Walela
Walela is a trio of singers, named for the Cherokee word for hummingbird.[1] The group was founded in 1996 by sisters Rita Coolidge and Priscilla Coolidge, with Priscilla's daughter Laura Satterfield as the third member.
Biography
Featured as part of Robbie Robertson and the Red Road Ensemble's album Music for The Native Americans, Walela is known for their distinctive vocal blend. During the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Walela performed extensively in the Olympic Park. Their 1997 debut release on Capitol Records earned them the recognition of the Nammy Awards (Native American Music Awards) where they took home the award for Debut Artist of the Year and Song of the Year for "The Warrior".
During the 2010s, there was controversy at the Native American Music Awards due to allegations that none of Walela's members were Native American. The Native American Music Awards allows any person who self-identifies as Native American to receive awards without any verification of tribal citizenship.[2] The Coolidge family is not enrolled in any Native American tribe. Rita Coolidge has said that their great-aunt was on the Trail of Tears and that she "did a lot of research", but that "we were not able to get the documents to prove that our ancestors were on the Trail" and could not find any ancestors listed on "the official government roll".[3]
Awards
The group won the Native American Music Awards' best debut group and song of the year for 1998.[4]
Discography
Walela (1997)
- Is Everybody Here
- Cherokee River
- Wash Your Spirit Clean
- The Warrior
- Muddy Road
- Cherokee
- Cherokee Morning Song
- Wounded Knee
- The Whippoorwill
- Circle of Light
- Earth Children
- Amazing Grace (in Cherokee)
- I'll Turn My Radio On
Unbearable Love (2000)
- Gathering of Eagles
- The Sequence
- Cherokee Rose
- I Know I Don't Walk on Water
- Smoke in the Wind
- Bright Morning Star
- I Have No Indian Name
- Tell Them They Lie
- When It Comes
- When Love Was All We Knew
- God Save Us from Ourselves
- Unbearable Love
Live in Concert (2004)
- The Gathering of Eagles
- Cherokee River
- Cherokee Rose
- Wash Your Spirit Clean
- I Have No Indian Name
- When It Comes
- Muddy Road
- When Love Was All We Knew
- Cherokee Morning Song
- Wounded Knee
- Tell Them They Lied
- God Save Us From Ourselves
The Best of Walela (2007)
- Is Everybody Here
- Cherokee Morning Star
- Amazing Grace
- Bright Morning Star
- Smoke In the Wind
- Wash Your Spirit Clean
- The Warrior
- Cherokee Rose
- I'll Turn My Radio On
- I Have No Indian Name
- God Save Us From Ourselves
- When It Comes
- The Whippoorwill
- Unbearable Love
- v
- t
- e
- Rita Coolidge
- Nice Feelin'
- The Lady's Not for Sale
- Fall into Spring
- It's Only Love
- Anytime...Anywhere
- Love Me Again
- Satisfied
- Heartbreak Radio
- Never Let You Go
- Inside the Fire
- Dancing with an Angel
- Full Moon
- Breakaway
- Natural Act
- Greatest Hits
- "Fever"
- "Loving Arms"
- "Lover Please"
- "(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher"
- "We're All Alone"
- "The Way You Do the Things You Do"
- "Words"
- "You"
- "One Fine Day"
- "I'd Rather Leave While I'm in Love"
- "The Closer You Get"
- "All Time High"
- "Only You"
References
- ^ Feeling, Durbin (1975). Cherokee - English Dictionary. Tahlequah: Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. pp. 187. ISBN 9994626787.
- ^ Miller, Mark Edwin (16 August 2013). Claiming Tribal Identity: The Five Tribes and the Politics of Federal Acknowledgment. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 412. ISBN 978-0-8061-5051-2.
- ^ "Rita Coolidge Discusses Her Cherokee Heritage". Berkshire Fine Arts. Retrieved 2024-07-22.
- ^ "WINNERS DIRECTORY". www.nativeamericanmusicawards.com. Retrieved 2016-02-26.