Mary Youngblood (

Aleut The Aleuts ( ; russian: Алеуты, Aleuty) are the indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands, which are located between the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea. Both the Aleut people and the islands are politically divided between the U ...

/ Seminole) is a Native American musician, and performer of the Native American flute.

Life and career

Mary Youngblood was born in

Kirkland, Washington Kirkland is a city in King County, Washington, United States. A suburb east of Seattle, its population was 92,175 in the 2020 U.S. census which made it the sixth largest city in the county and the twelfth largest in the state. The city's downto ...

, and adopted as a child by Dr. Bob and Leah Edwards, both educators. She has been awarded three

Native American Music Awards 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-profi ...

, being the first female artist to win "Flutist of the Year," which she won in both 1999 and 2000, as well as winning "Best Female Artist" in 2000. She is also the first Native American woman to have received a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for "Best Native American Music Album", and the first Native American woman to have won two Grammys, the first for '' Beneath the Raven Moon'' in 2002 and ''

Dance with the Wind ''Dance with the Wind'' ( ko, 바람의 전설; ''Baramui jeonseol'') is a 2004 South Korean film starring Lee Sung-jae and Park Sol-mi, and is the directorial debut of Park Jung-woo. The story is adapted from a 1999 book by novelist Ji Seong-sa ...

'' in 2006. In 2007 Mary Youngblood composed and played the flute music on the soundtrack for documentary film, "The Spirit of Sacajawea." Ms. Youngblood is on the advisory board of the

World Flute Society The World Flute Society (WFS), a successor to the International Native American Flute Association, is a non-profit organization dedicated to "musical and cultural expressions of the world's indigenous and folk flute traditions." WFS has a particul ...

The Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

maintains eight of Mary Youngblood's sound recordings.

Discography

*''Sacred Place: A Mary Youngblood Collection'' 2008, Silver Wave *''

'' 2006, Silver Wave *''Feed the Fire'' 2004, Silver Wave *'' Beneath the Raven Moon'' 2002, Silver Wave *''Heart of the World'' 1999, Silver Wave *''The Offering'' 1998, Silver Wave

Sheet music

Three of her albums have been published as books of sheet music transcribed for Native American flute: * The Offering * Heart of the World * Beneath the Raven Moon Her work has been included in the following compilations and soundtracks: *''Voice of the Wind'' with Mary Youngblood &

Michael Bayard Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

(Live CD&DVD) 2016, Pure Motion Media *''My Mothers Garden'' by Singer-Songwriter Thea *''Bears'' with

Joanne Shenandoah Joanne Lynn Shenandoah (June 23, 1957November 22, 2021) was a Native American singer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist based in the United States. She was a citizen of the Oneida Indian Nation, Wolf clan, based in New York. Her music combine ...

, Lawrence Laughing,

Lyle Lovett Lyle Pearce Lovett (born November 1, 1957) Lyle Lovett Pageat Allmusic – Lovett's Genre and Styles. Retrieved February 2, 2007 is an American singer, songwriter, actor and record producer. Active since 1980, he has recorded 13 albums and relea ...

, Alice Gomez, and Claude Carmichael *''Prayer for Peace'' featuring

Michel Cusson UZEB is a Canadian jazz fusion band from Montreal, Quebec who were active from 1976 to 1992, and reunited in November 2016. The members are Alain Caron (bass guitar), Michel Cusson (guitar), and Paul Brochu ( drums). The band won a number of Can ...

, and with Mary Youngblood,

*''Many Blessings: A Native American Celebration'' with Lawrence Laughing, Joanne Shenandoah, Alice Gomez,

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 ...

Tito La Rosa Tito may refer to: People Mononyms *Josip Broz Tito (1892–1980), commonly known mononymously as Tito, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman *Roberto Arias (1918–1989), aka Tito, Panamanian international lawyer, diplomat, and journal ...

, and Peter Kater *'' Sacred Ground: A Tribute to Mother Earth'' with Robert Mirabal,

Star Nayea A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth make ...

, Bill Miller, Joanne Shenandoah,

Little Wolf Band Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...

, and

Walela Walela is a trio of singers, named for the Cherokee word for ''hummingbird.'' The group was founded in 1996 by sisters Rita Coolidge and Priscilla Coolidge, with Priscilla's daughter Laura Satterfield as the third member. Although the band name is C ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Youngblood, Mary 1958 births Living people 20th-century Native Americans 21st-century Native Americans Alaska Native people Aleut people Grammy Award winners Native American flautists Native American flute players Seminole people Women flautists 20th-century Native American women 21st-century Native American women People from Kirkland, Washington Musicians from Washington (state)