Copyright © 1999 NLThomas
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Albuquerque, NM - Special Honors will be presented to both living and late, pioneers and legends at the Second Annual Native American Music Awards Saturday, November 6, 1999 at the Popejoy Hall in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Hank Williams, Chief Jim Billie, Tom Bee of XIT, & Jim Thorpe are to be honored at the Second Annual Nammy's. Jackson Browne, Rita Coolidge, John Densmore (The Doors), The Lynns, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band are among the special guests.

The late country legend, Hank Williams (Creek/Cherokee) will be inducted into the N.A.M.A. Hall of Fame and honored with a special tribute performance by his grandson, Hank Williams III. Still the model for countless singers and songwriters today, Hank Williams, who always said he was part Indian, gave country music much of its standard repertoire. Twenty-six year old, Hank III, who critics and fans say eerily resembles his grandfather, is receiving his own success with the recent release of his debut recording, Risin' Outlaw on Curb Records. Rolling Stone Magazine described the album as, "Honky-tonk with a punk attitude." Hank III's original songs and fierce, independent attitude are helping him explore a new musical territory, deep in history, and like his grandfather, is putting him in a class by himself.

To enhance music's one close relationship with sports and games in more traditional times, a special Jim Thorpe Sports Award will be presented this year in honor of the late, Jim Thorpe (Sac & Fox) who was called "the world's greatest athlete," by King Gustov of Sweden after winning both the Decathlon and the Pentathlon in the Olympics. Today, Jim Thorpe remains the only American athlete to excel as an amateur and as a professional, in three major sports; Track and Field, Football, and Baseball. Thorpe was voted "America's Greatest All-Around Male Athlete" and was also chosen as the "Greatest Football Player of Half-Century " in 1950 by an Associated Press Poll of sports writers. The Thorpe Sports Award will be presented by Jim Thorpe's daughter, Grace, and granddaughter, Dagmar, and will continue to be annually awarded to professional athletes of Native American heritage.

This year's Thorpe Sports Award recipient will be the Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse team who are ranked #3 in the world. The Iroquois are the originators of the modern day game of Lacrosse. Shrouded in time, Lacrosse was played long before the coming of the Europeans to the shores of North America. The long stick game belongs to the Iroquois.

Chief Jim Billie of the Seminole Nation of Florida will receive the N.A.M.A. Living Legend Award. The Living Legend Award is a highly respectable award honoring an individual who has contributed greatly to the Native American community and culture through music. The Native American Music Awards is proud to recognize Chief Jim Billie's musical works including, Old Ways, (Seminole Records), and Alligator Tales, (SOAR), and his merits as a tribal Chief who is preserving and maintaining the musical history and heritage of his people. Teaming up with critically acclaimed musician/producer John McEuen with vocal contributions by Grammy/Oscar award winning artist, Jennifer Warnes, Chief Jim Billie successfully combines influences from both the North and South with his own songs and Seminole legends.

Tom Bee (Dakota), President of Sound Of America Records (SOAR) and founder of the '70's rock group, XIT, will receive N.A.M.A.'s Lifetime Achievement Award. Tom has worked in the music industry his entire life, from the creative perspective of an artist, to the executive administration of his national record company. Bee founded XIT (meaning Crossing of Indian Tribes) in Albuquerque in 1969, to make people aware of the injustices throughout Native America through rock and roll. Considered too "radical" or "ahead of their time," XIT's message remained intact when the group signed their first record deal with the Motown subsidiary label, Rare Earth. Their first album, Plight of the Redman, was nationally acclaimed. The Red Buffalo Trading Post wrote, "These guys, XIT, are to the Indians like the Beatles were to the White Folk." A 1975 concert review in the Yakima Nation Review called them, "the best of American Indian rock." Tom has also written for the Jackson Five, Smokey Robinson, Taka Boom and UK Rockabilly sensation, Shakin' Stevens. In 1989, he founded Sound of America Records (SOAR) which now encompasses over 300 titles and is a national distributor for other major and indie record labels.

The Native American Music Awards honors and showcases the inspiring talents of both ancient and modern Native America. The Awards has received overwhelming national and international press coverage ranging from CBS This Morning, Associated Press, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal to La Voce Italiana and France's International Herald Tribune. Since last year's Awards show, national music releases by Native Americans have more than doubled in the past year. To accommodate this spawning growth, over 30 categories will comprise this year’s Awards show. In Observance of November as "National Native American Heritage Month," a "Did You Know" segment will also reveal nationally renowned celebrities and professional athletes of Native American heritage including; Tanya Tucker, Chuck Norris, Billy Mills, and Brett Farve.

Featured guest presenters include: Rita Coolidge, John Densmore (The Doors), Jackson Browne, Wes Studi, Jennifer Warnes, Miss Indian World, John Trudell, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and many more. Leading nominees confirmed to perform at the Second Annual Native American Music Awards include: Bill Miller, Robert Tree Cody, Primeau and Mike, Arigon Star, Wayquay, an XIT Reunion, Chief Jim Billie, Jim Boyd, composer for the Smoke Signals soundtrack, and a special guest performance by the twin daughters of Loretta Lynn, The Lynns.

This year's Awards program will also serve as a direct training ground for Native American youth. By involving them in aspects of pre-production including; set design and power point presentation, they can one day become the organizers and producers of this event. A percentage of proceeds from the Native American Music Awards will also be donated to the Native American Music Association, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization created to award educational scholarships to Native youth.

Tickets are on-sale now and can be purchased through PROTIX at 1 800 905 3315. Tickets are priced at $25.00, $40.00. Special Travel Discounts are available through Colonial Travel 1-800-475-1646.