# Charlotte Heth > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Charlotte_Heth > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Charlotte_Heth.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Heth > Source revision: 1349361161 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|North American ethno-musicologist}} '''Charlotte Anne Wilson Heth''' (born 1937) is a [North American](/source/North_America) [ethno-musicologist](/source/Ethnomusicology), a citizen of the [Cherokee Nation](/source/Cherokee_Nation). She is notable for her scholarship in and teaching of the [traditional music](/source/Folk_music), [dance](/source/dance), and [ceremonies](/source/Ceremony) of [indigenous](/source/Indigenous_peoples_of_the_Americas) North Americans and for her [publications](/source/Publication) and recordings in this field.{{Cite journal |last=Heth |first=Charlotte |date=1976 |title=The Mosquito Dance |url=https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc2099493/ |journal=Chronicles of Oklahoma |language=English |volume=54 |issue=4 |pages=519–524}}{{Cite web |title=Powwow Songs - Music of the Plains Indians |url=https://store.arcmusic.co.uk/powwow-songs-music-of-the-plains-indians.html |access-date=2024-10-21 |website=store.arcmusic.co.uk |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Native American Music Traditions of Oklahoma. Songs of Indian Territory. |url=https://www.ressources-mcm.com/s/Ibn_Battuta/item/2252 |access-date=2024-10-21 |website=www.ressources-mcm.com}}{{Cite web |title=Books by Charlotte Heth (Author of Native American Dance) |url=https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/1916352.Charlotte_Heth |access-date=2024-10-21 |website=www.goodreads.com}}{{Cite web |title=Social Dances of the Lenape and Other North-Eastern Indian Tribes |url=https://delawaretribe.org/blog/2013/06/26/social-dances/ |access-date=2024-10-21 |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Creation's Journey: Native American Music |url=https://folkways.si.edu/creations-journey-native-american-music/american-indian/music/album/smithsonian |access-date=2024-10-21 |website=Smithsonian Folkways Recordings |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2020-01-16 |title=Summer@Eastman 2020: THE UNBROKEN CIRCLE Native American Song and Dance Workshop |url=https://www.esm.rochester.edu/news/2020/01/summereastman-2020-the-unbroken-circle-native-american-song-and-dance-workshop/ |access-date=2024-10-21 |website=Eastman School of Music |language=en-US}} She has worked to strengthen [Native American](/source/Native_Americans_in_the_United_States) studies for [K–12](/source/K%E2%80%9312) and has also [curated](/source/Curator) exhibitions in museums such as the [Smithsonian Institution](/source/Smithsonian_Institution) and the [Musical Instrument Museum](/source/Musical_Instrument_Museum_(Phoenix)) of Phoenix. She was the director of [UCLA](/source/University_of_California%2C_Los_Angeles)'s American Indian Studies Center. She set up the first American Indian Studies Master’s degree program and was the assistant director for public programs at the [National Museum of the American Indian](/source/National_Museum_of_the_American_Indian).{{Cite web |last=Society |first=American Folklore |date=2022-12-12 |title=Charlotte Wilson Heth Receives AFS Lifetime Scholarly Achievement Award |url=https://americanfolkloresociety.org/charlotte-wilson-heth-receives-afs-lifetime-scholarly-achievement-award/ |access-date=2024-10-21 |website=The American Folklore Society |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Highlights from the Ethnomusicology Archive: the Charlotte Heth collection |url=https://ethnomusicologyreview.ucla.edu/content/highlights-ethnomusicology-archive-charlotte-heth-collection |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=Ethnomusicology Review |language=en}} == Early life == Heth was born on 29 October, 1937 in [Muskogee](/source/Muskogee%2C_Oklahoma), [Oklahoma](/source/Oklahoma), the daughter of Eula Jewel (Seabolt) Wilson and Woodrow Curt.{{cn|date=November 2024}} She started learning the piano at age six.{{Cite news |last=Levine |first=Victoria Lindsay |date=June 2013 |title=Ethnomusicologists x Ethnomusicologists |url=https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.ethnomusicology.org/resource/resmgr/newsletters/semnl47-3.pdf |access-date=21 October 2024 |work=[SEM Newsletter](/source/SEM_Newsletter) |pages=1,6 |edition=47/3}}  She went to [Will Rogers High School](/source/Will_Rogers_High_School) in [Tulsa](/source/Tulsa%2C_Oklahoma) Oklahoma, a school named after [William Penn Adair Rogers](/source/Will_Rogers), an American actor and a Cherokee citizen. Heth graduated in the class of 1955 and was inducted into their hall of fame in 2016.{{Cite web |title=Charlotte Wilson Heth '55 – WRHS Community Foundation |url=https://willrogersfoundation.net/charlotte-wilson-heth-55/ |access-date=2024-10-21 |language=en-US}}[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZQhS83N5m4] == Education and career == Continuing her early interest in music, Heth directed several church youth choirs in Tulsa. She gained a [Bachelor’s degree](/source/Bachelor's_degree) in 1959 with a minor in English and then a [Master’s degree](/source/Master's_degree) in music in 1960 from the [University of Tulsa](/source/University_of_Tulsa). From 1960, Heth worked as a teacher of English and music in [New Mexico](/source/New_Mexico) and Oklahoma before joining the [Peace Corps](/source/Peace_Corps) to volunteer in [Ethiopia](/source/Ethiopia) in 1962 along with ethno-musicologist [Cynthia Tse Kimberlin](/source/Cynthia_Tse_Kimberlin). In 1964, she moved to [Los Angeles County](/source/Los_Angeles_County%2C_California) and taught Music and English for six years. Heth was interested in [African music](/source/Music_of_Africa) at that time. On searching however, she discovered that little had been published about Cherokee music. The few pages she found were about the music of [North Carolina](/source/North_Carolina) and published by [Gertrude Prokosch Kurath](/source/Gertrude_Prokosch_Kurath). To rectify this regional lack of scholarship, Heth started [field research](/source/field_research) in Oklahoma in 1971, gaining a [PhD](/source/Doctor_of_Philosophy) in Music (Ethno-musicology) from UCLA in 1975. In 1973, Heth set up a ten-week survey course on comparative [American Indian music](/source/Indigenous_music_of_North_America) at UCLA. Over her time at UCLA, Heth was an assistant, associate, then full professor and [professor emerita](/source/Emeritus).{{Cite web |title=Charlotte Heth {{!}} Ethnomusicology Review |url=https://ethnomusicologyreview.ucla.edu/sounding-board/tag/charlotte-heth |access-date=2024-10-21 |website=ethnomusicologyreview.ucla.edu}} She gave graduate seminars on Contemporary American Indian issues and Cultural World Views of Native America until she retired. Heth was director of UCLA's American Indian Studies Center from 1977 to 1978 and of the [American Indian Program](/source/Native_American_studies) at [Cornell University Ithaca](/source/Cornell_University) from 1987 to 1989.{{Cite web |title=History {{!}} American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program |url=https://cals.cornell.edu/american-indian-indigenous-studies/about/history |access-date=2024-10-21 |website=cals.cornell.edu |language=en}} She was a panel member folk arts at the [National Endowment for the Arts](/source/National_Endowment_for_the_Arts) from 1980 to1982. From 1990 to 1992, Heth was chair of UCLA's Department of Ethnomusicology and Systematic Musicology. In the years 1993 to 1995, Heth was also president of the [American Folklore Society](/source/American_Folklore_Society) (AFS), a sister organization of the [Society for Ethnomusicology](/source/Society_for_Ethnomusicology). Heth retired from UCLA in 1994 to become assistant director for public programs at the [National Museum of the American Indian](/source/National_Museum_of_the_American_Indian), [Smithsonian Institution](/source/Smithsonian_Institution). She was also visiting curator at the [Musical Instrument Museum](/source/Musical_Instrument_Museum_(Phoenix)) in [Phoenix](/source/Phoenix%2C_Arizona). Heth was also invited as a visiting speaker and on summer appointments in music at universities including the University of Colorado.{{Cite web |date=2018-01-30 |title=First Distinguished Lectureship on Music, Diversity and Inclusion hosts Native American music scholar |url=https://www.colorado.edu/music/2018/01/30/first-distinguished-lectureship-music-diversity-and-inclusion-hosts-native-american-music |access-date=2024-10-21 |website=College of Music |language=en}} == Selected publications == *''The Stomp Dance Music of the Oklahoma Cherokee: A study of contemporary practice with special reference to the Illinois district council ground (Vols. I and II).'' University of California, Los Angeles ProQuest Dissertations & Theses. 1975. {{Cite web |title=Browse Collections - Ethnomusicology: Global Field Recordings - Adam Matthew Digital |url=https://www.ethnomusicology.amdigital.co.uk/Documents/BrowseCollections |access-date=2024-10-21 |website=www.ethnomusicology.amdigital.co.uk}}{{Cite web |title=The stomp dance music of the Oklahoma Cherokee : a study of contemporary practice with special reference to the Illinois District Council Ground {{!}} WorldCat.org |url=https://search.worldcat.org/title/stomp-dance-music-of-the-oklahoma-cherokee-a-study-of-contemporary-practice-with-special-reference-to-the-illinois-district-council-ground/oclc/12711379?referer=di&ht=edition |access-date=2024-10-21 |website=search.worldcat.org |language=en}} *''Sharing a Heritage: American Indian Arts,'' Edited by Charlotte Heth and Michael Swarm. Contemporary American Indian Issues Series, Number 5. Los Angeles: American Indian Studies Center, UCLA: 49–60. 1984. *''Issues for the Future of American Indian Studies: A Needs Assessment and Program Directory'' by Susan Guyette and Charlotte Heth. American Indian Studies Center. 1985. ISBN 9780935626292.{{Cite web |url=https://www.chaparralbooks.com/blocked |access-date=2024-10-21 |website=www.chaparralbooks.com}} *''Native American dance: Ceremonies and Social Traditions'' Edited by Charlotte Heth. 1992. Published in conjunction with an exhibition of the National Museum of the American Indian 1992 to 1993. Dance Books ISBN 978-1563730207.{{Cite web |last=Institution |first=Smithsonian |title=Native American dance : ceremonies and social traditions / Charlotte Heth, general editor |url=https://www.si.edu/object/native-american-dance-ceremonies-and-social-traditions-charlotte-heth-general-editor:siris_sil_475435 |access-date=2024-10-21 |website=Smithsonian Institution |language=en}} Heth contributed an ''Overview'' in ''The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music''. Volume 3. Edited by Ellen Koskoff pp. 366–373. 2000 Routledge Heth and Karen Taborn contributed ''Seminole Music'' to ''The Grove Dictionary of American Music''. 2nd ed. AmeriGrove. 2013 Ed. Charles Hiroshi Garrett. Heth's publications are cited in the references lists of pages of this encyclopedia, for example those on [Native American Flute](/source/Native_American_flute), [Weapon Dance](/source/Weapon_dance), [Gertrude Prokosch Kurath](/source/Gertrude_Prokosch_Kurath), [Flute circle](/source/Flute_circle), [Native American Hoop Dance](/source/Native_American_Hoop_Dance), [Indigenous music of North America](/source/Indigenous_music_of_North_America) and [Seminole music](/source/Seminole_music). == Selected recordings == Heth produced ''Songs and Dances of the Eastern Indians from Medicine Spring and Allegeny in 1985.''{{Cite web |title=Songs and Dances of the Eastern Indians from Medicine Spring & Allegany |url=https://www.newworldrecords.org/products/songs-and-dances-of-the-eastern-indians-from-medicine-spring-allegany |access-date=2024-10-21 |website=New World Records}} She also produced ''Songs of Earth, Water, Fire and Sky.''{{Cite web |title=Songs of Earth, Water, Fire and Sky |url=https://www.newworldrecords.org/products/songs-of-earth-water-fire-and-sky-music-of-the-american-indian |access-date=2024-10-21 |website=New World Records}} for New World Records. Heth co-produced the 1994 Smithsonian Folkways album ''Creation’s Journey: Native American Music.'' == Memberships == Heth was a member of the Western Social Science Association, [National Indian Education Association](/source/National_Indian_Education_Association), American Society of Ethnohistory, [American Folklore Society](/source/American_Folklore_Society), and the [Society for Ethnomusicology](/source/Society_for_Ethnomusicology).{{cn|date=November 2024}} == Awards == Heth received a postdoctoral fellowship from the Southern Fellowship Fund in 1978-1979, a Senior Postdoctoral fellowship, Newberry Library, Chicago, 1978-1979, a National Research Council award, 1984-1985. In December 2022, Heth received an American Folklore Society Lifetime Scholarly Achievement Award for her sustained work “examining and affirming the diversity of human creativity” and for “advocating for respect and mutual understanding of the world’s diverse cultures.” == Legacy == Heth's nominator for the AFS Lifetime Scholarly Achievement Award stated that Heth has "enabled generations of scholars, as well as Native artists and community members, to appreciate the complexities and nuances of Native American music, dance, and cultural ceremonies. Her depth of understanding, and first-hand knowledge has informed her curated exhibits at the Smithsonian Institution and Musical Instrument Museum of Phoenix, and her leading role from 1994-1999 as Assistant Director for Public Programs at the National Museum of the American Indian." == References == {{authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Heth, Charlotte}} Category:Living people Category:1937 births Category:20th-century Native American academics Category:20th-century Native American women academics Category:University of Tulsa alumni Category:Cherokee Nation women Category:University of California, Los Angeles alumni Category:Women ethnomusicologists Category:American ethnomusicologists Category:American women musicologists Category:Cornell University faculty Category:Scholars of Native American studies Category:Cherokee Nation academics --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Charlotte Heth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Heth) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Heth?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.