Sainte-Marie cleans up at music awards

Saskatchewan born Buffy Sainte-Marie swept the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards (CAMAs) taking all four of the categories that her new album 'Running For The Drum' was nominated in.
"What, are you nuts?" she joked after being called for a third time to the stage at Hamilton Place on Nov. 27 to collect her
hardware. The music icon, whose career has spanned the decades since the 1960s,
thanked her fans for accepting a wide variety of music from her over the years.
'Running For The Drum' epitomizes her musically schizophrenic style.
Some tracks on the CD carry a message, like 'No, No Keshagesh', one of the two
songs she performed at the awards gala. She explained the word Keshagesh is Cree
for 'greedy guts', like when a puppy eats all of his own food and wants to eat the food of others. The song is about the environment and the appetite of those that would take more than they need.
Some of the works on 'Running For The
Drum' are love songs, and some, like 'Cho Cho Fire', the second song Sainte-Marie and her touring band performed, are just fun and something to dance to.
Sainte-Marie won Best Album of the Year, Best Song Writer and Best Song Single for 'No, No Keshagesh' and Best Female Artist for 'Running For The Drum.'
Sainte-Marie's accomplishments are as varied as her music, from Grammys to an Oscar nod, but the Aboriginal music awards in Canada hold a special place in her heart.
When asked what keeps her motivated to create, even though many people in their late sixties ­as she is ­would have put their
feet up to rest on past glories, Sainte-Marie responded "because it's fun."
Many of Sainte-Marie's songs have stood the test of time, including 'Universal Soldier', as powerful and relevant a piece today as it was when it was created 40-plus years ago. The Academy Award winning 'Up Where We Belong' also continues to be sung and appears in movie soundtracks to this day.
Sainte-Marie said she loves coming together at the show with other Aboriginal musical artists because it's a time to visit with people she doesn't get to see enough.
"We have a lot of fun together," she said.
She also really enjoys touring the album around to the Aboriginal communities, visiting with the grassroots population who she described as being "really, really kind
to us." At Fort McLeod in Alberta, for example, she said, they were taken to
Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump for a tour. Fans also bring her sweetgrass and moose meat as gifts.
"It's possible as an Aboriginal artist to have a really sweet life," but make no mistake, it's a hard life, Sainte-Marie said.
"It takes a lot of discipline."
When asked for advice for those that may like to take up that life, she said take care of the health that the Creator has given.
The overriding message she believes comes from the body of work of artists in Indian Country is whatever is in a person's heart, just share it, whether it sounds like hip hop or jazz or traditional. "It's all good."

A reporter asked Sainte-Marie whether she thought last year's CAMA Lifetime Achievement Award wasn't given to her too soon considering the contribution she
still has to make to music. She laughed and said "were we supposed to go home
after that?" But more thoughtfully she said "I don't know. People are really nice to me."
The Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards, formerly held in Toronto, celebrated its success with a move to Hamilton for its 11th season. The show opened with Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson, who won in the Best Female Traditional/Cultural Roots category for the CD 'Lalaxaaygans Beautiful Sound', and was followed by a performance by Maori Dancers from New Zealand.
Other award winners performed, including Lucie Idlout , who took home the award in the Best Rock Album category for 'Swagger', Pappy John's Blues Band who won the Best Blues Album award for their self-produced CD 'Havin' A Good Time Now,' and Digging Roots who won Best Group or Duo for 'We Are.'
Saskatchewan songbird Andrea Menard co-hosted the event with guitarist/singer/songwriter Derek Miller.
A number of other awards were handed out at a VIP dinner the night before the
awards gala. The dinner awards were hosted by guitarist and music producer,
Stevie Salas. Of the awards presented were Best Fiddle Album (Eric Ashdown-Back Home Fiddle) and Best Country Album (Art Napolean-Siskabush Tales).