Joanne Shenandoah Concert

The Penn Museum will host a special free concert by Oneida singer-songwriter Joanne Shenandoah, as part of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Conference, “Native American Studies at Penn: Approaches to Indigenous Knowledge.” Her concert performances of traditional and contemporary music weave traditional chants with guitar and vocals, emphasizing the importance of water, music, peace, and connections to the natural world. She is also an advocate for innovative education, serving as a founding board member of the Hiawatha Institute for Indigenous Knowledge at Syracuse University.

Joanne Shenandoah is the winner of over 40 music awards (including GRAMMY and NAMMY (Native American music awards) . With 16 recordings, and a history of performing around the world to promote peace, she is one of America’s best known and most celebrated Indigenous musicians. Joanne has performed at Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, Woodstock 1994,  and the National Museum of the American Indian, and at five presidential inaugurations at the White House. In 2012, she was invited to St. Peter’s at the Vatican to perform an original composition celebrating the canonization of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha. 

Her praises have been sung by other prominent performers:

Neil Young: “Joanne Shenandoah is one of the finest tributes to Native American music and culture.”

Robbie Robertson: “She weaves you into a trance with her beautiful Iroquois chants and wraps her voice around you like a warm blanket on a cool winter’s night.”

This free concert at the Penn Museum offers a rare opportunity to enjoy Shenandoah’s music in a small concert setting. Open to faculty, staff, students, and the general public.

See schedule: Friday NAIS Conference