Stella Standingbear, Lil Mike & Funny Bone Mike Bone, Logan Staats, Mickie James. (photos/courtesy)

The 2025 Native American Music Awards (NAMMAs) took place yesterday, in Niagara Falls, NY, celebrating the best in Native music this year and showcasing a range of Indigenous artists across traditional and contemporary genres.

Founded in 1998 by music industry veteran Ellen Bello, NAMA is the largest and longest-running music awards program dedicated to Native artists. 

 

The all-volunteer, industry-led organization has become a foundation for Indigenous musicians, giving them a national platform, professional recognition, and a space to preserve and innovate their cultures through music. 

Each year, nominees are chosen by NAMA’s members, and winners are decided by a combination of membership and public votes, with over a million ballots cast annually.

Here’s the full list of this year’s honorees:

Best Alternative Recording: Indian Route 15 — One Way Sky (Gila River)

Best Americana Recording: Good People — Indian City (Sagkeeng First Nation/T’Karonto)

Best Blues Recording: The Witch Queen of New Orleans — Quartz featuring Raven Hernandez and Pat Vegas (Yaqui/Shoshone/Navajo/Chumash)

Best Country Recording: Sandbar Sunsets — Mickie James (Powhatan)

Best Folk Recording: Just To Be — Indigie Femme (Navajo/Diné, Samoan and Māori)

Best Hip Hop Recording: Top Mike Bone Tracks — Lil Mike & Funny Bone (Pawnee)

Best Instrumental Recording: Butterfly Moon — Michael Charette & Severin Behnen (Ojibwe)

Best Pop Recording: The Light In My Bones — Annie Humphrey (Ojibwe)

Best R&B Recording: Tribal Roots featuring Edmund Bull — Tribal Roots (Métis/Anishinaabe/Cree)

Best Rap Recording: Blessings — Stella Standingbear (Oglala Lakota)

Best Rock Recording: A Light In The Attic — Logan Staats (Mohawk)

Best Traditional Roots Recording: Sing. Pray. Love. — Joel Wood (Cree)

Native Heart Award: Rise Up On Eagle Wings — Wolfsheart

Best Music Video: REZ CHICK — Callie Bennett and Keith Secola (Navajo/Ojibwa)

Best Music Video Animation: THE SHE WOLF — Jimmy Lee Young (Mayan)

Best Music Video Narrative: We Are The Medicine – Native American Flute Music Album — Max “Wind” Cameo and Wayne “Standing Bear” Snellgrove (Mendota Mdewakanton/Fishing Lake First)

Best Live Music Performance Video: War Bonnet — Bigfoot

Record of the Year: Wicahpi Olowan Vol. 1 — Various Artists, Program Managers Talon Bazille Ducheneaux and Tiana Spotted Thunder

Kaili Berg (Aleut) is a member of the Alutiiq/Sugpiaq Nation, and a shareholder of Koniag, Inc. She is a prior staff reporter for Native News Online and Tribal Business News. Berg, who is based in Wisconsin,...