Talk:Native American Music Awards

message: The concept of who is and who is not a Native American is not just a controversy related to the Nammys. The United States Government and the Bureau of Indian Affairs only recognize enrolled citizens and members of the 563 Federally Recognized Indian Tribes and Alaskan Native Villages and Bands as Native Americans.  There have been many incidents in the past where people that are not enrolled citizens or members of Federally Recognized Tribes have won Nammys.  Douglass Blue Feather and Chief Red Hawk are some examples. Chief Red Hawk may in fact have Native American blood, but he may be descendent from the Native population of Mexico or South Texas, but not the Cherokee blood that he claims.  Most “Self Identifying” Native Americans are however of European decent.  They, and others like them that have won Nammys, but are not enrolled members of Federally Recognized tribes, are people that “Self Identify” as Native American but do not have ancestors on any tribal rolls.  It should be noted that there are cases however where someone might have an ancestor on tribal rolls, but are not eligible for Citizenship in a Federally Recognized Tribe.  This is not the case however with Douglass Blue Feather nor with Chief Red Hawk.  Blue Feather’s only proof of Native American ancestry is a DNA test that he says he has done that shows positive proof.  This is in itself controversial, and in some cases not accurate.  And regardless of its accuracy, this cannot tell a person what tribe he belongs to.  Douglass Blue feather claims to be Cherokee as does Chief Red Hawk, but neither of them can prove it.  And there are other cases where someone just simply “Self Identifies” as Native American because they say that information has been passed down to them through the family and this is the most common case.  While there were many cases throughout the United States, of Indians that were not documented in the 1800s and early 1900's, such as in the case of the 300 or so Cherokees that were never heard of again after they left for Arkansas, there is simply no way to prove or disprove as to whether or not someone who “Self Identifies” as Indian, Cherokee or Native American is in fact Indian, Cherokee or Native American.  This is because of all the intermarriages and intermixing that have taken place over the centuries.  And many enrolled tribal members of Federally Recognized Tribes are themselves mixed blood.  Many enrolled tribal members who because of low Native American blood quantum, look more white, black or Asian then they do Native American.  Blacks, Whites, Asians, and other racial and ethnic groups do not have this problem because of physical appearance, and in the case of Hispanics and Latinos because of surnames, language,  and the ability to trace an ancestor to a Latin American country.  However, Native Americans are not only a racial group but a political group as well, meaning they are citizens of sovereign nations.  This is the reason for Tribal Identifications and Certificates of Degree of Indian Blood Quantum Cards.  It should be noted  that studies have been done on the number of possible descendants of the undocumented Indians, and in particular the Cherokees.  In the example of the Cherokees, estimates have been taken of the number of people who have claimed Cherokee heritage, and that number was compared with a reasonable estimate of possible decedents today of the Cherokees who were not documented, and there clearly seems to be many more people claiming Cherokee heritage then possible.  Claiming Cherokee heritage has been an American pastime since the Colonial Days.  In conclusion, there is no way to prove or disprove Native American heritage today.  That is why many tribes only recognize enrolled Tribal Members of Federally Recognized tribes as Native American.  If not, then anyone by using the “Self Identifying” definition would be classified as Native American,  and the distinction between what is and is not “Authentic” begins to become blurred.  Many Indians of Federally Recognized Tribes an especially the ones that live on reservations and tribal lands, feel that their heritage is being stolen form them.  On the other hand, many would argue that whether or not one is a Federally Recognized Indian is not the issue, but the issue is to promote Native American music in general.  Which is what I suppose is the stance that the Nammys has taken. And by including “Self Identifying” Indians in the Nammys, they may argue that this is better for everyone because it expands and exposes a greater number of people to Native American music. --—Preceding unsigned comment added by LightingBug (talk • contribs) 
:As this page is devoted to discussion regarding improving this article, what are your ideas about improving the article? Whatever is added must be properly sourced. Badagnani (talk) 21:28, 17 August 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  "Self Indentifying" Native Americans and the Nammys 

message: Aquai! As a degreed Librarian, I turned to the Native American Music Awards list of winners as a good source for my collection development at my Library and also to provide people that inevitably asked what respected sources in my Community were. I agree that it would be helpful to improve citations on this page, but this organisation is what I would call a primary source. It is okay to cite the RIAA. It is okay to link to the Grammys. These are as close to our Grammys as people get. So what do we do with that?
I'm trying to go through and create music pages for American Indian artists that are lucky enough to be so major that I've heard on reputable programmes, like NPR, CBC, et cetera. While I reviewed the criteria for inclusion in wikipedia, things seemed out of line with the spirit of Wikimania. I realise that we don't want our cousin's uncle's sister's roomates' MySpace band on wikipedia for quality reasons, but a lot of the criteria are systematically exclusive for minority communities. We want the sum of all human knowledge, right? Could another tenet be that if an artist's music is available for download through iTunes or summat be a principle? This would allow for many independent artists while partially patrolling for quality.
Yep, this can definitely be organised better, and I definitely want to help improve the page. I know that I'm not as good or diligent as other editors, so I only try and edit pages on wikipedia once in a while when I have a good amount of time at my disposal to cite properly, et cetera. But I want to volunteer and try and improve things little by little. :) As the Māori say "Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora te manuhiri."Abesottedphoenix (talk) 22:26, 18 September 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  I Intend to work on this :) 

message: Adding below the unsigned comment from this diff: as the original edit reconfigured others' comments. - CorbieV ☊ ☼ 16:52, 29 June 2016 (UTC)
replies: text: Well, considering this isn't a Native American Music Award official website, that point is moot. Dear God, maybe 25% of the awardees are actually Native American. This is a general train wreck. Does listing every winner with no organizational system fall under Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information? Yuchitown (talk) 03:36, 30 June 2016 (UTC)
thread_title: IP Comment

message: Past recipients of NAMA awards include:  
Adrian Brown, Tim Sampson, Jonathon Joss, Charles Button, AIRO, Andrew Vasquez, Annie Humphrey, Apache Spirit, Apryl Allen, Arigon Starr, Arvel Bird, Atsiaktonkie, Bear Fox, Becky Thomas, Bill Miller,  Billy Whitefox,  Black Eagle, Blackfoot Confederacy,  Black Lodge Singers, Black Thunder Singers, Blackfire,  Bluedog, Bo Taylor, Bryan Akipa, Brulé, Buddy Red Bow, Buddy Big Mountain, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Buggin Malone, Burning Sky, CC Murdock, Carroll Medicine Crow, Casper Loma-da-wa, Cecil Gray & Red Dawn Blues Band, Charly Lowry, Chase Monchamp, Chase Manhattan, Chief Jim Billie, Cherokee National Children's Choir, Cheryl Bear, Clan/destine, Cody Blackbird, Corn Bred, Cozad, Crystal Gayle, Dago Braves, Dark Water Rising, Delphine Tsinajinnie, Derek Miller,  Digging Roots, Don Amero, Douglas Blue Feather, Dylan Jenet Collins, Eagle & Hawk, Edmund Bull, Eli Secody, Evren Ozan,  Evren Ozan, Eyabay, Fara Palmer, Felipe Rose,  Floyd Red Crow Westerman, Frank Waln, Nake Nula Waun, Fredrick Whiteface, Gabriel Ayala, Gary Small, Gathering of Nations, Gilbert Begaye Sr, Golana, Graywolf Blues Band, Hank Williams, Harvey Arden, Indigenous, Indigo Girls, Injunity, Jeff Carpenter, Brad Clonch, JJ Kent, Jack Gladstone, Jana, Janelle Turtle,  Janice Marie Johnson, Jan Michael Looking Wolf,  Jay Begaye, Jay Nez, Jennifer Kreisberg, Jerry Alfred, Jim Boyd, Jim Pepper,  Jimi Hendrix,  Jimmy Lee Young, Jimmy Wolf, Joanne Shenandoah, John Trudell, Joseph FireCrow,  Joseph Marshall III,  Josh Halverson, Joy Harjo,  Judy Trejo,  Kansas Begaye, Keith Bear, Keith Secola, Kelly Parker, Ken Quiet Hawk, Kevin Locke,  Kevin Yazzie, Kitty Wells, Koljademo, Lakota Thunder, Laughing Woman & Eagle Wings, Lil Dre, Link Wray, Litefoot, Luis Capcha Vilchez, Marc Brown & The Blues Crew, Marlena Begaye, Mary Louise Defender Wilson,  Mary Youngblood, Martha Redbone, Medicine Dream, Micki Free, Michael Bucher,  Michael Jacobs,  Michael Searching Bear,  Midnite Express,  Nake Nula Waun, William Eaton, Cilpman, Native Roots, Native Thunder, Neville Brothers, Nicole, NightShield, Nokie Edwards,  Northern Cree, October Soul, Oshkii Giizhik Singers, Pamyua, Pima Express, Pipestone, PM Begay, Primeax & Mike,  Pura Fé, Qua ti Si,  Radmilla Cody, RainSong, R. Carlos Nakai, R. Carlos Nakai Quartet, Randy McGinnis, Randy Wood, Red Bull, Red Earth, Red Feather Woman, Red Hawk, Rezawrecktion, Rezhogs,  Rhonda Head,  Rita Coolidge,  Robbie Robertson, Robert Mirabal,  Robert Tree Cody, Rubin Romero, Rollin Fox, Sacred Harmonies, Samantha Crain, Sayani,  Segweh, Shadowyze,  Shane Yellowbird, Sharon Burch, Shelley Morningsong, Silverbird,  Skylar Wolf,  Stan Summers, Stephen Butler, Stevie Salas,  Stuart Snake & Paul Never Misses A Shot,  The Blessed Blend,  The Boyz, The Crow Girls,  The Story Tellers, Thunderbird Sisters,  Thunder Hawk Singers,  Tiger Tiger,  Tinesha Begaye,  Tom Bee,  Tommy Allsup,  Tommy Wildcat,  Tony Redhouse,  Tracy Bone,  Travis Harden, Tribal Live, Twice As Good, Victoria Blackie,  Vince Fontaine, Yarina,  Yolanda Martinez, Yvonne St Germaine,  Wade Fernandez, Walela,  Warfield Moose Jr, Wayquay,  Will & Lil Jess,  Wind Spirit Drum, Wolfsheart & Big City Indians,  Bruce Cockburn, Ed Stasium, Jeff Ball,  Jackson Browne,  John Densmore, Michael Brant DeMaria,  Neil Young, Raymond Boley,  Scott August,  Stefan Gelfas, Tom Wassinger
Taken from the main article space. This needs some kind of meaningful formatting. Perhaps a :category:NAMA awardee placed on relevant articles might make more sense? Yuchitown (talk) 05:59, 30 June 2016 (UTC)
thread_title: Previous honorees