Bjork Collaborator Wins Canadian Aboriginal Music Award

11/28/05 5:00pm

Tanya Tagaq Gillis, a Nunavut throat singer who has gained international acclaim and appeared on Bjork's Medulla album last year, was named best female artist at the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards show on November 25. Juan Hernandez took the producer/engineer prize for his role in the album, which was also recognized for having the best design.

Little Hawk (a.k.a. Winnipeg Blue Bombers kicker Troy Westwood) won the best album and best folk album awards for 1492-1975. The best rock album and best music video awards went to Nova Scotia's Forever for Something To Dream Of.

Manitoba's up-and-coming 16-year-old, Ryan D'Aoust, received the CBC-sponsored Galaxie Rising Star Award as well as the best fiddle album honour for Southside Of The Strings. Burnt's 11 members must be doing something right, as they received the award for best group.

The awards show, which took place in Toronto at the John Bassett Theatre in the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, was one of the highlights of Canadian Aboriginal Festival Week — North America's largest multi-disciplinary Aboriginal arts event.

Here are some of the other winners from the 27 announced at the seventh annual awards show, which honours artists from Canadian Aboriginal communities:

Best Female Traditional/Cultural Roots Album: Asani Rattle & Drum
Best Male Artist: Diga (Earth Is Crying)
Best Song/Single: Kimberly Dawn "Spirit Of Our People"
Best Inuit Cultural Album: Beatrice Deer Just Bea
Best Blues Album: The Wolfpack Family Thang
Best Rap Or Hip-Hop Album: Eekwol Apprentice To The Mystery
Best International Album: Joanne Shenandoah Skywoman
Lifetime Contribution To Aboriginal Music: Willie Dunn