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New album in works for young recording artist after NAMA win

Photo caption: Osage tribal member Ava Rose Johnson, 12, attended the 19th Annual Native American Music Awards on Nov. 2 in Niagara Falls, N.Y., and became the youngest person to win an award. Courtesy Photo/Nathan Johnson

Ava Rose Johnson, the youngest artist to win a Native American Music Award at the age of 12, has a busy winter and spring ahead of her.

After her Nov. 2 win in Niagara Falls, N.Y., at the 19th Annual Native American Music Awards for Best Independent Recording for her video “Heaven’s Window,” she is currently in the songwriting process and gearing up to travel to Albuquerque, N.M., where she will record another video.

She recently performed in Wilburton for the Christmas Tree lighting on Nov. 22, said her father Nathan Johnson.

“We hope to have it [her new video] completed by mid-December. She is focusing on songwriting and hopes to be back in Nashville in 2020 to record some more music,” he said.  “She will be performing at three private events during November and December and participating in the Performing Arts series at Eastern Oklahoma State College in February. Ava also plays basketball, softball, participates in 4H and is the youngest member of her Church Choir.”

She also presented an award at the NAMAs, he said. Some of the award recipients that night were Oscar winner Wes Studi, WWE’s Mickie James and Rock band Portugal.

When asked if he expected his daughter to win, he said no.

“Not really we just thought it would be fun and a great experience to go!! When she won, we all were so excited!!” he said.

Johnson co-wrote “Heaven’s Window” with Sean Fuller, Florida Georgia Line drummer. The video was produced by Lainey Edwards (Choctaw) and Billy Dawson over the course of three days and premiered on April 9 at the First Baptist Church Life Impact Center in Red Oak, Okla.  

“Heaven’s Window” is a song in memory of a friend who died in an ATV accident two years ago, Johnson said.

The Native American Music Awards & Association consists of more than 40,000 registered voting members and professionals in the field of Native American music and entertainment, according to the NAMA website. They hold the largest Native American Music archive featuring a collection of over 10,000 audio and video recordings in all formats housed since 1990.


By

Shannon Shaw Duty


Original Publish Date: 2019-11-26 00:00:00

Author

  • Shannon Shaw Duty

    Title: Editor

    Email: sshaw@osagenation-nsn.gov

    Twitter: @dutyshaw

    Topic Expertise: Columnist, Culture, Community

    Languages spoken: English, Osage (intermediate), Spanish (beginner)

    Shannon Shaw Duty, Osage from the Grayhorse District, is the editor of the award-winning Osage News, the official independent media of the Osage Nation. She is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and a master’s degree in Legal Studies with an emphasis in Indigenous Peoples Law. She currently sits on the LION Publishers board of directors, the Freedom of Information Committee for the Society of Professional Journalists, and she is also a member of the Pawhuska Public Schools Board of Education. She served on the Board of Directors for the Native American Journalists Association (NAJA) from 2013-2016 and served as a board member and Chairwoman for the Pawhuska Johnson O’Malley Parent Committee from 2017-2020. She is a Chips Quinn Scholar, a former instructor for the Freedom Forum’s Native American Journalism Career Conference and the Freedom Forum’s American Indian Journalism Institute. She is a former reporter for The Santa Fe New Mexican. She is a 2012 recipient of the Native American 40 Under 40 from the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development. In 2014 she helped lead the Osage News to receive the Elias Boudinot Free Press Award. The Osage News has won Best Newspaper from the SPJ-Oklahoma Chapter in their division the past five years, 2018-2022. Her award-winning work has been published in Indian Country Today, The Washington Post, the Center for Public Integrity, NPR, the Associated Press, Tulsa World and others. She currently resides in Pawhuska, Okla., with her husband and together they share six children, two dogs and two cats.

Avatar photo
Shannon Shaw Dutyhttps://osagenews.org

Title: Editor

Email: sshaw@osagenation-nsn.gov

Twitter: @dutyshaw

Topic Expertise: Columnist, Culture, Community

Languages spoken: English, Osage (intermediate), Spanish (beginner)

Shannon Shaw Duty, Osage from the Grayhorse District, is the editor of the award-winning Osage News, the official independent media of the Osage Nation. She is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and a master’s degree in Legal Studies with an emphasis in Indigenous Peoples Law. She currently sits on the LION Publishers board of directors, the Freedom of Information Committee for the Society of Professional Journalists, and she is also a member of the Pawhuska Public Schools Board of Education. She served on the Board of Directors for the Native American Journalists Association (NAJA) from 2013-2016 and served as a board member and Chairwoman for the Pawhuska Johnson O’Malley Parent Committee from 2017-2020. She is a Chips Quinn Scholar, a former instructor for the Freedom Forum’s Native American Journalism Career Conference and the Freedom Forum’s American Indian Journalism Institute. She is a former reporter for The Santa Fe New Mexican. She is a 2012 recipient of the Native American 40 Under 40 from the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development. In 2014 she helped lead the Osage News to receive the Elias Boudinot Free Press Award. The Osage News has won Best Newspaper from the SPJ-Oklahoma Chapter in their division the past five years, 2018-2022. Her award-winning work has been published in Indian Country Today, The Washington Post, the Center for Public Integrity, NPR, the Associated Press, Tulsa World and others. She currently resides in Pawhuska, Okla., with her husband and together they share six children, two dogs and two cats.
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