Golana

Born Scott Cunningham and raised within an Anglo-American household, the Native American flutist later known as Golaná first connected with music via church hymns. Piano lessons occupied four years beginning at age eight, after which he spent another four years performing trumpet in school ensembles before taking up guitar at fifteen. He earned a B.S. in Information Systems Management from San Diego State University and later completed a master’s degree in Systems Management at U.S.C. Following a period in corporate employment, he launched an independent computer-software consulting firm during the mid-1980s. Concurrently, having overcome earlier struggles with drug and alcohol dependency, he pursued a spiritual path that drew him toward Native American traditions. Momentum increased when an aunt disclosed that his great-great-grandmother had been Cherokee, establishing his own one-sixteenth Native American ancestry. He then adopted the flute and developed a new-age approach rooted in Native American practice while also reflecting ’70s folk and rock influences. During a Cherokee ceremony he received the name Golaná, signifying raven. Inquiries about his recordings prompted him to release material commercially, beginning with Path to the Heart, followed by Walk Between Worlds and the 2000 album Feather on the Wind.