Southeast Missouri State University student publication

Yakama tribe native teaches music at Southeast

Monday, February 8, 2016
Dr. Jacqueline Wilson was hired at Southeast Missouri State University in the fall to teach applied double reeds.

Classical music can be easily identified as being part of a traditionally Western culture. However, Southeast Missouri State University's music department gained a faculty member in fall 2015 who takes interest in classical music despite coming from her Native American background.

Dr. Jacqueline Wilson, assistant professor of music, is of the Yakama tribe, which is located in the inland Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Wilson said her involvement in classical music contrasts significantly with her cultural background.

"It is a bit of a dichotomy being in something so Western and being from a culture that is non-Western," Wilson said. "For a long part of my life, they were two separate things. I had my cultural identity and my musical identity, and they really didn't mix at all. It was two different parts of myself."

Wilson said she started to think of ways to blend the two together once she realized she did not see people who looked like her in her profession. She found ways to stay involved in the music she loved while also showcasing her Native American culture.

"It is a reality that I do not see my Native identity represented in my career," Wilson said. "I thought to myself, 'How can I be a Native and a classical musician, and have the two coexist in a positive way?' So, I started doing things like programming the works [in concerts and recitals] of Native American composers and creating advocacy and awareness for them. There aren't a ton of us, but there are more than you might think."

As a classically trained bassoonist, Wilson teaches applied double reeds in private lessons to students at Southeast. The number of students who play a double-reed instrument at Southeast, including bassoon and oboe, is relatively small, and Wilson has begun taking strides to change that. Dr. Kevin Hampton, chair of the Department of Music, said Wilson already has been instrumental in building the double-reeds program despite her short time at the River Campus.

"She has been very active in working with private and public-school students around the state, and we are beginning to see the results of her efforts," Hampton said. "She has started a 'Double Reeds Day,' which will take place on Feb. 13 this year. I believe we have about 10 reeds students coming, which is unprecedented. She is a marvelous performer, so we are fortunate to have her on our faculty."

Wilson described Southeast as being professionally fantastic, but she feels more cultural isolation in Cape Girardeau than at the university she previously taught at in Wisconsin.

"I came from a very small department with about 60 music majors," Wilson said. "Southeast's is three times that size, so there are more resources, and I get to work with a greater number of talented musicians. It was definitely a move up in every way. But culturally, I am extremely isolated. There is a minute Native population in Missouri, and I wouldn't be surprised if there is no one in my tribe in the entire state. Holding on to my identity here might mean driving five hours to go to a pow wow. Wisconsin, where I taught before I came here, has the most sizable Native population east of the Mississippi, so maintaining my identity was much easier there. But that just means I have to be intentional about staying strong culturally."

Native Americans might be a rarity in classical music, but they certainly are not non-existent. Despite stereotyping and labeling, numerous unique cultures can be found in virtually any profession or interest, and people like Wilson prove that true every day.

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