Pura Fé (born Pura Fé Antonia "Toni" Crescioni) Tuscarora/Taino, is an Indigenous singer-songwriter-musician, story teller, instructor, seamstress, artist and reviver of Canoe song/dance and woman's drum. Pura Fe is the founding member of the Native women's

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

Trio

Ulali Ulali () is a Native American women's a cappella group. Founded in 1987, its current members include original members Pura Fé (Tuscarora/Taíno), Soni Moreno (Mayan, Apache, Yaqui) and Jennifer Kreisberg (Tuscarora). Ulali's sound encompasses a ...

Personal life

Pura Fé was born in New York City and brought up by her mother, grandparents and family of women singers. They count eight generations of singing sisters through their maternal bloodline as Indigenous

Tuscarora Tuscarora may refer to the following: First nations and Native American people and culture * Tuscarora people **''Federal Power Commission v. Tuscarora Indian Nation'' (1960) * Tuscarora language, an Iroquoian language of the Tuscarora people * ...

Deer Clan of North Carolina, and have Black and Scot-Irish ancestry as well. The family moved to New York from North Carolina in the 1930s.''Southern Cultures''; Vol 15, No. 3, "Blues Power in the Tuscarora Homeland: The Music of Pura Fe", 2009 Her mother, Nanice Lund, was a classically trained

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

singer who toured with Duke Ellington and his Sacred Concert Series. Her father, Juan Antonio Crescioni-Collazo, was born in

Maunabo, Puerto Rico Maunabo () is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Maunabo Valley on the southeastern coast, northeast of Patillas and south of Yabucoa. Maunabo is spread over eight barrios and Maunabo Pueblo (the downtown area and the admini ...

. His maternal roots are Indigenous to Borinquen

Taíno The Taíno were a historic Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, indigenous people of the Caribbean whose culture has been continued today by Taíno descendant communities and Taíno revivalist communities. At the time of European contact in the ...

Indian and Canary Island Spanish/Berber ancestors. His paternal Corsican immigrant grandparents migrated to Puerto Rico in the mid 1800s. In New York City, Pura Fé was on the board of the American Indian Community House (AICH). She and other family members are apart of the NYC urban Indian community network. This includes the Indigenous Permanent Forums at the United Nations and many functions and groups. In 1997 Pura Fé moved to North Carolina and worked with several communities teaching culture, song and dance, helped to build a Native woman's society. She brought her students from the "Seventh Generation Youth Group" under the "North Carolina Indian Cultural Center" to open for Ulali and later brought the Prospect Tuscarora Long House to perform annually at New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Merle Fest and travel up North to visit their Northern Iroquois kin and communities with Ulali. Pura Fe won several awards for her cultural contributions. In 2015 Pura Fé moved, married and lives in Northern

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

, Canada, raising grand nieces and nephew. She has been working with several Native theater, dance theater groups and Native filmmakers, composing/recording music on several movie soundtracks and music videos for National Canadian TV and APTN. 2020 began a lot of online concerts, workshopping and interviews. In August 2021, the original Ulali came together after 15 years and sang at "Indian Market" in New Mexico on behalf of the Artist, Patrick Collins painting fund raiser and awareness of MMIW.

Training

As an adolescent, Pura Fé studied and performed with the

American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual ei ...

, briefly trained at

Martha Graham Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American modern dancer and choreographer. Her style, the Graham technique, reshaped American dance and is still taught worldwide. Graham danced and taught for over seventy years. She wa ...

school and performed in Broadway musicals ''

The Me Nobody Knows ''The Me Nobody Knows'' is a musical with music by Gary William Friedman and lyrics by Will Holt. It debuted off-Broadway in 1970 and then transferred to Broadway, making it one of the earliest rock musicals to play on Broadway, and the first ...

,'' ''Ari'' and ''

Via Galactica ''Via Galactica'' is a rock musical with a book by Christopher Gore and Judith Ross, lyrics by Gore, and music by Galt MacDermot. It marked the Broadway debut of actor Mark Baker. Originally entitled ''Up!'', it offers a futuristic story of soc ...

.'' At the age of 22 Pura Fe sang with the

Mercer Ellington Mercer Kennedy Ellington (March 11, 1919 – February 8, 1996) was an American musician, composer, and arranger. His father was Duke Ellington, whose band Mercer led for 20 years after his father's death. Biography Early life and education Ellin ...

Orchestra, opening for the Duke Ellington School in WA, DC, where she was given praise by Lena Horne and Danny Glover from the front row seats. She attended a professional children's school for the Arts at Lincoln Square Academy in the late 1960s-73 with friends and Alumni as Irene Cara, Stephanie Mills, Benjamin Stiller, Robbie Benson, Gian Carlo Esposito, Lawrence Fishburn, Pia Zadora and more. Pura Fe worked as a waitress at club

Max's Kansas City Max's Kansas City was a nightclub and restaurant at 213 Park Avenue South in New York City, which became a gathering spot for musicians, poets, artists and politicians in the 1960s and 1970s. It was opened by Mickey Ruskin (1933–1983) in Decembe ...

in New York during the Punk Era. Soon after, she began singing in bands and as a studio singer. She recorded

jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meaning that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually t ...

s, commercials, backup and lead vocals on demos and the original recordings like "Good Enough", written by James McBride for Anita Baker.

Career

In 1994, she was nominated and performed at the

Juno Awards The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

for Best Global Recording, for the album ''Condor Meets the Eagle'' by Kanatan Aski with Pura Fé. She released the CD, ''Mahk Jchi'' with Ulali on "Corn, Beans and Squash Music" and she appeared with Ulali on Robbie Robertson’s ''

Music for the Native Americans ''Music for'' The Native Americans is a 1994 album by Robbie Robertson, compiling music written by Robertson and other colleagues (billed as the ''Red Road Ensemble'') for the television documentary film ''The Native Americans''. The album was Ro ...

''. In 1995, she released her first solo album, the R&B-inspired ''Caution to the Wind'', written and produced by James McBride, on

Shanachie Records Shanachie Records is an American, New Jersey-based record label, founded in 1975 by Richard Nevins and Dan Collins. The label is named for the Gaelic word ''seanchaí'' (anglicised as shanachie), an Irish storyteller. It was previously distribu ...

. She appeared on ''

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014. The fourth incarnation of the ...

'' with Ulali and

Robbie Robertson Jaime Royal "Robbie" Robertson, OC (born July 5, 1943), is a Canadian musician. He is best known for his work as lead guitarist and songwriter for the Band, and for his career as a solo recording artist. With the deaths of Richard Manuel in ...

, debuting the Ulali song "Mahk Jchi (Heartbeat Drum Song)", which went platinum in Italy. In 1996, she appeared and toured on The Indigo Girls' album ''Shaming of the Sun'' with Ulali. She has appeared on many recordings and film soundtracks including

Miramax Miramax, LLC, also known as Miramax Films, is an American film and television production and distribution company founded on December 19, 1979, by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein, and based in Los Angeles, California. It was initially a leadi ...

's ''

Smoke Signals The smoke signal is one of the oldest forms of long-distance communication. It is a form of visual communication used over a long distance. In general smoke signals are used to transmit news, signal danger, or to gather people to a common area ...

'' soundtrack, the Turner Documentary series ''The Native Americans'', ''

1 Giant Leap 1 Giant Leap is a British electronic music duo consisting of the two principal artists, Jamie Catto ( Faithless founding member) and Duncan Bridgeman. Career Based in the UK, the two musicians set out to create a multimedia project that would ...

'' DVD, '' The World Festival of Sacred Music'' for the

Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dal ...

, Showtime's ''

The L-Word ''The L Word'' is a television drama that aired on Showtime from January 18, 2004 to March 8, 2009. The series follows the lives of a group of lesbian and bisexual women who live in West Hollywood, California. The premise originated with Ilene Ch ...

'', and ''A Thousand Roads'' soundtrack. 'Mission Impossible' movie soundtrack, studio version with Larry Mullen and David Beal, "Follow Me Home", Mira Max's " Smoke Signals, "RUMBLE:The Indians That Rocked The World" on Rezolution Films, "Falls Around Her" featured vocal for movie soundtrack with Julian Cote. In 2023, Pura Fe has recorded sound tracks for a Netflix movie "Bones of Crow" under Jesse Zubot and Wayne Lavallee, written and Directed by Marie Clements. After hearing guitarist

Kelly Joe Phelps Kelly Joe Phelps (October 5, 1959 – May 31, 2022) was an American musician and songwriter. His music has been characterized as a mixture of delta blues and jazz.Ann Powers, ''The New York Times'', February 9, 2000. Career Kelly Joe Phelps grew ...

perform, Pura Fé began to play the acoustic lap slide guitar and recorded her second solo album, ''Follow Your Heart's Desire'', released on the Music Maker label. A year later, she opened for

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...

in Berkeley, California, singing "Rise Up Tuscarora Nation" and "

Find the Cost of Freedom Find, FIND or Finding may refer to: Computing * find (Unix), a command on UNIX platforms * find (Windows), a command on DOS/Windows platforms Books * ''The Find'' (2010), by Kathy Page * ''The Find'' (2014), by William Hope Hodgson Film and te ...

". As a solo artist, she has also opened for

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...

Al Jarreau Alwin Lopez Jarreau (March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017) was an American singer and musician. His 1981 album '' Breakin' Away'' spent two years on the ''Billboard'' 200 and is considered one of the finest examples of the Los Angeles pop and R ...

George Duke George M. Duke (January 12, 1946 – August 5, 2013) was an American keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He worked with numerous artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and as a pr ...

and Herbie Hancock. Pura Fé won a NAMMY (

Native American Music Award The Native American Music Awards (also known as the NAMAs or "Nammys") are an awards program presented annually by Elbel Productions, Inc., The Native American Music Awards Inc., and The Native American Music Association, a 501(c)(3) non-profit ...

) for best female artist in 2006 and a French Grammy/Oscar, L'Académie Charles Cros Award for best world album. Her third album, ''Hold The Rain'', was released in 2007 with guitarist Danny Godinez. In late 2009, she released ''Full Moon Rising'' for Dixiefrog Records and toured extensively throughout Europe. Her fifth solo album, a live double CD, was released in the spring of 2011: ''A Blues Night in North Carolina''. 2014 Pura Fé put out "Sacred Seed" on the French Label "Nueva Onda" Records and toured with her new Quartet. She currently performs internationally and working a lot in Canada writing music for Native Theater and Native Dance Troops as well as Film. She has been teaching a lot of vocal workshops. In 2014, Pura Fé is invited by the French duo

Antiquarks A quark () is a type of elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. Quarks combine to form composite particles called hadrons, the most stable of which are protons and neutrons, the components of atomic nucleus, atomic nuclei ...

(Richard Monségu and Sébastien Tron) for a creation with the festival Les Détours de Babel. On the album KÔ, she performs the title Western Dark Side (2015, Label du Coin). Pura Fe also appears in the 2017 Rezolution film documentary RUMBLE- The Indians that Rocked the World, which won at the Sundance Film Festival. It runs on APTN. She is getting ready to record her next album "Blanket Dance" and "Canoe Journey" for 2022 release.

Activism

Pura Fé has lent her voice to many environmental and Indigenous rights groups and campaigns. In 2013, she rowed in the Two Row Wampum Renewal Campaign canoe journey. In 2014, she participated in the

Honor the Earth Honor the Earth is a non-profit organization founded to raise awareness and financial support for Indigenous environmental justice. The organization was founded by Indigo Girls Amy Ray and Emily Saliers after meeting Winona LaDuke, and after cons ...

Love Water Not Oil Tour with

Winona LaDuke Winona LaDuke (born August 18, 1959) is an American economist, environmentalist, writer and industrial hemp grower, known for her work on tribal land claims and preservation, as well as sustainable development. In 1996 and 2000, she ran for Vice ...

to oppose the

Enbridge Enbridge Inc. is a multinational pipeline and energy company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Enbridge owns and operates pipelines throughout Canada and the United States, transporting crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. ...

expansions of the tar sands and fracked oil pipelines. She marched with Ulali Project in the front lines of the People's Climate March singing the song, "Idle No More," which she co-wrote with Cary Morin for the

Idle No More Idle No More is an ongoing protest Social movement, movement, founded in December 2012 by four women: three First Nations in Canada, First Nations women and one non-Native ally. It is a grassroots movement among the Indigenous peoples in Canad ...

movement. Pura Fé and her cousin Jenn of Ulali went to Standing Rock to put on a concert fund raiser with Winona LaDuke and The Indigo Girls in support of the Water Protectors stopping the Pipeline. Pura Fé moved to North Carolina in the 1990s and volunteered to teach young people in the rural Indian communities of

Robeson County, North Carolina Robeson County is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of North Carolina and is its largest county by land area. Its county seat is and largest city is Lumberton. The county was formed in 1787 from part of Bladen County and named in ...

. She won the Community Spirit Award from the First Peoples Fund of the

Tides Foundation Tides Foundation is an American public charity and fiscal sponsor working to advance progressive causes and policy initiatives in areas such as the environment, health care, labor issues, immigrant rights, LGBTQ+ rights, women's rights and human ...

and later won its fellowship award for her volunteer contributions. She also won an award from Gonandagan in NY for her contributions.

Discography

Albums

*''Sacred Seed'' (Nueva Onda Records, 2015) *''Pura Fé Trio Live!: A Blues Night in North Carolina'' (Dixiefrog Records; Music Maker, 2011) *''Full Moon Rising'' (Dixiefrog Records, 2009) *''Hold The Rain'' (Dixiefrog Records, Music Maker 2007) *''Tuscarora Nation Blues'' (Dixiefrog Records, 2006) (European release of ''Follow Your Heart's Desire'' with two extra songs) *''Follow Your Heart's Desire'' (Music Maker, 2004) *''Mahk Jchi'' with

(Corn, Beans & Squash Records, 1997) *''Caution to the Wind'' (

, 1995)

Side projects, contributions and collaborations

*''The Rough Guide to Native America'' (World Music Network, 2012),

compilation Compilation may refer to: *In computer programming, the translation of source code into object code by a compiler **Compilation error **Compilation unit *Product bundling, a marketing strategy used to sell multiple products *Compilation thesis M ...

*''The Voices - Women's Voices for Attawapiskat'' (Toronto, Canada, 2011), album, contributor, collaboration *''Diverse As This Land Volume II'' (Banff Centre, 2011), compilation *''Music Maker Revue - Live in Europe'' (Dixiefrog, 2011), compilation *''Deers R Us'', Deer Clan Singers (Music Maker, 2011) *''Native American Calling - Music from Indian Country'' (Trikont, 2010), compilation *''Indian Rezervation Blues'' (Dixiefrog, 2009), compilation *''Dans La Tête D'Un Homme'', Alexandre Kinn (Universal, 2008), collaboration *''Sisters of the South'' (Dixiefrog, 2008), contributor, compilation *''Drink House to Church House, Volume 2'', DVD/CD set (Music Maker, 2007), contributor *''Blues Sweet Blues'' (Music Maker, 2007), contributor, compilation *''Only Breath'', Jami Sieber (Out Front Music, 2007), contributor *''The Last & Lost Blues Survivors'' (Dixiefrog, 2005), contributor, compilation *''Speaking the Mamma Tongue'',

John McDowell John Henry McDowell, FBA (born 7 March 1942) is a South African philosopher, formerly a fellow of University College, Oxford, and now university professor at the University of Pittsburgh. Although he has written on metaphysics, epistemology, ...

(Raven, 2004), lead vocals on two songs: "Face the Wind" and "Oma Wani Yea" *''

'' (Palm Pictures, 2002), contributor *''Without Reservations'', XIT (Warrior, 2002), guest appearance *''The Ghosts of St. Augustine'', Tonemah (Red Sky, 2001), collaboration *''Always Be'',

Jeffrey Gaines Jeffrey Gaines is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, he was signed to the Chrysalis Records label in 1990 and released his debut album, ''Jeffrey Gaines'', in 1992. Life and career The first single o ...

(Artemis, 2001), background vocals *'' World Festival of Sacred Music'', the Americas, Los Angeles (Bindu Records, 2000), contributor *''Songs for Chiapas'' (Ra Records, 1999), compilation *''

'' soundtrack (Tvt, 1998), contributor *''Weaving The Strands: Music By Contemporary Native American Women'' (Red Feather, 1998) *Haida: The Haida Way'' (Red Vinyl, 1998), background vocals *'

Shaming of the Sun ''Shaming of the Sun'', sometimes mislabeled as ''Shaming the Sun'', is the sixth studio album by the Indigo Girls, released in 1997. It was the duo's highest-charting album in the U.S., peaking at number 7 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Track listin ...

'',

Indigo Girls Indigo Girls are an American folk rock music duo from Atlanta, Georgia, United States, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. The two met in elementary school and began performing together as high school students in Decatur, Georgia, part o ...

(

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

, 1997) *'' Mirabal'',

Robert Mirabal Robert Mirabal (born October 6, 1966) is a Pueblo musician and Native American flute player and maker from Taos Pueblo, New Mexico. His flutes are world-renowned and have been displayed at the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of the American Ind ...

(

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

, 1997) *''Lessons from the Animal People'' (Yellow Moon Press, 1997) *''Tribal Fires: Contemporary Native American Voices'' (Rhino, 1996), contributor *''Honor: A Benefit for the Honor the Earth Campaign'' (Daemon, 1996), contributor *''Tribal Voices: Songs from Native Americans'' (Earthbeat, 1996), contributor *''Legends Project: I am an Eagle'' (

Curb Records Curb Records (also known as Asylum-Curb and formerly known as MCG Curb) is an American record label started by Mike Curb, originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963. From 1969 to 1973, Curb merged with MGM Records where Curb served as President of ...

, 1995) *''Heartbeat: Voices of First Nations Women'' (Smithsonian/Folkways, 1995), contributor *''The Fire This Time: Dancing on John Wayne's Head'' (Extreme, 1995), compilation *''

'',

(Capitol Records, 1994) *''Condor Meets the Eagle'' with Kanatan Aski (Black Jaguar Productions, 1994) *'' Maggie's Dream'' (

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

, 1990), vocals on "Between Fear & Desire"

References

External links

Official website

Interview of Pura Fé on e-k.tv
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fe, Pura Native American singers Native American activists Tuscarora people Taíno Weissenborn players Puerto Rican people of Corsican descent Puerto Rican people of Spanish descent Puerto Rican people of Taíno descent Living people Slide guitarists Singers from New York City Guitarists from New York City Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century American women guitarists 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women guitarists 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American women singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers 20th-century Native American women 20th-century Native Americans 21st-century Native American women 21st-century Native Americans