Here Are the Winners of the 2018 Indigenous Music Awards

BY Josiah HughesPublished May 19, 2018

Tonight, the Indigenous Music Awards handed out a wide range of honours to musicians at Winnipeg's Club Regent Event Centre in an awards ceremony that coincided with the Manito Ahbee Festival. 

Awards were handed out in 19 categories, honouring music that was created by First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples on Turtle Island.

Exclaim! was proud to present the Best Music Video Award, which has handed to Buffy Sainte-Marie for "The War Racket." She beat out competition that included Cody Coyote, Indian City, Jeremy Dutcher and Supaman.

In addition to the awards, Redbone's Pat Vegas was honoured with a lifetime achievement award.

Check out the full list of winners below, with all the winning artists in bold.

2018 Indigenous Music Awards Winners:

Best Blues Album:

Billy Joe Green - Born To Lose
Malcolm Campbell - Interstate Blues
Robert "Freightrain" Parker - Freightrain Live
The Trade-Offs - Qaumariaq
Tracy Lee Nelson - Blues Loving Man

Best Hand Drum Album:

Cree Agent - Another Summer
Darryl Buck - Hope
Randy Wood - Family
Young Spirit - Mewasinsational - Cree Round Dance Songs

Best Folk Album:

Ansley Simpson - Breakwall
Buffy Sainte-Marie - Medicine Songs
Keith Secola - Circle
Troy Kokol - Lonely Ghost
Twin Flames - Signal Fire

Best Instrumental Album:

Chamakese & Gladue - The Flute Player & The Singer
Jan Michael Looking Wolf - Flute Medicine
Melody McKiver - Reckoning 
Red Sky Performance - Miigis
Steven Rushingwind - Rushingwind

Best Inuit, Indigenous Language or Francophone Album:

Dena Zagi - Gucho Hin
Iuntin - Tanite mak au
Northern Haze - Sinnaktuq
Sakay Ottawa - Ni win witen
Shauit - Apu peikussiak

Best New Artist:

Ansley Simpson - Breakwall
Liv Wade - Resilience
Raye Zaragoza - Fight For You
SouFy - The Ogitchidaa Project
Yellowsky - Mixed Medicine

Best Pow Wow - Contemporary Album:

Black Bear Singers - Notcimik
Blackstone - Dance for Our Ancestors
Young Spirit - sâkītohk - 'Love Each Other'

Best Producer/Engineer:

Broken Walls - Kristin Delorenzi, Waking the Sound
Indian City - Vince Fontaine, Rising Sun Productions
Keith Secola - Keith Secola, Akina Records
Leah Belle - Jace Martin, Darren Ross Agency
Supaman - Supaman

Best Radio Station Program - Promoting Indigenous Music:

CBC Radio: Unreserved
Deya Miller - Indigenous Hour, Jukasa Radio
Indigenous in Music with Larry K
Indigenous Music Countdown - Native Communications Inc.
Reclaimed on CBC Music


Best Gospel Album:

Callie Bennett - Awake Arise Shine
Carl Crane - God Can
Elvis Ballantyne - Victory Road

Best Rock Album:

Broken Walls - The Path
Jay Gilday - Faster Than Light
Kristi Lane Sinclair - The Ability to Judge Distance
NADJIWAN - Superposition
Relic Kings - Armoury

Best Country Album:

Desiree Dorion - Tough Street
Carolina East - Carolina East
Kelly Derrickson - I Am
Richard Farrow - God Willing
Tom Dutiaume - Out of the Shadows

Best Electronic Music Album:

Dakhká Khwáan Dancers and DJ Dash - Deconstruct/Reconstruct
hp shivcraft - no love, just death
Once a Tree - Phoenix
TCHUTCHU - Battles

Best International Indigenous Artist:

DJUENA TIKUNA - TCHAUTCHIÜÃNE
Gean Ramos - Inversões
Mission Songs Project - The Songs Back Home
Membda - Hin to'o ngu nuga
The Imbayakunas - New Ground

Best Music Video:

Buffy Sainte-Marie - "The War Racket"
Cody Coyote - "Northern Lights" feat. Vision Quest
Indian City - "Through the Flood"
Jeremy Dutcher - "Honor Song"
Supaman - "Godly Warriors"

Best Pop Album:

Celeigh Cardinal - Everything and Nothing At All
Fara Palmer - SongBird
Indian City - Here & Now
Kelly Fraser - Sedna
Quantum Tangle - Selter as we go…

Best Pow Wow - Traditional Album:

Little Creek Singers - For Our Future Generations
Moosetown Singers - Pe Pasiko/When We Sing - Live
Northern Cree - mîyo kekisepa, Make A Stand
Sweetgrass Singers - Indian Summer
Wildhorse Singers - Saddle up Hup Hup Hup!

Best Radio Single:

Carsen Gray - "Wanna See You" feat. DJ Shub
Mariame - "Electric"
Midnight Shine - "In the Midst"
Mob Bounce - "Vision Quest"
Riit - "Imiqtaq"

Best Rap/Hip-Hop Album:

Chase Manhattan - On Top Of the Totem
Lil Mike & FunnyBone - Best of the Drum
Snotty Nose Rez Kids - The Average Savage
StenJoddi - The 7th Generation Prophecy
Supaman - Illuminatives

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