Resumé

Roots:

Pura Fe’s Spanish name translates as “Pure Faith”, given to her by her Father who was from Puerto Rico, who sang as well. Pura Fe was born and raised in New York City by her Tuscaroran Mother, a classically trained Opera singer who toured with “The Duke Ellington Orchestra”. Pura Fe’s musical inheritance comes from her Mothers family of gifted female singers and count as the fourth generation of seven singing sisters in a row through the maternal line. “Singing is my first language!”. “Our voice stems out of North Carolina, our ancestral homeland of the Tuscarora Nation”. Pura Fe’s Mothers family of mixed ancestry, Indian, Black and Scott-Irish is “the experience” of many Southern and Eastern Nations that endured slavery, removal, deportation, through colonization and commercial genocide. “The Underground Rail road which trailed through Indian occupied territories through Canadian borders is “the crossroads” and “cross blood” that runs through every Jazz and Blues pioneer I can think of”. Charlie Patton the first King of the Delta was Choctaw. Scrapper Blackwell, Duke Ellington, Lina Horne, Jimi Hendrix, Little Richard, Tina Turner, Chaka Kahn, Don Cherry, Charles Mingus, The Neville Brothers, Taj Mahal, Thelonious Monk and many more…! “This story needs to shine…Hallelujah…for the Red, Black on Blues”!

Name Drop:

Pura Fe opened for Neil Young with one of her first solo performances for Aboriginal Voices. Her work with Ulali has made them world travelers, sharing the bill and collaborations with artists such as…Jackson Brown, The Indigo Girls, Robbie Robertson, Taj Mahal, Bonnie Raitt, Ben Harper, Sting, Chuck Berry, Mirium Makeba, Buffy Saint Marie, Baaba Maal, Speech, Keb Mo, Richie Havens, B52’s, Lila Downs,

Joan Osborne, Stephen Stills, Lady Smith Black Mombazo, The Neville Brothers, The Mahotella Queens,

Bulgarian Woman’s Singing Choir, Floyd ‘Red Crow’ Westerman, John Trudell, Keith Secola,

Derek Miller and George Leach to name a few…

Toot Horn:

Pura Fe’s work with Ulali can be found on movie soundtracks, recordings and performances such as Miramax’s ‘Smoke Signals’, a Turner Documentary series ‘The Native Americans’, ‘1 GIANT LEAP’ DVD/CD…Palm Pictures, The Indigo Girls ‘Shaming of the Sun’/Honor the Earth-Daemon records.

‘The World Festival of Sacred Music’ concert/DVD for the Dalai Lama – Hollywood Bowl,

“Singing our Stories” documentary…Skin Flicks, Mahk Jchi…Corn, Beans and Squash Music,

Peter Bratt’s “Follow Me Home”- Sundance…won Peoples Choice, Robbie Robertson’s ‘Red Road

Ensemble’…Mahk Jchi music video and soundtrack for “The Native Americans”…on TBT, Folkways ‘50^thAnniversary Gala’ at Carnegie Hall, The Smithsonian’s grand opening of the National Mueseum of

the American Indian’s documentary and Eve Ensler’s “Vagina Monologues” as musical guests joined with the all celebrity cast, Glenn Close, Whoopi Goldberg, Rosie Perez, Winona Rider,

Queen Latifah, Jane Fonda, ‘Betty’ Phebe Snow, Susan Sarandon, Lily Tomlin, Oprah Winfree, and many more that packed the house that night at ‘Madison Square Garden’!

Pura Fe and Ulali’s work has been aired on MTV, VH1, Much Music, Link TV, EGG TV, Sundance, TBT, PBS, NBC, the Juno’s and the Grammy’s.