NOMINEES ANNOUNCED FOR THE 16TH ANNUAL NATIVE AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS, PUBLIC VOTING GOING ON NOW

(August 16, 2016) New York, NY – Nominations for the 16th Annual Native American Music Awards (NAMA) have been announced by The Native American Music Association. Nominations reflect the highest quality of recordings by music makers throughout Indian Country and were selected by the combined votes of the NAMA Advisory Board Membership.

Both new and established artists share the list of nominations throughout a diverse array of 25 music categories. Some of this year’s featured nominees include: America’s Got Talent finalists, Lil Mike and Funny Bone, and GRAMMY Award winners, Primeaux & Mike. Multiple nominations went to flutists; Gareth Laffely, Randy Granger, Rona Yellow Robe and the drum group Cree Confederation who all released several recordings within the eligibility period.

Several noteworthy nominees have been invited to perform at this year’s Awards ceremony. They include; Shelley Morningsong who was nominated for both Artist of the Year and Record of the Year for her recording “Love Medicine,” her musical and personal partner, Fabian Fontenelle for his twice nominated recording, “Songs of Our Ancestors: Songs of the Zuni”, Pop sensation Spencer Battiest who recently appeared in an off Broadway play, and previous NAMA Award winner, Bear Fox who was nominated for Best Female Vocalist for her solo effort, “Daybreak” and will also perform with her traditional women’s group she co-founded, The Akwesasne Singers.

Posthumous music nominations are also being made this year. The late Lakota elder Joseph Flying Bye, received two nominations for his recording, “Putting The Moccasins Back On” for Best Historical Recording an Best Traditional Recording. At the time of the recording, Flying Bye was an 83 year old Lakota medicine man from the Standing Rock reservation in South Dakota, who shared ceremonial songs and teachings of the sun dance, as passed down for many generations.

Awarded NAMA Living Legend at the inaugural Native American Music Awards, John Trudell, was a Santee Dakota activist, artist, actor, and poet, who led a life dedicated to indigenous human rights, land and language issues. He led a spoken word movement that is a continuation of Native American oral traditions until his death in December 2015. Trudell’s spoken word can be heard on several nominated recordings by the musical group, 7th Generation Rise, and musician and poet, Thana Redhawk who will be performing a tribute to Trudell at the Awards show.

Another tribute is also being planned for the late Jim Boyd who earned multiple nominations with two recordings; “Unity” and “Bridgecreek Road”, he released before his untimely death this past June. Boyd was a multiple-award winner who has performed on the motion picture soundtrack for Smoke Signals and in several groups including XIT, Greywolf, and Winterhawk. He was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Native American Music Awards in 2014.

This year’s Lifetime Achievement Award recipient will be Joseph Fire Crow, a Cheyenne singer/songwriter, flutist, and actor. He has been releasing albums since 1992 and was nominated for a GRAMMY in 2001. Fire Crow has won Best Songwriter, Best Instrumental Recording, Artist of the Year, Best Song Single, and is a three time Best Flutist award winner by the Native American Music Awards. Fire Crow will also give a commemorative performance as part of his Lifetime Achievement Award presentation.

General Public voting is now open. To vote, visit the VOTE page of the Awards website at the following link: http://www.nativeamericanmusicawards.com/vote-on-nama-16. Public voting will determine the winner of each category. Music tracks from all nominees are also featured on the Awards’ website at http://www.NAMALIVE.com.

Winners will be announced live at the 16th Annual Native American Music Awards which will be held on Saturday, September 17th at the Seneca Allegany Entertainment Center in the Seneca Allegany Casino & Hotel in Salamanca, New York located South of Buffalo, New York on Seneca Nation territory.