela, and when we had a retail store, we could not keep this one in stock! It is a must-have if you like vocals, especially for all of you out here of Cherokee heritage. The songs are all beautiful, especially Amazing Grace sung in Cherokee.

Walela is the Cherokee word for Hummingbird and the symbol of inspiration for this family of women singers. They are Rita Coolidge, her sister Priscilla Coolidge, and Priscilla's daughter Laura Satterfield. (Yes, this is the Rita Coolidge of the oldie goldies: "Higher & Higher" and "The Way You Do The Things You Do".)

Formally of the group named the Band, Robbie composed scores to movie and also acted.  He returned to his native roots teaming with the Native American group the Red Road Ensemble for Music for The Native Americans, a collection of songs composed for a television documentary series. This outstanding soundtrack includes Rita Coolidge, Douglas Spotted Eagle and Ulali, among others.  Go to his website (click on his name) to hear some of his CDs.

Featuring R. Carlos Nakai, these are the very moving and breathtaking soundtracks to the PBS/Discovery miniseries exploring the Native American experience during the mid-to-late 1800's.

There are dozen of excellent Native American Indian musicians, these are but a few of our all-time favorites.