American Indigenous Music

Phoenix, Arizona
A label for Native American music and “one of the oldest independent record labels in the music industry as well as one of the oldest cultural institutions in the state of Arizona.”
They record flute, peyote, round dance, powwow, folk, classical, and more into both traditional and contemporary styles
Artists include: R. Carlos Nakai, Joanne Shenandoah, Fawn Wood, Northern Cree, Radmilla Cody

Toronto, Ontario
Indigenous women-owned label created to “foster and amplify Indigenous voices”.
Artists include: Amanda Rheame, Aysanabee, Digging Roots, Morgan Toney, Sebastian Gaskin

Taos, New Mexico
Founded by field recorder Tony Isaacs and Ida Lujan Isaacs, Indian House holds over 150 curated recordings of field recordings of traditional Southwest, Southern Plains, Southeast, Northern Plains, and inter tribal communities.

Boulder, Colorado
“One of the most storied record labels in the history of New age and Native American music,” Silver Wave has been based in Boulder since 1986 and is known for contemporary interpretations of traditional Indigenous American music by their Indigenous artists.
Artists include: Robert Mirabal, Joanne Shenandoah, R. Carlos Nakai, Mary Youngblood

Saskatchewan
Sweetgrass Records is an Indigenous-owned and run label that mainly records powwow music and has worked with Buffy Sainte-Marie, The Barenaked Ladies, Nelly Furtado, the JUNOs, and EMI Recordings
Artists include: Buffy Sainte-Marie, Whitefish Juniors, Stoney Park, and Red Bull

Washington, D. C.
The nonprofit label for the Smithsonian Institute that records and documents a diversity of folk music. The linked “American Indian” selection includes many ethnographic recordings of a diverse array of Indigenous music in the Americas, as well as Indigenous musicians’ own recordings of mainly traditional and/or folk music.

Concord, North Carolina
“An independent record label and a music management company” that includes Choctaw singer-songwriter Samantha Crain. They also have members of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina on their artist management staff.

Toronto, Ontario
“A full-service artist management company and record label, owned and managed entirely by Indigenous individuals.”
Artists include: Boogey the Beat, Logan Staats, Sebastian Gaskin, Wolf Saga

Phoenix, Arizona
A Navajo-owned independent label for Native Americans in any musical style.
Artists include: Connor Chee, Kayla Tom, Wildcat Peak

Des Moines, Iowa
Owned and run by Geneviève Gros-Louis Salamone (Huron-Wendat), Wendat Records honors “traditional Wendat practices by storytelling through the melodies and harmonies of music”.

A “music platform, record label, artist collective, and boutique agency for Indigenous music culture”.
Artists include: Jeremy Dutcher, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Mob Bounce, Exquisite Ghost

Toronto, Ontario
A Toronto-based record label that includes Inuk avant-garde vocalist and composer Tanya Tagaq.

Montreal, Quebec
A Montreal-based record label that includes Jeremy Dutcher, a “Two-Spirit song carrier, composer, activist, and ethnomusicologist from Tobique First Nation in Eastern Canada.”

Brooklyn, New York / Richmond, Virgina
A Brooklyn and Richmond-based label for avant-garde, creative music, often within the jazz idiom. On their artist roster is Wabanaki bassist and composer Mali Obomsawin.