Fabian Fontenelle is a Zuni/Omaha artist, traditional dancer, and storyteller born in Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico with family in Nebraska. He is the great-great-grandson of the famed Chief Big Elk of the Omaha people. With powerful dance performances intertwined with traditional storytelling, Fabian depicts profound images of a “Spirit World”, speaking the spoken word of his ancestors in his fluent Native Zuni Language. Fabian is also an educator on the history of Native America and has worked with the History Channel, the TV mini-series Into the West produced by Stephen Spielberg, and other educational productions for public schools. We spoke with him about his first solo album release, Songs of Our Ancestors, a collection of traditional Zuni songs.
Artist (Song) Album
John Trudell (Wildfires) AKA Grafitti Man
Robbie Robertson (Shake This Town) Storyville
Mary Youngblood (Bear In Danger) Heart of the World
Pamyua (Cauyaqa Nauwa (Where’s My Drum) Drums Of The North: Traditional Yup’ik Songs
Buffy Sainte-Marie (I Bet My Heart On You) Running for the Drum
Fabian Fontenelle (Grandma Laughing Eye’s Song #1 ) Songs of Our Ancestors
Fabian Fontenelle (Buffalo Dance) Songs of Our Ancestors
Fabian Fontenelle (Zuni Sunrise) Songs of Our Ancestors
Medicine Dream (A Better Place) Learning to Fly
Pura Fé (Stand Up For Human Pride) Full Moon Rising
Wade Fernandez (Before Tomorrow’s Today) Waciwen Apis – Mahwaew
