NATIVE AMERICAN MUSIC ASSOCIATION
A Non-Profit 501(c)(3)
BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
Ellen Bello, Donald Kelly, Kae Kotarski, Andy Anderson, Kim Acosta (Ojibwa), Rose Fernandez, Joseph Bello,
James Bordeaux (Sicangu Lakota Oyate), John Frazier (Ogalala Lakota),
Donald Blackfox (Mikmaq & Cree), Felipe Rose (Taino) , Mary Lou Gabbard (Cherokee), Leon Thompson (Yaqui),
Kelvin Frank (Muckleshoot), Jan Michael Looking Wolf (Grande Ronde), Michael Kickingbear (Mashantucket Pequot)
Over 200 Advisory Board Members
Over 20,000 registered online Voting Members
"The music of the Indian is the spontaneous and sincere expression of the soul of a people.
It springs from our own continent, and is thus, of all music, distinctly American.
If Indian song be encouraged with Indian, and recognition of it awakened among our own people,
America may one day contribute a unique music to the world of art."
- Natalie Curtis, Musicologist
"...a charm of spontaneity that cannot fail to please those who would come near to nature
and enjoy the expression of emotion untrammeled by the intellectual control of schools."
- Alice Fletcher, Anthropologist
CONTRIBUTE TODAY & SHARE IN A HISTORY FOREVER
The Native American Music Association is the world’s leading resource for Native American music. USA Today has urged the national public to “take us seriously” and the New York Times has credited NAMA founder, Ellen Bello's life's devotion "to bringing indigenous music to the world's consciousness”.
Native America is a culture and a people deeply stemmed and intertwined in music since the onset of their civilization. There is a song for every aspect of their lives; ceremonials, sports and dance to courting, birth and death. As a people, they have survived incredible oppression Today, they celebrate their survival through music and dance. With the increasing popularity of today's Native American music initiatives through the Native American Music Association, Native societies are now transforming as their music provides a continuing capacity for community renewal and cultural enrichment.
The Native American Music Association (N.A.M.A.) was established in 1998 as a 501(c)(3) following the debut of the Native American Music Awards in order to celebrate the rich musical heritage of first nation's people while educating the general public..
Our organization is committed to preserving Native American culture and promoting cultural renewal through both traditional and contemporary music initiatives. We aim to raise the awareness and appreciation for the public at large, both nationally and internationally.
For the past 14 years, members of this all-volunteer Association have celebrated and shared many successes;
-We have received letters of acknowledgement from President George Bush and a proclamation from Mayor Bloomberg.
-Our national music archive (listed as PDF files) below) has become the world's largest Native American music archive with over 10.000 Native American audio and video recordings in all formats housed since 1990.
-As part of our annual monitoring and research of Native American music recordings, we successfully proposed a new category for Native American music in the Grammies in 2000 which was recreated as an American “Roots” category in 2011 which we serve on the committee for.
-We have trained Native American youth in concert events and productions
-Established a cultural diversity program to recruit Native American employees at MTV Networks
-Educated and entertained employees of parent company, Viacom with music programs
-Placed Native artists in collaborations with mainstream artists
-Helps to commemorate National Native American Heritage Month as proclaimed by the President of the United States each November
-Returned a lost song of the late Apache leader, Geronimo, back to his family
-Provided emergency over $15,000 in emergency heat (proprane, electric heat, and/or firewood) in freezing tempatures for in over 150 sub standard homes on the Pine Ridge Reservation during their worst snow storm in 60 years.
-Continue to present special music concerts and festivals from Alaska to New York City and in between.
Join us in preserving the history and heritage of Native American for all of America through our current arts and education programs:
YOUTH SUICIDE PREVENTION CAMPAIGN 
Suicide is no stranger to Native Youth. Reservation youth suicide is at an epidemic rate and mong the highest in our country. Our nominees and winners serve as positive role models for our youth. Following the lead of two -time NAMA Award winner Nake Nula Waun (Rosebud Sioux), NAMA makes a major show of support and strength by giving our recording artists a yellow suicide prevention awareness bracelet during their on-stage appearance at our Annual Awards ceremony. Additionally, NAMA has begun recording a series of PSA's on Suicide Prevention to distribute as a public service to reservation radio stations across the country.
LET THE CHILDREN PLAY 
NAMA visits and entertains sick children undergoing treastments for life-threatening illnesses at local children's hospitals in and around New York City..Intended as a healing program for children and their families, "Let The Children Play," presents a a fun and entertaining Native American musical experience for these ailing children. Each Christmas, NAMA also holds a toy drive campaign to provides Christmas toys for underprivilidged children including the 7,500 toddlers and children ages 1 - 18 on the Rosebud Sioux reservation in South Dakota. .
SALUTING OUR VETERANS 
NAMA Living Legend Award recipients, the Navajo Code talkers were first awarded by the Native American Music Awards in 1999. From the Code Talkers to Iwo Jima's Flag Raiser, Ira Hamilton Hayes, and the late PFC Lori Piestewa, the first Native American woman to die in combat on foreign soil in Iraq , NAMA continues to honor our veterans past and present. In coooperation with Operation Music Aid, NAMA is providing musical instruments to wounded Indian Veterans. Native Americans share a proud history in serving our country.
When the Native American Music Association was first formed, it was with a hope that one day Native Americans in the United States could receive equal recognition as musicians. We are suceeding. Until our organization, the music of Native Americans remained hidden from the mainstream. N.A.M.A. provides the needed inspiration for those who remain isolated on reservations who want to share the gift of music with the world. Today, The Native American Music Association is the largest & only professional membership based organization for the advancement of Native American music initiatives & expressions across the country and around the globe.
Originally traditional music was an integral part of Native American life and tribal identity, such as; round dance songs and flute music , Native American music has grown to encompass many contemporary genres such as; rock, pop, blues, hip hop, country, and new age as well as have created some unique genres that remain distinctly indigenous such as; Waila or Chicken scratch, and Native American church music.
Today, we are the World's Leading Resource for Contemporary and Traditional Native American Music Initiatives consisting of over 200 Advisory members and 20,000 registered voting members. Our Association promotes diversity and celebrates the rich cultural heritage of our nation’s first people on a national and growing global level. Our organization is committed to preserving Native American culture and continuing the traditions of our ancestors through traditional and contemporary music initiatives and programs. Native American Music is strong and alive and we remain the only legitimate and professional organization exclusively committed to preserving and promoting Native American music today. We acquire approximately 150 to 200 recording entries each and every year. We showcase over 30 different Native American music genres each year at our annual Awards ceremony while adding new categories when necessary. The Native American Music Awards celebrates a cultural revival through those that have preserved, adapted and prospered in the fields of traditional and contemporary musical excellence.
For the past 14 years, we have produced the various programs including the country’s greatest celebration of Native American music, the Native American Music Awards. Our programs honor our Native song makers, foster pride in our First Nations young people, and provide national and international exposure, celebrating our gifts of musical expression with others around the world. We create additional opportunities for our Award winning artists to serve as important role models for our Native American youth, inspiring them to follow their dreams, to be successful, to lead healthy lives for future generations.
Please consider joining the Native American Music Association as a donor.
NATIONAL MUSIC ARCHIVES BY ARTIST (click on link)
files/NAMA_ARCHIVES_BY_ARTIST.pdf
NATIONAL MUSIC ARCHIVES BY RECORDING TITLE
files/NAMA_ARCHIVES_BY_RECORDING_TITLE.pdf
MORE ABOUT NATIVE AMERICAN MUSIC
The Native American Music Association, a 501(c)(3) organization preserves and promotes the rich oral history of Native America. Used in all aspects of life, music and song marked every public event and private occasion in American Indian life. Historical information, lineage, stories and tales were passed from generation to generation through song. But traditional Native American music is becoming lost forever. For the true generations that can preserve the stories and the songs, they are the oldest – the elders – who comprise a population that is steadily dwindling. With the loss of elders also comes the loss of language, cultural traditions and an important part of our own history, the oral history of the First Americans. Native Americans also suffer twice the proportions of unemployment, poverty, and alcohol related deaths than the national average. Native youth face immense pressures, challenges and limited opportunities. For those that overcome the immense obstacles they face, they are empowering themselves and rejuvenating their culture through contemporary music initiatives.
CULTURAL TRADITIONS VS. CULTURAL RENEWAL
With it’s roots firmly planted in traditions hundreds of years old, music and song were, and still are, an integral part of Native American life. Without a written language, care was taken to transmit songs accurately, from generation to generation. As part of this nation’s folklife, the early fieldwork of scholars, anthropologists, and ethnomusicologists proved that traditional music was just as emotional, complex and cultivated as any other modern art form. The drum is considered the heartbeat of all that is. Other natural instruments such as; Rattle, Whistle, Cowhorn, Flute, and Bells, whether given by the “Creator” or made by skilled craftsman, facilitated a symbolism of sound and image and an interaction and relationship to all parts of the living world. As Native American music evolves, artists compensate their lost nature world using European-influenced and electric recreating earth sounds. Like the tradition keepers of ancient times, today’s musicians still can offer their communities the capacity for cultural renewal and tribal enrichment.
The arts are rich and inexhaustible resources which help our young people learn and grow in healthy ways. Music is one of the most important forms of self-expression which can help young people cope with difficult feelings. Through new music initiatives, Native youth are building resiliency, increasing their ability to express their emotions, and learning to manage their feelings in healthy ways. Together the Association & Awards continues to provide the needed hope and assistance for these individuals to become great catalysts for change.
Join us in preserving the history and heritage of Native American for all of America through our arts and education programs.
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