Charles Wakefield Cadman

Composer and organist, born in Johnston, Pennsylvania, USA. A church organist, he became interested in native American music after reading such ethnologists as Alice Fletcher and Francis La Flesche. He proceeded to incorporate Indian themes in many of his own compositions, such as his opera Shanewis, staged at the Metropolitan in 1918. He is best known for such songs as ‘Land of the Sky-blue Water’ (1908).

Charles Wakefield Cadman, (December 24, 1881 - December 30, 1946) was a American composer, best known for his songs, "From the Land of the Sky Blue Water" and "At Dawning", which became famous in the 1920s. Cadman spent many summers studying Native-American culture and musical styles and became greatly influenced by it. In 1929, Cadman moved to Hollywood was hired by Fox Corporation to produce scores for their films. As interest for the Indianist Movement waned, Cadman's popularity decreased as well. In total, Cadman wrote more than 300 songs and gave hundreds of music-talks on Amerindian music.