Native American Music Awards - NAMA LIVE

05/03/2026

JIM PEPPER GAVE AMERICA ITS FIRST INDIGENOUS HIT

Jim Pepper is credited with giving Billboard Magazine its first Top 100 hit song featuring an Indigenous artist and a traditional chant with "Witchi Tai To" in 1969. As part of the jazz-rock ensemble Everything Is Everything, Kaw/Muscogee artist Jim Pepper recorded "Witchi Tai To," a song based on a traditional pe**te chant taught to him by his grandfather. It reached No. 69 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1969.

Inducted into the Native American Music Awards Hall of Fame in 2000 with a star-studded tribute performance held by his mother Floy Pepper and partner Caren Knight Pepper along with Mickey Hart, John Densmore, Bill Miller, Jim Boyd, Joanne Shenandoah, Rita Coolidge, Jennifer Warnes and others performed a special tribute of "Witchi Tai To" as part of his induction ceremony into the Hall of Fame.

Jim Pepper’s "Witchi Tai To" has become a jazz-rock standard over the years. It spawned dozens of covers by artists as wide-ranging as The Supremes, Bill Miller, Brewer & Shipley, Harpers Bizarre, and more. It's also a rare example of an Indigenous-themed song by an Indigenous artist making its way onto the pop charts. "Witchi Tai To" came from the mind of Jim Pepper, a major figure in the 1960s fusion jazz movement, and an undervalued innovator in American music.

Redbone came later in 1974. Founded by Native American brothers Pat and Lolly Vegas, Redbone is recognized as the first Native American band to reach the Top Billboard Hot 100 with their 1974 pop hit "Come and Get Your Love," which peaked at No. 5.

"Witchi Tai To" remains the only Billboard hit song in U.S. chart history to incorporate an actual chant from an Indigenous American tribe.

Throughout his career, "Witchi Tai To" remained his signature song. He recorded multiple interpretations of the tune over the years as he explored new combinations of Native tradition and jazz experimentation. Pepper died of lymphoma at age 50 in 1992, leaving behind a trailblazing legacy in the worlds of jazz, rock, and Indigenous music.

A NAMALIVE special for Native American Music Hall of Fame

02/06/2026

Samantha Crain on Tour:

Feb 17 - Wasilla, AK w/ Quinn Christopherson

Feb 19 - Anchorage, AK w/ Quinn Christopherson

Feb 21- Homer, AK w/ Quinn Christopherson

Mar 6 - London, UK support from Clara Mann

Mar 7 - Dublin, IE support from Podge Lane

*concert dates with Flyte

*Apr 16 - Vancouver, BC
*Apr 17 - Seattle, WA
*Apr 18 - Portland, OR
*Apr 20 - San Francisco, CA
*Apr 21 - Los Angeles, CA
*Apr 22 - Los Angeles, CA
*Apr 24 - Salt Lake City, UT
*Apr 25 - Denver, CO
*Apr 27 - Austin, TX
*Apr 28 - Houston, TX
*Apr 29 - Dallas, TX
*May 1 - Asheville, NC
*May 2 - Nashville, TN
*May 4 - Atlanta, GA
*May 5 - Durham, NC
*May 6 - Washington, DC
*May 7 - Philadelphia, PA

All tickets are on sale at www.samanthacrain.com

02/06/2026

And don't miss Season 4 of , premiering Sunday, February 15, on AMC and AMC+. Also Renewed for Season 5 in 2027

02/06/2026

This one's for the West Coast 💪🏽

Presale starts Feb 5 at 10AM

Comment "SNRK" for the code 😏

02/06/2026

02/05/2026

Big thanks to

Dawson Dayne, Dean Holley, Barbara Horawa, Diane Kieswetter, David Rose, Brenda G Precious Atencio, Tracy Lee Nelson, Patricia May, Neonia Hazlewood, Blair Bellerose, Robin GentleWolf, Katie Katt, Nelly Serrano Perez, Satanta Diego-delosSantos, Evan Cummins, Lelan Leecy, Tammie Rose, Glenn Miller, John Storey

for all your support! Congrats for being top fans on a streak 🔥!

01/28/2026

Congratulations to the nominees representing Indigenous talent at the JUNO Awards, in the following categories:
Contemporary Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year: Aysanabee, Edge of the Earth; Sebastian Gaskin, Lovechild; Shawnee Kish, Chapter 1; Siibii, Siibii; Tia Wood, Sage My Soul.

Traditional Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year: Bad Eagle, Battle At the Beach; Bear Creek, On The Move; Manitou Mkwa Singers, Me & You; Piunguałaq, Anirniliit Suli; YB Nakota, Nakota Tayhunyabi.

Additionally, Indigenous artists were nominated in:
Alternative Album of the Year, Aysanabee, Edge of the Earth; Blues

Album of the Year: Crystal Shawanda, Sing Pretty Blues;

Contemporary Roots Album of the Year: William Prince, Further From the Country;

Rap Single of the Year: collaborative single by Snotty Nose Rez Kids and SonReal, DUMB;

Traditional Roots Album of the Year: Moran Toney, Heal The Divide.

The 55th Juno Awards ceremony is scheduled to take place on March 29 in Hamilton, Ontario. We congratulate all nominated artists on this esteemed recognition.

10/15/2025

10/13/2025

Macklemore made a surprise appearance at the Black Hills Pow Wow this past weekend in October 2025, where he was honored by the crowd and voiced support for Leonard Peltier, who was also in attendance. This was Macklemore's third visit to the Black Hills. (Macklemore photo courtesy Indigenous TV) https://www.facebook.com/100044203280946/videos/pcb.1316883353128428/1454429342542151

10/13/2025

Shawn Mendes was joined by Indigenous artist Tia Wood on stage to perform the song “Youth” live during his "On The Road Again" tour stop in Vancouver on October 12, 2025. Tia Wood is a Cree and Salish pop singer-songwriter from Canada, who received a Juno Award nomination for Contemporary Indigenous Artist of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2025 for her EP Pretty Red Bird.