NATIVE AMERICAN MUSIC ASSOCIATION & AWARDS

WHO WAS THERE?

PERFORMED:

NAMA Hall of Fame Inductee WWE® Superstar & SMG Recording Artist  Mickie James™ or Mickie Laree James is a household name in professional wrestling and in the world of country music. Mickie, with her Powhatan heritage, was a tomboy who loved riding horses and the wrestling business growing up in Virginia. She dreamt of being in the ring performing for fans all over the world. In 2002, Mickie lived that dream when she debuted on the national stage for Total Nonstop Action (TNA) and that following year, signed a developmental deal with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). In 2005, she made her on screen debut for WWE and would go on to win her first Women's Championship at WrestleMania 22 after a very memorable feud with Trish Stratus. She captured the Women's Title five times and the Divas Title once for a total of six championships in the WWE. Mickie’s next goal was to become the first woman to win WWE's Women's & Divas titles as well as TNA's Knockouts Title. She went on to win TNA's Knockouts Title three times.

Mickie has always had a passion for music as well. While on the road with WWE, Mickie would travel to Nashville on her days off to meet with producers, songwriters and vocal coaches to pursue her dream of recording a country music album. By the spring of 2010, Mickie released her first album entitled, Strangers and Angels. The first single released off the album is a fast paced, exciting track called "Are You With Me?" By the Fall, she released another single that became her entrance music: "Hardcore Country."  

In May 2013, Mickie released her second album titled, Somebody's Gonna Pay through Entertainment One Music. Three of the songs she wrote on the album are; “Best Damn Night,” “80 Proof” and the cover track, “Somebody's Gonna Pay” which co-starred fellow professional wrestlers Trish Stratus and husband, Nick Aldis (Magnus) in the music video. Mickie has been nominated by the Native American Music Awards for her latest country song, "Shooting Blanks" in the Song of the Year music category.

Mickie's albums have received positive reviews from publications such as Country Weekly, CMA Magazine and shared the stage with other country artists such as Rascal Flatts, Montgomery Gentry, Gretchen Wilson and Randy Houser  and has performed in concerts all over the world.  Mickie has served as an incredible inspiration and role model for many artists as well as Native youth.  Mickie’s world renowned reputation as a WWE Superstar, professional wrestler, entertainer and country singer undoubtedly warrants her place as an outstanding individual and honoree. The Native American Music Awards & Association, N.A.M.A. is proud to honor Mickie James, and induct her into the N.A.M.A. Hall of Fame.  

Josh Halverson grew up in Texas as the son of a cattle rancher and a Dakota Sioux Indian. He has played piano since the age of five and has grown into an adept songwriter, approaching time-honored topics like heartbreak and devotion with a sense of hard-won innocence. Josh’s  first album, One Shot, earned him the Songwriter of the Year Award at the Native American Music Awards in 2013., Josh has since become a nationally recognized singer and songwriter after appearing on  NBC’s The Voice 2016 Blind Auditions where he performed Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young” in front of superstars Miley Cyrus, Alicia Keys, Adam Levine, Blake Shelton and host Carson Daly. Once Miley, Alicia, and Blake hit their buttons, they all turned around to fight for Halverson. Although Blake brought out his best cattle talk, Halverson chose to join Team Alicia who called Josh’s voice “striking”. Later in the season, Josh was chosen to be on the team of Miley Cyrus. Josh has just released his second recording, Thunder Bird Sky which has earned him four Native American Music Awards nominations. Josh and his wife Rexana are currently expecting their second child.

Kelly Derrickson first became interested in music during her childhood, which led her to the very prestigious Victoria Conservatory of Music in British Columbia and the Berklee College of Music. Despite her lifelong musical training and deep love for every genre, country music has always held a soft-spot in her heart. Tracing her lineage back to the famous Indian leader Chief Joseph (Nez Perce), it’s no wonder how Kelly can embody everything you’d expect to find in a country artist — she’s strong, intuitive, spiritual, and impassioned. After six terms and 12 years as Chief, Kelly listened and witnessed first hand her father’s rise from being a poor kid born on the reservation, to a leader who always fought hard for his people’s rights. It’s some impassioned fight that is in their blood and in her music. With the release of “Warriors Of Love”, Kelly unleashes her strong vocal prowess and songwriting skills on an album that leaves the listener craving and chanting for more.

Lil Mike & Funny Bone aka MIKE BONE made their World debut with an unforgettable performance on NBC’s America's Got Talent. Members of the Pawnee Tribe, these  brothers, though they may look like twins, are not, nor are they midgets at 4 feet 8 inches tall. Mike and Bone have appeared on live television, DJ'd Night Clubs, played gigs throughout the US & Canada and opened for big-name acts such as Billy Ray Cyrus and T-Bone. Like their most popular single, Rain Dance, which wow’d the judges of America’s Got Talent, their songs have found radio play on Radio stations worldwide. Their full length recording Rain Dance The Album, earned them Group of the Year at last year’s Native American Music Awards. From homelessness to gang violence and discrimination, these two brothers have hustled and flowed their way from nothing to something through their extreme faith in GOD and have credited Christian Music for changing their life.

Northern Cree, also known as the Northern Cree Singers, is a powwow and Round Dance drum and singing group, based in Maskwacis, Alberta. The group has been nominated for six Grammy Awards, and have won three Native American Music Awards for Best Pow Wow Recording in 2001 and 2007 and Best Compilation Recording in 2004. In 2017, the Singers, along with founder Steve Wood and Tanya Tagaq, won a Juno Award for Classical Album of the Year – Large Ensemble for the album Going Home Star. Formed in 1980 by Steve Wood, with brothers Charlie and Earl, the group’s other members include Ferlin McGillvary, Randy Wood, Joel Wood, as well as Conan Yellowbird. The group is one of the most respected pow-wow groups in North America,. The group is featured in the song and music video "Indomitable" by DJ Shub, which was nominated for Best EDM/Dance Video in the 2017 iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards and the Native American Music Awards. Their new album on Canyon Canyon Records entitled, “It’s A Cree Thing,”  has been nominated for Best Pow Wow Recording and earned them a nod for Group of the Year.

Nahko is a sixth generation Apache and Mohawk with a Puerto Rican Taino mother and a Filipino father, grew up with the family that adopted him.  Nahko and Medicine for the People is an American musical collective formed in 2008. The five member group is headed by frontman Nahko Bear and their music is a fusion of various cultural musical influences.  His creative inspiration is the desire to bridge cultural gaps. Nahko Bear has been musically inclined since the age of six when he started learning piano. As he grew older, Nahko remained tied to music as a piano teacher and casual songwriter. Nahko's songwriting became grassroots oriented around 2012 during which time he would travel around the US by van with his dog.  Nahko and Medicine for the People has toured with Michael Franti, Trevor Hall, Xavier Rudd, and SOJA ]Nahko Bear has also performed duos with Leah Song of Rising Appalachia.  His recording Dark As Night  released in 2013 reached No. 4 on the Billboard Top Alternative Albums chart; and went to  No. 6 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart. His recording, Hoka  released last year,  went to No. 72 on the Billboard 200 charts and has earned Nahko and Medicine for the People several nominations at this year’s Native American Music Awards including  Record of the Year.

A Tribute To Joseph FireCrow  Joseph Fire Crow was a Cheyenne flutist and a Native American Music Awards multiple award winner who released albums from 1992 to 2017. Called a “National Treasure” by the media and “a cultural ambassador” by his hometown in Billings, Montana, Joseph was one of the most gifted players of the Native American Flute. Since 1992, he recorded and released eight solo albums, with six of them released internationally.  He was an eight time Native American Music Award winner for; Songwriter of the Year, Best Instrumental Recording, a three-time Flutist of the Year, Artist of the Year, and Song/Single of the Year, and a NAMA Lifetime Achievement Award honoree as well as has won a Telly Award, and a  GRAMMY as a guest artist on David Darling’s “Prayer for Compassion” at the 52nd Annual GRAMMY awards. Some of Fire Crow's music was also included on the soundtrack of the documentary Lewis and Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery. Joseph was a humble, caring, compassionate man, whose smile and laughter is what people remember most. Joseph’s life was dedicated to sharing the wonders of his homeland with others around the world. He died on July 11, 2017 at the age of 58 after battling idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Following word of his death, there was an outpouring of condolences and memories from other Native musicians across the country who found inspiration from him.

Dan General aka DJ Shub is a former member of A Tribe Called Red,  a Canadian electronic music group, who blend instrumental hip hop, reggae, moombahton and dubstep-influenced dance music with elements of First Nations music, particularly vocal chanting and drumming.  With Dan, the group won the 2014 Juno Award for Breakthrough Group of the Year. A lifelong fan of hip hop, Shub has been a DJ for 15 years, originally inspired by the experience of his older brother, who would cross the border to DJ in Buffalo, New York. Equipped with DJ gear, Shub polished his skills in his parents’ basement, eventually winning the Canadian title at DJ competitions in 2007 and 2008. Family remains a huge part of this Mohawk father’s decision to remain in his hometown of Fort Erie, ON today. By combining electronic dance beats with samples of aboriginal singing and drumming, Dan is also credited for the creation of a new sub-genre of electronic music, dubbed ‘powwow step.’ At first, he didn’t want to limit himself to a sound pioneered by his former group but Powwow step is still in its infancy. He now loves the fact that he’s contributing to a whole wave of new contemporary indigenous music by creating his own tracks. DJ Shub along with the drum group Northern Cree have been nominated for Best Music Video for their collaborative effort entitled “Indomitable ft. Northern Cree.”

Carsen Lee Gray was born in Vancouver, British Columbia and is of First Nations Haida  and mixed descent.  Carsen Gray is no stranger to a life of art, music, and entertainment.  Being the oldest daughter of Robert Gray, who played along side Nick Gilder in the band "Sweeney Todd" and niece of Bobby Taylor, most noted for his discovery and mentoring of Michael Jackson - The King of Pop; Carsen comes by her love for music naturally and started performing and recording with her uncle Bobby Taylor at age eleven overseas. Now, Carsen has been living between Saskatoon and Vancouver and working with Independent heavy weight artist Joey Stylez since 2013. Carsen has been writing songs, recording, and touring across Canada.  In 2015, Carsen was a regional finalist in the CBC 2015 Searchlight contest, and her single "Supernatural" reached #1 on the National Aboriginal Music Countdown. This year, Carsen received three nominations for the Indigenous Music Awards in Canada and won Best New Artist. She has been nominated for Best Music Video and Song of the Year for “Wanna See You” with DJ Shub.

Lifetime Achievement Recipient Gary Dale Farmer was born in Ohsweken, Ontario, into the Cayuga nation and Wolf Clan of the Haudenosaunee/Iroquois Confederacy/. Gary was the Founder and Publisher of Aboriginal Voices Magazine, a magazine  devoted to Native Canadian issues.  He has over 100 Film and TV appearances to his credit as an actor with early roles in Police Academy (1984), The Believers (1987) with Martin Sheen, and Renegades (1989) starring Kiefer Sutherland and Lou Diamond Phillips. Gary starred as in the Robert Redford- produced thriller, The Dark Wind (1991); opposite Lou Diamond Phillips and Corey Feldman and Corey Haim in the drama Blown Away (1993). In Sioux City (1994) and  the first Tales from the Crypt (1989) horror movie: Demon Knight (1995). Gary was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for his performance as Nobody in Dead Man (1995), in which he starred opposite Johnny Depp, and for his role in Smoke Signals (1998). He appeared alongside Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro in The Score (2001). Gary has also directed  a few projects and has his own blues band: 'Gary Farmer and the Troublemakers’ who have released two CDs, Lovesick Blues and Road Songs. The band features N.A.M.A. award winners, Derek Miller on guitar, and veteran bluesman Marc Brown on guitar, along with Jaime Bird Yellowhorse on bass, and Jme Russell on drums.

The Ed Koban Group  Like the waters that roar over the edge in his hometown of Niagara Falls, Ed Koban's House Band can be both beautiful and evocative, or raging and powerful. Edko, of Mohawk heritage, is an artist not quite like any other and defies categorization. The Ed Koban Group returns as our favorite house band for the sixth consecutive year and features some of the most respected musicians in the region. A multicultural brew of talent, this is a group capable of delivering any music genre, sound or style. They have performed on the NAMA stage with many respected artists including; Janice Marie Johnson, Joanne Shenandoah, Nokie Edwards, Gabriel Ayala, Tonemah, Cody Blackbird, Leanne Shenandoah, Keith Secola, and others. Ed Koban has shared the bill with groups such as; Foghat, Three Dog Night, Molly Hatchet, and Rusted Root, and has performed nationwide at venues such as the Kennedy Center and at the 2002 Winter Olympics. Armed with a group of experienced world-class musicians, Ed Koban brings talent, professionalism, and a drive that translates into a performance that people will remember and want to experience again and again.

Newtown Singers  Traditional from Seneca Territory

Since its inception, Ohwejagehka Hadegaenage has distributed Earth Songs, or Iroquois Social Songs, as an effort to preserve and promote Iroquoian culture.  All the members work hard to continue their traditional ways. In this new era, they believe, they must all continue to work together to carry on their culture for the generations yet to come.

Special Guests:

Ernie Stevens, Jr. is the Chairman and national spokesperson for the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA) in Washington, D.C.  Stevens is currently completing his seventh two-year term as the organization’s leader, which is a position elected by the member tribes of the National Indian Gaming Association. As Chairman of NIGA, Stevens represents the Indian gaming industry.  In this role, he has worked to educate Congress, the media and the public about the positive impacts of Indian gaming on tribal and nearby communities.  Stevens is also responsible for shaping policy initiatives that have the potential to impact the industry. Chairman Stevens is an enrolled member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin.

Ashley Callingbull, is the first Canadian, and the first First Nations woman to win the Mrs. Universe title, on 29 August 2015. Callingbull is from Alberta's Enoch Cree Nation, west of Edmonton. Callingbull says she was drawn to the Mrs. Universe competition because of its domestic violence theme. "I thought, this is a perfect platform for me because I'm relatable to people, I've experienced this myself and I'm able to speak about it," she said. "I'm glad I'm able to use this title as a way to speak for others that can't speak for themselves." Callingbull was chosen as Miss Canada for the Miss Friendship International Pageant held in Hubei, China in September, 2010, and represented Canada at the Queen of the World Final held in Germany 2010. She also represented Canada at Miss Humanity International in Barbados in October 2011. Ashley is also an actress and plays Sheila Delaronde in the series Blackstone.  

Felipe Rose is best known as the "Indian" Taino and Lakota singer and dancer in the Village People. Originally created by Jacques Morali and Henri Belolo to target disco's gay audience, the Village People quickly became popular and moved into the mainstream. The group scored several disco dance hits internationally, including three hits in the US, "Macho Man, "In the Navy", and their biggest hit, "Y.M.C.A.". Almost five decades later, Felipe and Village People remain a pop culture mainstay in music, sports arenas, commercials and television as they continue to tour the world. “Y.M.C.A” remains the group's biggest hit since it’s release in 1978. The song remains popular and is played throughout the  U.S. and Europe, with crowds using the dance in which the arms are used to spell out the four letters of the song's title. The song is number 7 on VH1's list of The 100 Greatest Dance Songs of the 20th Century. To date, Felipe and the Village People have sold over 100 million records and have won many international music awards and garnered over 30 Platinum and Gold records. Felipe's highest moment of achievement was receiving a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the being inducted into the NAMA Music Hall of Fame. He has also earned a multiple Native American Music Awards for his various solo recordings. In his 40th year in the entertainment industry, Felipe continues to use his influential position to highlight issues that are important to him and maintain his personal objective of helping and connecting with people throughout the world.