“The Awards show for Native American Entertainment. ”
— Jeopardy TV Game Show
Native American Music Initiatives !
Founded in early 1998, the Native American Music Awards & Association was born out of a need to provide greater opportunity and recognition for traditional and contemporary Native American musicians.
Our inaugural awards show in May 1998 was the first time a Native owned casino featured an evening of Native American Talent. We have continued to be the first for many things.
We were the first to nationally recognize both Link Wray & Jesse Ed Davis into a Hall of Fame. We have received letters of acknowledgement from Presidents and proclamations from Mayors. As part of our annual monitoring and research of Native American music recordings, we successfully proposed the first new category for Native American music in the Grammies in 2000 which has since evolved to a Regional Roots music category. We have trained Native American youth in concert events and productions; helped MTV Networks establish a cultural diversity program to recruit Native American employees, educate and entertain employees of parent company, Viacom, placed Native American artists in collaborations with mainstream artists; returned a lost song of the late Apache leader, Geronimo, back to his family and we continue to present special music concerts and festivals from Alaska to New York City. We have also launched campaigns for Suicide Prevention Awareness and heeded Call to Actions from our many tribal communities.
Since our first show in 1998, the Native American Music Association (NAMA) has grown to become the country’s leading source for preserving and promoting the songs of American Indians from all four directions.
This year will look forward to honoring our songmakers, fostering pride, providing national exposure, and celebrating their cultural gifts of music with others around the world. Their personal and professional contributions and the determination and dedication of our volunteer staff, continually creates new opportunities of Native pride and celebrates musical excellence.