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Our Native Daughters on Their Roots and the African American Banjo Tradition (Behind The Scenes)

Go behind the scenes with Our Native Daughters as they discuss the origins of their debut album and explore the power of the banjo as a distinctly African American instrument.

"Songs of Our Native Daughters" gathers kindred musicians Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah, Leyla McCalla, and Allison Russell in song and sisterhood to communicate with their forebears. Drawing on and reclaiming early minstrelsy and banjo music, these musicians reclaim, recast, and spotlight the often unheard and untold history of their ancestors, whose stories remain vital and alive today. Written and sung in various combinations, the material on "Songs of Our Native Daughters" is inspired by the narratives of enslaved people, discrimination, and how it has shaped our American experience, as well as musicians such as Haitian troubadour Althiery Dorval and Mississippi Hill Country string player Sid Hemphill.