VANCOUVER — Canada’s most well-known music awards show unveiled the triumphant winners of the 47th Annual JUNO Awards and JUNO Week 2018 on Sunday, March 25 at the Rogers Arena.
Not only were this year’s awards also the first to be aired on CBC in 16 years, the indigenous nominees were abundant.
Nominations for the Indigenous Music Album of the Year included Buffy Sainte-Marie for Medicine Songs, DJ Shub for PowWowStep, Indian City for Here & Now, Iskwé for The Fight Within, and Kelly Fraser for Sedna. Out of the strong nominees.
Formerly known as Best Music of Aboriginal Canada Recording from 1994–2002, Aboriginal Recording of the Year from 2003–2009 and Aboriginal Album of the Year from 2010-2016, the JUNO Award for Indigenous Music Album of the Year went to Sainte-Marie who follows last years recipient Quantum Tangle for their album Tiny Hands.
The singer and song-writer dedicated her Juno Award for Medicine Songs, to Elaine Bomberry, while acknowledging her role in creating the Indigenous Music Album of the Year category and lobbying for it to be added to the Juno’s list of awards 25 years ago.
During her acceptance speech, Sainte-Marie said that Bomberry and Curtis Johnnie Shingoosewas were apart of the people responsible for “all of these (Junos) coming our way.”
“As for myself, I really think that this Juno needs to live with Elaine Bomberry here in Vancouver,” said Sainte-Marie. “So Elaine, this is for you, with many thanks from all of the indigenous artists in Canada.”
After speaking with the indigenous news outlet Wind Speaker, Bomberry admitted that the beautiful dedication made her emotional.
The other indigenous faces within the awards included the nominations of the Jerry Cans for Breakthrough Group of the Year, A Tribe Called Red nominated for Group of the Year, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra for the Classical Album of the Year honouring their collaboration with the Nunavut Sivuniksavut Performers, and Tanya Tagaq nominated for Alternative Album of the Year for her album Retribution.
Longhouse was also nominated in the Metal or Hard Music Category for II: Vanishing and Shania Twain’s father was nominated in the Artist of the Year and Album of the Year categories.
