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A visual history · Grammys

The winners who defined Native American Album.

11 ceremonies, 2001–2011. 6 different winners.

Who won most recently?
Various Artists in 2011 for 2010 Gathering of Nations Pow Wow: A Spirit's Dance.
Who has won the most?
Various Artists, 4 wins (2001, 2006, 2009, 2011).
  1. 2010 Gathering of Nations Pow Wow: A Spirit's DanceVarious Artists
  2. Spirit Wind NorthBill Miller
  3. Come to Me Great Mystery: Native American Healing SongsVarious Artists
  4. Totemic Flute ChantsJohnny Whitehorse
  5. Dance with the WindMary Youngblood
  6. Sacred Ground: A Tribute to Mother EarthVarious Artists
Years explored
2001–2011
Different winners
6
Category leader
Various Artists · 4
About this record

Best Native American Music Album was first awarded in 2001, so it does not run the full 1959–2025 window.

It was awarded for the last time in 2011.

From 2012 the Grammys awarded Best Regional Roots Music Album instead.

2001–2011

11 ceremonies

20012011

01 / The reigns

6 winners shaped this category.

The timeline turns the 2001–2011 record into a sequence of reigns. Longer bands reveal sustained runs; color shows the credited label.

  1. 01
    Various Artists4 wins
  2. 02
    Bill Miller2 wins
  3. 03
    Mary Youngblood2 wins
One band per year, because no winner has gone back-to-back in the years on record. Colored by label; scroll sideways for the full run.
Various Artists'01
Johnny Mike and Verdell Primeaux'02
Mary Youngblood'03
Black Eagle'04
Bill Miller'05
Various Artists'06
Mary Youngblood'07
Johnny Whitehorse'08
Various Artists'09
Bill Miller'10
Various Artists'11

02 / The power map

Who stood behind the winners?

Silver Wave leads the recorded label credits with 5 wins, 2001–2011. The full distribution shows whether power was concentrated or shared.

Silver Wave5 wins
Soar2 wins
Canyon1 win
Cool Springs Music Group1 win
Paras1 win
Wins by label
  1. Silver Wave550%
  2. Soar220%
  3. Canyon110%
  4. Cool Springs Music Group110%
  5. Paras110%

1 further win has no label on record and is not counted in the 10 above.

1 of these 11 wins has no label on record, so the chart covers the other 10.

03 / The near misses

The names that kept coming back without the ending they wanted.

Counting nominations in this category only, 2001–2011. Excludes 4 nominations credited to Various Artists, which names a compilation rather than an act.

Most nominated, never won this award

  1. 01
    Northern Cree
    5 noms
  2. 02
    Black Lodge Singers
    4 noms
  3. 03
    Black Lodge
    3 noms
  4. 04
    Joanne Shenandoah
    2 noms
  5. 05
    Randy Wood
    2 noms

Most losses in this category

  1. 01
    Northern Cree
    5L · 0W
  2. 02
    Black Lodge Singers
    4L · 0W
  3. 03
    Black Eagle
    3L · 1W
  4. 04
    Black Lodge
    3L · 0W
  5. 05
    Joanne Shenandoah
    2L · 0W
  6. 06
    Randy Wood
    2L · 0W

04 / The archive

Every year.
Every winner.

The complete reference behind the story, showing 2001–2011. Open any year to see the rest of the field when nominee records are available.

YearWinnerLabel
2011Various Artists (2010 Gathering of Nations Pow Wow: A Spirit's Dance)
beat 3 others
  • Bear Creek (XI)
  • Northern Cree (Temptations: Cree Round Dance Songs)
  • Peter Phippen (Woodnotes Wyld: Historic Flute Sounds from the Dr. Richard W. Payne Collection)
Unknown
2010Bill Miller (Spirit Wind North)
beat 4 others
  • Michael Brant DeMaria (Siyotanka)
  • Northern Cree (True Blue)
  • John Two-Hawks (Wind Songs: Native American Flute Solos)
  • Johnny Whitehorse (Riders of the Healing Road)
Cool Springs Music Group
2009Various Artists (Come to Me Great Mystery: Native American Healing Songs)
beat 4 others
  • Bryan Akipa (Songs from the Black Hills)
  • Black Lodge (Spo'Mo'Kin'Nan)
  • Northern Cree (Red Rock)
  • Kevin Yazzie (Faith)
Silver Wave
2008Johnny Whitehorse (Totemic Flute Chants)
beat 4 others
  • Walter Ahhaitty and Friends (Oklahoma Style)
  • Black Lodge (Watch This Dancer!)
  • Davis Mitchell (The Ballad of Old Times)
  • R. Carlos Nakai, Cliff Sarde, William Eaton, and Randy Wood (Reconnections)
Silver Wave
2007Mary Youngblood (Dance with the Wind)
beat 4 others
  • Black Eagle (Voice of the Drum)
  • Robert "Tree" Cody and Will Clipman (Heart of the Wind)
  • Jana (American Indian Story)
  • Northern Cree and Friends (Long Winter Nights)
Silver Wave
2006Various Artists (Sacred Ground: A Tribute to Mother Earth)
beat 3 others
  • Black Lodge (More Kids' Pow-Wow Songs)
  • Alex E. Smith and Cheevers Toppah (Intonation: Harmonized Songs from the Southern Plains)
  • Randy Wood (Our Love Will Never Die)
Silver Wave
2005Bill Miller (Cedar Dream Songs)unverified
beat 4 others
  • Black Eagle (Straight Up Northern)
  • Black Lodge Singers (Family Traditions)
  • Joanne Shenandoah (Covenant)
  • Mary Youngblood (Feed the Fire)
Paras
2004Black Eagle (Flying Free)
beat 4 others
  • Tom Bee (Reveal His Glory)
  • Black Lodge Singers (Brotherhood)
  • R. Carlos Nakai (Sanctuary)
  • Northern Cree (Still Rezin)
Soar
2003Mary Youngblood (Beneath the Raven Moon)
beat 4 others
  • Burning Sky (Spirit in the Wind)
  • Redheart (Sacred Season)
  • Vince Redhouse (Faith in the House)
  • Randy Wood (Round Dance the Night Away)
Silver Wave
2002Johnny Mike and Verdell Primeaux (Bless the People: Harmonized Peyote Songs)
beat 5 others
  • Black Eagle (Life Goes On: Hand Drum and Round Dance Songs)
  • Black Lodge Singers (Weasel Tail's Dream: The Tradition Continues)
  • Northern Cree (Rockin' the Rez)
  • Various Northern Drums (Gathering of Nations 2000: Millennium Celebration, Volume 1)
  • Young Bird (Change of Life: Oklahoma Pow-Wow Songs)
Canyon
2001Various Artists (Gathering of Nations Pow Wow 1999)
beat 4 others
  • Black Lodge Singers (Tribute to the Elders)
  • Joseph Fire Crow (Cheyenne Nation)
  • Lakota Thunder (Veterans Songs)
  • Joanne Shenandoah (Peacemaker's Journey)
Soar