Brooke Medicine Eagle

Based in rural Montana, Brooke Edwards, aka Brooke Medicine Eagle, is a veteran singer/songwriter who specializes in Native American music. Though Medicine Eagle includes some traditional Native American songs in her repertoire, she is not a purist when it comes to Native American music; some of her recordings have been traditional, but many of her original songs could be described as modern Native American folk-rock — and her albums have employed some world music instruments that aren't heard on totally traditional Native American recordings (for example, Chinese bamboo flutes). Over the years, Medicine Eagle has recorded frequently and built a sizable catalog; by 2004, she had recorded at least 19 albums (most of which came out on either the New Dimensions label or Medicine Eagle's own Brooke label). Medicine Eagle, who has also recorded for TribalLove Records, is of mixed heritage; she is part white and part Native American, and her heritage ranges from Lakota and Cherokee to Scottish and Irish. While Medicine Eagle (whose musical influences range from Joan Baez and Judy Collins to traditional and modern Native American performers) isn't a new age artist per se, her spiritual views have been influenced by the new age culture as well as Native American spirituality — and the Montana resident (who plays the drums and various Native American percussion instruments) has received her share of publicity from the new age media.

In addition to her musical activities, Medicine Eagle is an author who has written a few books dealing with Native American spirituality, including Buffalo Woman Comes Singing in 1991 and The Last Ghost Dance in 2000; both were published by the New York City-based Ballantine Books. Medicine Eagle has also written articles for various magazines and websites, many of them new age-oriented.