Health & Fitness
Black Thunder Singers Win 2011 Native American Music Award
Celebrating the Native American Pow Wow with Nathan Johnson of the Black Thunder Singers.
When Visions Kitchens & Design co-owners Nathan Johnson and Ernie Proper aren't busy designing green kitchens for their customers, the two friends celebrate their Native American roots by hitting the road with the Black Thunder Singers, performing at Pow Wows all over New England.
The duo just got back from the 2011 Native American Music Awards, held on October 7th at the Seneca Niagara Hotel & Casino in New York's Niagara Falls, where the Black Thunder Singers won “Best Pow Wow Recording” for their album Black Thunder.
“This is the Native American equivalent to the Grammy’s,” said Johnson. “For Pow Wow groups, this is the highest award you can get.
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“To be nominated is an honor,” he noted. “To win is unbelievable. It feels kind of surreal.”
Both Johnson and Proper see their music as a celebration as of their Native American identities.
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“I am Hunka Lakota and Ernie is Lakota Oglala,” Johnson noted with pride.
That made the experience of winning at the 2011 Native American Music Awards all the more rewarding for these two longtime friends and business partners, who first met 13 years ago at a Boy Scout summer camp.
“There were performances throughout the awards ceremony,” according to Johnson. “It was very cool to be there.”
“If people want to explore this type of music, they can attend any one of the Pow Wows now taking place on a regular basis throughout New England,” he said.
Black Thunder Singers next performance is scheduled for Sunday, October 16 at the York Harvest Fest Pow Wow. The event runs from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM, right across the street from Yorks Wild Kingdom. The group's award winning album Black Thunder will be available for purchase at the show and is also available online 24/7 on iTunes.
Lakota beliefs also influence the way Johnson and Proper do business as the co-owners of Visions Kitchens and Design.
“According to the Lakota tradition, the Earth is out mother and we operate our business with that in mind,” as Johnson puts it. “The Lakota always ask the question, ‘How are we impacting the environment seven generations from now?'"
A member of the Green Alliance, Visions Kitchens and Design is working to spread that kind of green thinking by offering members of the local consumer co-op a free initial consultation, plus 15 percent off all qualifying cabinets and countertops.
Find out more about the Black Thunder Singers:
