With movies like The Road Forward and Dawnland, Kreisberg uses her musical talents to raise awareness about Native struggles both contemporary and historic. She also serves as a board member for Honor the Earth, a Native-led organization established by Winona LaDuke and the Indigo Girls, Amy Ray and Emily Saliers, to address the two primary needs of the Native environmental movement: “the need to break the geographic and political isolation of Native communities and the need to increase financial resources for organizing and change.” It was through a benefit concert for Honor the Earth that Kreisberg and Ulali got the opportunity to collaborate with Sherman Alexie (Spokane-Coeur d’Alene), the acclaimed Native American novelist, screenplay writer, and filmmaker, known for works that tell the stories of life on Indian reservations. “We did a benefit for Honor the Earth, and Sherman Alexie, who wrote the screenplay for Smoke Signals, was there. He saw us sing and we befriended each other and kept in touch. He said he needed some music, so he asked us to compose a song for the end of the film, to sort of wrap up the film. He wanted it to be women’s voices and he wanted it to be strong. It took us almost 24 hours. We didn’t really take any breaks. We just kept watching the end of the movie over and over.” Their song, titled Wah Jhi Le Yihm (I Carry You With Me) in the Tutelo language, appears at the end of the film. Released in 1998, Smoke Signals holds the groundbreaking distinction of being the first film written, directed, and co-produced by Native Americans. Kreisberg later appeared in, and contributed music for Alexie’s subsequent film, The Business of Fancydancing. Kreisberg has been acknowledged throughout Indian Country for her achievements as a traditional Native singer and hand-drummer. She was the recipient of the Eagle Spirit Achievement Award from the American Indian Film Institute in San Francisco, a winner of the Native Women’s Recognition Award, a Genie recipient (a Canadian award akin to the Academy Awards) for her song Have Hope, and has also been presented with the key to the city of Greensborough, North Carolina. At the historic Women’s March on Washington, D.C. on January 21, 2017, she sang the opening song, reminding all of the need to recognize and include Native women. When asked if she tries to make crossover songs in her traditional language, she responded, “I don’t. It’s not a goal of mine. If anything I do or I’m a part of gets out there, it’s just sheer luck.” Kreisberg also has a long history of collaboration with fellow musicians. She was recently featured on a song called The Muse, in collaboration with Canadian electronic dance music band, A Tribe Called Red. “I got to be one of the many features on their last album and it was a lot of fun to sing on that type of music,” she says. “They gave me a track and said, ‘do whatever you want,’ and I brought them a love song in English. They were totally supportive of that. They are good guys and always make a safe space for us women at their shows, good homies.”
Jennifer Kreisberg declares an assertion of sovereignty over her body and image.
Photo by Nadya Kwandibens, Red Works.
Hear Jennifer Kreisberg’s music and see her most recent projects on her website: www.jenniferelizabethkreisberg.com
Cultural Survival Quarterly
December 2017 • 5