Sharon Burch
Walela
Take me back to hrmusic.com
Annie Humphrey Humphrey
was born and raised on an Ojibwe Indian reservation in Northern Minnesota
where she learned first-hand the struggles of growing up as a minority.
Eager to explore a wider world, she left the reservation and joined
the United States Marines, traveled the country coast to coast, and
was stationed in Japan. When Annie returned home to her Ojibwe homeland,
it was on her own terms. She's now living close to nature, no electricity,
no running water, in an A-frame cabin
she helped build.A strong, determined, complex woman, whose life experiences can be heard in her vocals, Humphrey says she doesn't want to serve as a spokesperson for any particular group, yet she doesn't hesitate to use her music to call attention to causes in which she believes. Humphrey does more than just sing, however. She works at local prisons writing newsletters and singing for inmates. She is dedicated to preserving the land and protecting wildlife and natural medicines. Humphrey supports efforts to control logging in the Chippewa National Forest. She also teaches traditional skills (beadwork, wild rice harvesting, maple sugaring) to reservation youth. Annie's father taught her how to play the guitar when she was in the first grade. Two years later she was playing piano (she taught herself) and composing her first songs. "Early on I was inspired musically by my father and lyrically by my mother," she says. Humphrey's mother is the noted author and grandmother storyteller Anne Dunn. Her published works include "When Beaver Was Very Great" and "Grandmother's Gift." While attending the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, she began performing professionally at coffee houses. "At college I concentrated on art -- painting, sculpture, and art history." Humphrey recorded her first solo album, the regionally-distributed Justice Hunter, in 1995. She moved back to the Ojibwe Reservation and began performing at schools, educational workshops, rallies for battered women and coffee houses throughout Northern Minnesota. She sang in the musical "Tribe" at The Ordway Theatre in St. Paul. Her first national exposure came on the album The Whispering Tree (released by Makoché), an album of poetry and music by various artists, featuring Humphrey singing on three tunes. "My music addresses many of the things I feel strongly about," says Humphrey. "Love is hard to find and should be cherished. We need to care for children wherever they are in the world. Alcoholism and abuse are human problems everywhere. People everywhere need healing. No one should judge another person by the color of their skin. I consider anyone who walks in a sacred way and honors the earth to be indigenous to our planet." |
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