Judy Trejo (1940-2002) helped save the stories and songs of her Paiute people and popularize American Indian music.

She was a singer, songmaker, linguist, storyteller, herbalist and teacher that came from the Walker River Paiute Tribe (Agai Ticutta) located in northern Nevada and was born in Alturas, California. She retired as an elementary school teacher with a master's degree in counseling, Judy taught Paiute at the college level and published a booklet on medicinal and edible plants.

She sang circle dance and stick game songs around the country and was also a member of the Native American Church.

Judy's first recording for Canyon Records, "Circle Dance Songs of the Paiute and Shoshone," received the 1997 AFIM Indie Award for Best Native American Album.

Judy Trejo passed away in the Fall of 2002. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.