Musical artist
Douglas Spotted Eagle (born Douglas Wallentine)[2][3][4] is a musician and producer, primarily known for audio engineering and production, for which he has won a Grammy Award,[5] as well as for playing the Native American-style flute. He is listed in the Library of Folk Music, The Native American Almanac, and NAIIP Musical Paths as a non-Native flautist who composes New Age and "contemporary ethnic" music.[6][7][8]
Music career
His music mixes jazz, new age, pop, and world beat with his interpretations of Native American music. In his book, World Music, Richard Nidel described him as a flautist and film composer "who incorporates synthesizers into Native sounds."[9]
Video production and software
Spotted Eagle is the producer of Sundance Media Group's 2002 video The Way of the Pow-Wow.[10]
Background and personal life
Spotted Eagle is not Native American himself.[6][7] Born Douglas Wallentine,[2][3][4] he was raised in a non-Native family in Valley Junction, Iowa. After his family moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, he was a guitarist in a Christian rock band.[citation needed]
He says he grew up around Lakota and Navajo families in Iowa and Utah, the former of which he says gave him his name when he was 14 or 16.[11][12] However, his claims of adoption into any Native American culture, his use of a Native American-sounding name, and concerns around the Indian Arts and Crafts Act have led to writers and reviewers emphasizing that he is not Native American.[6][7][13]
Spotted Eagle lives in Utah. He lost his son Joshua Davis Wallentine to suicide.[14]
His hobbies include wingsuiting. In 2015 he was appointed the U.S. Team Manager for the First World Cup of Wingsuit Performance Flying.[15]
