Christopher Scales

Biography

Christoper A. Scales is an Associate professor of Ethnomusicology in the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities at Michigan State University where he teaches courses on North American indigenous music, southern Appalachian music, music and technology, intellectual and cultural property, and the North American popular music industry. His book Recording Culture: Powwow Music and the Aboriginal Recording Industry on the Northern Plains (Duke University Press, 2012) focuses on contemporary Northern powwow culture and musical creation both on the powwow grounds and in Aboriginal recording studios, specifically engaging the effects of technology and mass mediation on powwow performance aesthetics. Professor Scales has also been active collaborating with Native musicians and has produced, recorded, or performed on several powwow and “Contemporary Native music” CD projects for Arbor Records and War Pony Records, independent record labels specializing in North American Aboriginal music. His current research focusses on Native American popular music and, in particular, the influence of Red Power politics on Native musicians during the 1960s and 70s.