Native American Drummer Medicine Bear Added To “The Jersey Sound” Documentary Film

Director Fulvio Cecere with Medicine Bear

Director Fulvio Cecere has pulled off a major coup. The history of music in New Jersey traverses an unusually long and circuitous path.  And it starts with the Lenni-Lanape tribe, known as the “ancient ones” as their lineage dates back almost 10,000 years. They were a peace-loving people, diplomats who brokered treaties between tribes. Their Burlington County reservation lasted from 1752-1802, after which they settled in Essex County. When the Declaration of Independence was signed, they were promised statehood if they helped fight the British. They did but that promise was never kept. In fact, it wasn’t until 1924 that Congress recognized Native Americans as citizens, finally getting around to passing the “American Indian Religious Freedom Act” in 1978. Director Fu realized that if he was to capture the essence of New Jersey in music—which he has in dramatic fashion—that he’d have to start at the very beginning. Thus, the inclusion of Richard Powell, Jr., known as Medicine Bear. “This project has been a gift and I can't wait to share it with the world,” says Fu.