Stephanie Snow ’03, a Grinnell alumna and the Interim Assistant Director of the Office of Intercultural Engagement and Leadership, has recently been nominated for awards in 10 categories of the Native American Music Awards.
Snow said that from a young age, she had many chances to explore music because of her family’s creative inclinations. Beginning with her grandfather’s oldest brother, who taught himself to play guitar, Snow’s family made music an important part of their lives. The family also practices and performs various styles of Native American dancing. According to Snow, their creative process is based on familial ties.
“What I remember growing up is everyone getting together and just playing,” Snow said. “It’s a lot of freestyle, I’d like to say.”
Snow said that her family’s vocal harmonization makes their music unique, and that their genetic ties allow them to blend their voices together exceptionally well. According to her, their familial bonds help create harmony and fluidity in their music.
Snow said she is proud of her heritage and hopes to inform people of her culture while maintaining close ties to her roots. Snow said that she was the only Native American student during her time as an undergraduate and she aspired to help people learn more about her culture.
“We represent our families and where we come from,” Snow said. “So, in a way, I saw myself as a sort of informer or informal educator.”
While she was in Grinnell, Snow studied anthropology and was actively involved in groups that focused on spreading diversity. She has been a speaker on diversity and a cultural singer, roles which have allowed her to share her culture with others.
After graduating from Grinnell, Snow became interim Assistant Director of the Office of Intercultural Engagement and Leadership, all the while actively participating in her music group, Seymour Snow. Snow says she has enjoyed the feeling of just communicating her music to others and hopes her songs can help someone else relax, feel touched or have a different experience.
“The music is a part of who I am. I’ve [been] singing since I was a little kid,” Snow said. “It’s not about getting out on stage, but what I do is a part of who I am, and I do it with my heart.”
Now that her group has gained recognition, she said she hopes that its music may help people and spread more knowledge of her culture. Her experience of being nominated has left her hopeful for the future of teaching more people about Native American culture through her singing and dancing in the Seymour Snow group.
“It’s cliché, but I’m just so honored to have been able to be nominated,” Snow said.
As of now, the Seymour Snow group is nominated for 10 categories in the Native American Music Awards to be held in New York on Friday, Nov. 14. Supporters will be able to vote through a link on the NAMA website or the Seymour Snow Facebook page.
