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Print2008 Native American Music Award winners
Honoring last year's crop of Native American Music Award winners before the next crop comes in this October.
Honoring last year's crop of Native American Music Award winners before the next crop comes in this October.
The Native American Music Awards, affectionately known as the Nammys, were created more than 10 years ago as a way to provide indigenous musicians from the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Central and South America with a forum for national exposure.
Essentially the Grammys for American Indian music, the Nammys have succeeded in their goal of bringing indigenous music to the world's consciousness by presenting top-flight Native music that otherwise might never be widely heard. The Nammys have also recognized the great achievements of nationally known figures who are of Native descent, among them Rita Coolidge, Jimi Hendrix, R. Carlos Nakai, and the legendary Navajo Code Talkers.
The winning artists honored at the 10th Annual Native American Music Awards — held in October 2008 at the Seneca Entertainment Center in the Seneca Casino & Hotel in Niagara Falls, New York — are sure to be in the house at this year's 11th outing, October 3. To learn more, visit www.nativeamericanmusicawards.com.
Cheryl Bear
Artist of theYear
Jim Boyd
Blues To Bluegrass
(Thunderwolf Records)
Not exactly blues or bluegrass, seven-time Nammy winner Jim Boyd seemingly channels the influences of Neil Young and John Mellencamp for this project. Blues to Bluegrass, his 11th record, is a rocking, rollicking Americana record with a Native bent. "Stick Indian" is a hard-rock tune about a well-known Native legend. "Kyo-t's My Name" tells a contemporary tale of another Native legend, Coyote, while "Alaskan Woman" is an ode to Native actress Irene Bedard. With more than 20 years of recording and touring experience, Boyd is a legend in his own right on the Native circuit.
Best Country Music Recording
Tracy Bone
No Lies
(Arbor/EMI)
This Winnipeg native's passionate debut album is a rich journey into the soul of an artist, falling somewhere between the country-pop sensibility of Faith Hill and the unrestrained honesty of Patsy Cline. Songs such as "Soldier of Love," "Sweetest Surprise," and "Games" are filled with wonderfully twangy falsettos and emotive lyrics. A celebrated beginning to a promising career.
Jan Michael Looking Wolf
Debut Artist of the Year
Cheryl Bear
The Good Road
(Frybread Music)
Heartfelt. Spiritual. Moving. These are a few words that come to mind when listening to contemporary Christian-folk artist Cheryl Bear. The Good Road, her second record, is dedicated to her people, the Nadleh Whut'en Carrier Nation in northern British Columbia, Canada. A skilled songwriter who paints vivid life portraits, Bear imbues her music with a powerful blend of pain, hope, and introspection. Compositions such as the melancholy "Cheslatta" and the heartrending "The Residential Boarding School Song" (a tune about a mother and son's separation by an Indian boarding school) to the more uplifting "The Road to the Reservation" and fun-loving "Hey Cuzzin'" embrace all aspects of her heritage. Musically diverse and intelligent, Bear, who holds a doctorate in ministry, has made a beautiful record that is also an authentic expression of faith.
Flutist of the Year
Jan Michael Looking Wolf
Jan Michael Looking Wolf, a Kalapuya Native American from Grand Ronde, Oregon, is nothing less than a flute shaman. And Unity (Cedar Feather Productions) finds him playing and composing at his mystical best — and solo. Both serene and spiritual, this music could be the soundtrack of a vision quest. "Unity" is a masterful performance, and songs such as "Elder's Hope," "Strong Elk," and "Seventh Direction" touch the imagination and the soul. The Looking Wolf Project is the artist's rock-band side. Imagine if Pearl Jam crashed into Jethro Tull on the way to a Robert Mirabal concert. That is the essence of the musical amalgamation you find on this groundbreaking collection. A magnificent blend of bombastic hard rock and Native-flute originality with cutting-edge songs like "Wind Jammer," "Fire-n-Water," and "Phoenix Rising," The Looking Wolf Project is a must-have for fans of well-crafted flute music.
Stevie Salas
Best Rock Recording
Stevie Salas
The Sun & The Earth
(Arbor Records)
Stevie Salas is one of the best guitarists recording on this planet, yet he is largely unheralded. In a time when guitar heroes are few and far between, this Native American six-string slinger is a beacon to all those air-guitar pilgrims looking for salvation. From George Clinton to Rod Stewart to Mick Jagger, Salas has toured and recorded with an impressive list of renowned artists. But his pedigree does not stop there. He has also released a staggering 18 solo records. The Sun & The Earth is a "best of" compilation that spans his eclectic career. "Cover Me in Noise" is reminiscent of Bon Jovi's best rocking grooves, while "Hoochie Toad" would fit perfectly on a Red Hot Chili Peppers album. But Salas didn't forget his Native roots: Songs such as "Indian Chief," "Trail of Tears," and "Indian Friends" keep the banner of his heritage waving proudly.
Songwriter of the Year
Star Nayea
Silenced My Tongue
(WICAHPI Music)
This Grammy Award-winning songstress has released a muscular contemporary acoustic album full of fiery blues songs on par with the likes of Joss Stone and Miranda Lambert. "My Homelands" is pure unplugged Native blues, while "Grass Dance Man" and "Rail Road Bible & the City of Sin" display her vast songwriting talents. Nayea's voice reverberates with a certain amount of hard-earned wisdom, suffering, and remembrance — traits only found in the songs of those musicians who have lived what they sing about.
Best Long Form Music Video
Brulé & American Indian Rock Opera (AIRO)
Live At Mt. Rushmore: Concert For Reconciliation Of The Cultures DVD
(Buffalo Moon Records), www.brulerecords.com
Brulé & AIRO were the 2007 NAMA Group of the Year and the Best New Age Recording winners. With eight Nammys, 12 records, two DVD collections, and more than 1 million records sold worldwide, the legend that is Brulé and AIRO has been solidified. As for the group's performance DVD, Live at Mt. Rushmore: Concert for Reconciliation of the Cultures, they have surpassed all expectations. This two-night show, performed at Mt. Rushmore, South Dakota, in front of 11,000 people, has proven to be a truly profound Native American musical performance. Beauty, passion, struggle, heritage — it's all here in breathtaking music and traditional dance. The DVD includes 13 songs, among them Brulé & AIRO's most well-known classics — such as "Thunder Across The Plains," "Dancing Feathers," "Iron Horse," and "Ancestor's Cry" — spanning six award-winning albums. In the same way that Riverdance became a defining phenom for Irish/Celtic culture, Live at Mt. Rushmore might be a Native American cultural watershed.
The story of Paul LaRoche (Brulé) and his discovery of his Native roots would make a great Hollywood movie. Read his remarkable life story in Barbara Marshak's biography Hidden Heritage: The Story of Paul LaRoche (Beaver's Pond Press, 2005).
Blackfire
Record of the Year
[Silence] Is A Weapon
Blackfire
Musically, Blackfire might be described as a combination of Black Flag, Green Day, and Bad Religion. If you consider yourself aurally adventurous and you're curious what American Indian sociopolitical punk sounds like, give Blackfire a listen. Here, the trio of Navajo siblings package their message-driven power punk in two discs: one high-energy, the other traditional Navajo songs. Provided punk isn't a four-letter word to you, there's plenty of reward on [Silence] Is a Weapon, as evidenced by the Record of the Year recognition.
