Indians at previous Oscar ceremonies

American Indian Oscar Winners, Nominees and ActivistsThere have only been two Native actors to be nominated an Oscar;

1970, Chief Dan George for his role in Little Big Man
1991, Graham Greene for his role in Dances with Wolves
1999, Graham Greene for his role in The Green Mile

There has only been one Native musician to *WIN* an Oscar;

1982, Buffy Sainte-Marie WON--Best Music, Original Song for An Officer and a Gentleman, for the song Up Where We Belong.

The Oscars' All-Time Most Outrageous Moment—and What It MeantThe ceremony has seen a streaker (behind David Niven, 1974), and old dude doing pushups (Jack Palance, 1992) and a famous case of surprisingly low self-esteem (Sally Field, "You like me," 1984)--but nothing touches Sacheen Littlefeather's stand-in appearance for Marlon Brando. Brando, long a friend to Native American causes, declined his Best Actor Oscar for his performance as Don Corleone in The Godfather, and sent the young actress and activist to deliver a statement in his stead. Brando had tasked Littlefeather with making a lengthy speech that would never have fit into the allotted time; the remarks Littlefeather did manage to share (interrupted at one point by simultaneous boos and applause) were eloquent and humble.

Littlefeather brought up two points. One was Hollywood's long tradition of portraying Indians in a negative light, as evildoers or savages, ever the bad guys to be bested by virtuous cowboys and cavalry--and to those who'd argue, in 1973, that we were living in more enlightened times, Littlefeather mentioned re-runs shown on TV, racist propaganda that was still being broadcast despite some progress in the contemporary film industry. (One might wonder what Marlon Brando would say about the Encore Western channel, which continues to show movies that have been condemned as racist.) Littlefeather also mentioned a then-current event that would come to be known as the Wounded Knee Incident--a takeover of the town of Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation by Oglala Lakota and American Indian Movement followers. The action was tied to the Pine Ridge population's attempts to remove Chairman Richard Wilson from office, but what ensued was a standoff between armed Indians and U.S. government forces that rallied American Indians nationwide and elicited sympathy from many non-Natives.Comment:  For more on Sacheen Littlefeather, see Littlefeather Fought for Native Actors and All About Sacheen Littlefeather.

Universal Soldier changed the world

100 songs that changed history

Time Out Magazine has just launched a new feature called 100 Songs That Have Changed the World–and Buffy Sainte-Marie's "Universal Soldier" has been included in the list! Inspired (kind of) by Pete Seeger's assertion that, 'The right song at the right time can change history', Time Out assembled a panel of musicians, historians and enthusiasts to debate and collate the 100 songs that have had the most significant impact on real-world events–culturally, socially and politically.1--‘Fight the Power’ – Public Enemy (1989)2--‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ – Band Aid (1984)

3--‘Irhal’ – Ramy Essam (2011)

...

44--‘Universal Soldier’ – Buffy Sainte-Marie (1964)

Comment:  For more on Buffy Sainte-Marie, see Buffy Earns Honorary Doctorate and 2010 Aboriginal People's Choice Winners.

Buffy earns honorary doctorate

Buffy Sainte-Marie Will Receive Honorary Doctor of MusicAt the beginning of June singer/songwriter, entertainer, activist and humanitarian Buffy Sainte-Marie will be given an honorary Doctor of Music from Brandon University in Manitoba, Canada.

“A graduating college senior in 1962, Buffy Sainte-Marie hit the ground running as a soloist, touring North America’s colleges, reservations and concert halls, meeting both significant acclaim and misunderstanding from audiences and record companies who expected Pocahontas in fringes,” states the university press release. “Instead, they were both entertained and educated with their initial dose of Native American reality in the first person.”Comment:  For more on Buffy Sainte-Marie, see 2010 Aboriginal Peoples Choice Winners and Inside Up Where We Belong.

2010 Aboriginal Peoples Choice winners

Buffy Sainte Marie, Winnipeg's Most take prizes at aboriginal music awardsMusical legend Buffy Sainte Marie and Manitoba band Winnipeg's Most were among the big winners Thursday night at the Aboriginal People's Choice Music Awards.

Sainte Marie, who was born in the Qu'Appelle Valley of Saskatchewan but has long lived in Hawaii, was awarded best music video for "No No Keshagesh," a politically charged song off her "Running For the Drum" album.

The honour adds to her long list of accomplishments, including several Junos, a Gemini Award, a songwriting Oscar and a Golden Globe Award.

Charlie Fettah and Jon-C of Winnipeg's Most took home two prizes: best duo or group and best rap or hip-hop CD.Comment:  For more on the subject, see 2010 Aboriginal Achievement Awards and 2009 Aboriginal Peoples Choice winners

Inside Up Where We Belong

Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian Presents Newest Exhibition

"Up Where We Belong: Native Musicians in Popular Culture" The first theme is "In the Spotlight," which focuses on Native performers who represent the diversity of artistry in American music. These artists include Academy Award-winning folk singer Buffy Sainte-Marie (Plains Cree), renowned jazz musician Oscar Pettiford (Cherokee/Choctaw) and instrumental innovator Wray (Shawnee).

"Encore" is the second segment of the exhibition and features artists who represent the span of Native achievement in mainstream music over the past half century. Some worked for years in the industry without wide acknowledgment of their Indian heritage, while others received recognition for integrating their Native identity into their music and for bringing Native themes to a wider audience. These artists include jazz saxophonist Jim Pepper (Kaw/Creek), heavy-metal guitarist and singer Chuck Billy (Pomo) and singer Debora Iyall (Cowlitz).

The final portion of this exhibition, "Keeping the Beat," highlights Native artists already achieving recognition across musical genres. These stars include country-music singer Crystal Shawanda (Ojibwa), blues-rock singer and guitarist Mato Nanji (Lakota) and singer, songwriter and musician Samantha Crain (Choctaw).Comment:  For more on the subject, see Up Where We Belong at NMAI and Hendrix Items Donated to NMAI.

Below:  Jimi Hendrix's coat.

Up Where We Belong at NMAI

MUSIC:  Exhibition spotlights Native Americans in rock and roll

By Kara Briggs“Up Where We Belong,” a 1982 crossover hit co-written by Cree folk singer Buffy Sainte-Marie, lends its name to an upcoming exhibition about American Indians in rock and pop music at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian.

“We’re trying to show where Native musicians were instrumental in crafting the big American music,” said Tim Johnson, one of the museum’s associate directors, “and document instances where Native musicians were right in the center of it.”

The exhibition opens July 1.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Hendrix Items Donated to NMAI and Native Roots of Hendrix and the Blues.

Below:  "Janie Hendrix, President/CEO of Experience Hendrix, delivers a coat that belonged to her stepbrother, Jimi Hendrix, to the National Museum of the American Indian’s Tim Johnson. The iconic coat, along with some of the rock-and-roll legend’s guitars and other items, will be on display as part of Up Where We Belong beginning July 1." (Katherine Fogden, National Museum of the American Indian)

2009 Aboriginal Peoples Choice winners

B.C. artist Inez wins big at Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music AwardsThe 4th annual Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards were handed out on Friday night at Winnipeg’s MTS Centre. Lorne Cardinal hosted the spectacular show, televised live on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) and Bell Express Vu. Performances included musical legend Buffy Sainte-Marie, Crystal Shawanda, Tracy Bone, Joey Stylez, Inez, Bitterly Divine, Sierra Noble, Digging Roots, and Wayne Lavallee. Country sensations Charlie Major and George Canyon rounded out the entertainment, with special appearances from Gordon Tootoosis and Phil Fontaine. Buffy Sainte-Marie was honoured with a tribute and Lifetime Achievement Award.

Chilliwack pop singer Inez won for Best New Artist, Best Pop CD, Best Album Cover Design and Single of the Year for her track Breathe.

BEST COUNTRY CD

**Sierra Noble--Possibilities (Winnipeg MB)

BEST GROUP OR DUO

**Eagle & Hawk (Winnipeg MB)

ABORIGINAL ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

**Crystal Shawanda (Wikwemikong ON)

BEST FOLK OR ACOUSTIC CD

**Buffy Sainte-Marie--Running for the Drum (Maine and Massachusetts, USA/Saskatchewan, Canada)Comment:  For more on the subject, see The 2009 NAMMY Winners.

Buffy on Sesame Street

Interview:  Buffy Sainte-MarieA mixed-blood Cree Indian, she has been a lifelong campaigner for native American Indian rights. She is also a digital artist, who designs her own album covers, and an unsung pioneer of electronic and digital music. Her 1969 album Illuminations was the first-ever synthesiser vocal record and, while making her Coincidence and Likely Stories album more than two decades later, she was among the first to exploit this new-fangled thing called the Internet, by sending her home-recorded music files down a modem line to her producer. Oh, and she also taught a generation of American kids about breast-feeding on Sesame Street.

She found herself an unusual alternative platform in the mid-70s by joining the regular cast of Sesame Street along with her then husband Sheldon Wolfchild and their young son Cody, where they gently explored family life and ethnic identity with Big Bird, Grover and all the gang. "I really wanted the country to understand that Indian people still exist, that we're not stuffed with the dinosaurs in some museum. Nobody expects white people to dress like pilgrims but they always think Indian people are going to be the same as we were in the 1700s. I wanted to reach little kids and their care-givers before stereotyping ever came in."Comment:  For more on the subject, see "Buffy Sainte-Marie: A Multimedia Life" and Lifetime Achievement Award for Buffy.

"Buffy Sainte-Marie: A Multimedia Life"

Sainte-Marie a tech-savvy singerWhen she's not touring or teaching, Buffy Sainte-Marie likes to spend time in her mountain house on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, tapping away at three computers arranged in a semicircle.

"I might be working on a song and I'll turn around and work on a (digital) painting and I'll turn around and work on some curriculum," the legendary musician, social activist and educator who was born on the Piapot Reserve in Qu'Appelle Valley, Sask., said in a recent phone interview from her home.

Sainte-Marie has been using computers since the 1980s to create digital music, art and teaching tools. Yet many people don't realize the different ways she is using technology, she said, explaining why she's releasing the documentary "Buffy Sainte-Marie: A Multimedia Life" on DVD along with her new album, "Running For The Drum," this week. The two will be sold separately in the new year.

"I was not the barefoot folk singer in a granny dress--I was doing electronic music in the '60s," said the singer-songwriter with the distinct vibrato, noting she created the first-ever totally quadraphonic electronic vocal album in 1969 ("Illuminations") and founded the Cradleboard Teaching Project, a free online aboriginal American curriculum, when the World Wide Web was just starting up in 1996.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Buffy the Computer Whiz.

Lifetime achievement award for Buffy

Folk legend Buffy Sainte-Marie set for music honoursBuffy Sainte-Marie, whose career has taken her from Saskatchewan to Sesame Street to Hollywood, will be presented with a lifetime achievement honour at the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards this fall.

Organizers of the 10th annual awards gala made the announcement Monday.

Born on a Saskatchewan reserve, Sainte-Marie, 67, began her career in the 1960s. She is best known for her folk music with lyrics about her aboriginal heritage.

Some of her songs achieved international recognition through other artists, including Elvis Presley, who covered her song Until It's Time For You To Go, and Donovan, who covered her hit Universal Soldier.

Sainte-Marie joined children's television show Sesame Street for a five-year stint beginning in 1976 and, as the show's first aboriginal cast member, she used her music to teach about her culture.

In 1983, Sainte-Marie and her late husband Jack Nitzsche won best original song at the Academy Awards for their song Up Where We Belong from the movie An Officer and a Gentleman.

Sainte-Marie, who continues to perform, is an officer of the Order of Canada. She has previously received a host of lifetime achievement distinctions, including joining the Western Canadian Music Awards hall of fame in 2007 and the induction of her song Universal Soldier into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005.Comment:  Not because of the song, but An Officer and a Gentleman is one of my all-time favorite movies. Rob's rating: 9.5 of 10.

For more on the subject, see Buffy the Computer Whiz and CIA Suppressed Sainte-Marie's Music.

Buffy the computer whiz

Buffy Sainte-Marie is light-years beyond her days as a protest singerOne of those options was the use of computers, an area she investigated early enough to now be considered a pioneer. "I made an electronic record in the '60s, the first totally quadraphonic vocal album," she says by phone from a hotel in New York. "I was uniquely positioned to think of computers for something more than accounting and pie charts. I integrated computers into my music and art, but I also saw educational uses. We were putting kids online in the '80s before most people were even aware of the Internet. We had fifth-graders in Hawaii connected with aboriginal native Canadian kids in Saskatchewan. With the help of the Kellogg Foundation there in Michigan, we've expanded this work under the name Cradleboard Teaching Project." Sainte-Marie's educational activities are so numerous that her tour itinerary must differentiate between speaking and musical engagements.

She has had several gallery shows devoted to her paintings, which also utilize digital technology. "Electronic music and electronic art were a tough sell at first," she says. "We were not trying to replace guitars with computers any more than guitars replaced voices or pianos. It doesn't do away with watercolors or oils. It's just another tool to add to the toolbox. Once people understand that, everything changes."