Walela is a trio of singers, named for the Cherokee word for hummingbird.
Featured as part of Robbie Robertson and the Red Road Ensemble's album Music for The Native Americans, Walela is known for their distinctive vocal blend.
The Native American Music Awards allows any person who self-identifies as Native American to receive awards without any verification of tribal citizenship.
[2] The Coolidge family is not enrolled in any Native American tribe.
Rita Coolidge has said that their great-aunt was on the Trail of Tears and that she "did a lot of research", but that "we were not able to get the documents to prove that our ancestors were on the Trail" and could not find any ancestors listed on "the official government roll".