Kelly Montijo Fink ’92

Kelly Montijo Fink ’92 is making waves in the world of Native American music. She was nominated for a NAMMY (Native American Music Award) in 2008 for her debut CD, “Heartbeat of the Creator,” and presented at the 2009 awards ceremony at the Seneca-Niagara Casino and Hotel in Niagara Falls, N.Y. One of her songs is on a new compilation CD called “Rise Up: Music from Native America.” In addition to teaching regularly at Cornell as a visiting faculty member in Spanish, she is completing her second CD featuring guest artist Jan Michael Looking Wolf (2009 NAMMY Artist of the Year). Montijo-Fink is Apache/Mexican/Spanish and considers herself a “song catcher” rather than a song writer. “I observe, hear, and see truth and then allow the words and melodies to flow from there,” she says.