Department of Special Collections and University Archives.

< Frank Andrews Music Collection Index

FRANK ANDREWS MUSIC COLLECTION, 1956, 1960, 1967-1972; ca. 1956-1962, 1950s, 1967-1970, 1960s; n.d.

22 open reel recordings of approximately 17 hours of Native American music in native languages.

Gift of Frank Andrews (collector), 2002 with notes by Earl Fenner, 2003. Processed by Mark G. Thiel, CA (Certified Archivist), 2003 and converted to CD, 2007.

Biographical Note

The music includes several songs performed by linguist Rubin Jacobs, a.k.a. "Chief Sunrise" (Dakota [Lakota]) that were popular during the 1920s-1930s. Jacobs taught Dakota [Lakota] at Rutgers University, New Jersey and was a great-grandson of Sitting Bull. He was raised on the Crow Creek Reservation, Fort Thompson, South Dakota, where his family members were known as good singers and keepers of traditional life ways. Jacobs is included in the photographs as are two of his friends, both non-Indians.

Scope and Content

The songs originated from the (Northern) Cheyenne, Cree, Crow, and Dakota [Lakota dialect] Indians of Montana and South Dakota and the, Creek, Comanche, Osage, and Ponca Indians of Oklahoma. Several have no identified tribal affiliation. Most were performed at festivals or in private homes. At least in part, the recordings in box 1 reels 1-4 and box 2 reels 9, 17-22 are copies of originals, which were re-recorded by the collector.