The Indigenous Music Awards, formerly called the Aboriginal Peoples' Choice Music Awards, is an annual
Canadian music award, given out to
Indigenous people who are in the music industry.
The APCMA receives financial support of the
Department of Canadian Heritage through the Canadian Online Strategy. The ceremony is broadcast on television by the
Aboriginal Peoples Television Network.
In 2014
Iceis Rain became the first openly
two-spirit person to perform at the Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards.
["Meet Trailblazing Two-Spirit Performer ICEIS Rain"]
''The Advocate
An advocate is a professional in the field of law.
The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to:
Magazines
* ''The Advocate'' (LGBT magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States
*''The Harvard Advocate'', a literary magazin ...
'', September 13, 2014.
In 2019, several
Inuit artists, including
Tanya Tagaq and
Kelly Fraser
Kelly Fraser (August 8, 1993 – December 24, 2019) was a Canadian Inuk pop singer and songwriter, whose second album, ''Sedna'', received a Juno Award nomination for Indigenous Music Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2018.
Life and car ...
, boycotted the awards over accusations of
cultural appropriation
Cultural appropriation is the inappropriate or unacknowledged adoption of an element or elements of one culture or identity by members of another culture or identity. This can be controversial when members of a dominant culture appropriate from ...
. One of the award nominations in the Best Folk Album category that year was given to
Connie LeGrande, a
Cree
The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada ...
artist from
Saskatchewan whose album incorporated
throat singing; however, as LeGrande had performed the throat singing herself rather than hiring an Inuit collaborator, she was accused of appropriating
Inuit culture. LeGrande, for her part, stated that
throat singing is not unique to Inuit culture, and that she had not tried to perform in the Inuit style. Lisa Meeches, the director of the awards, faced further criticism when she stated that she considered it impossible for Indigenous cultures to appropriate each other.
"Cultural appropriation argument 'brings us back a few steps,' says Indigenous Music Awards head"
CBC News Indigenous, April 3, 2019.
See also
*Indigenous Canadian personalities
Over the course of centuries, many Indigenous Canadians have played a critical role in shaping the history of Canada. From art and music, to law and government, to sports and war; Indigenous customs and culture have had a strong influences on ...
*Juno Award for Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year
The Juno Award for Indigenous Music Album of the Year is an annual award presented by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences for the best album by an Indigenous Canadian artist or band. It was formerly known as Best Music of Aborigi ...
* Indspire Awards
References
External links
*{{official, https://www.indigenousmusicawards.com/
First Nations music
Music awards honoring indigenous people
Lifetime achievement awards
Canadian music awards
Inuit music