If you go

• What: The ninth annual Native American Music Awards

• When: 8 p.m. Saturday

• Where: Seneca Niagara Hotel and Casino, Niagara Falls

• COST: $20 to $50. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster and through the Eight Clans Gift Shop in the Seneca Niagara Casino.

• MORE INFORMATION: Visit www.nativeamericanmusicawards.com.

Discover American Indian music

• Amazon.com, CDBaby.com: Kind of obvious picks, but both online retail stores offer user-created lists, recommendations (of the “People who liked this also bought ...” variety) and organized sections devoted to contemporary and traditional American Indian music.

• NativeAmericanMusicAwards.com: The official Web site of the “Nammys” provides full streaming songs, artist bios and links for everyone nominated and past winners.

• Record label sites: CanyonRecords.com, DrumGroups.com, SilverWave.com, TurtleIslandMusic.com and others can be a great starting point for finding out more about the independent native music scene.

• Internet radio stations: Sites like Yahoo! Music, Last.fm and Pandora can generate entire realms of play lists from typing in a single artist, but dedicated sites like GatheringOfNations.com and NativeRadio.com offer dedicated online radio, along with EarthSongs.net and Airos.org.

• Google (and Google Groups): Because of the grassroots nature of many American Indian bands, simply following a chain of links might be your best bet for any particular artist. Most native bands offer links to fellow acts.

If you only heard music through the mainstream media channels, you might only know American Indian music through one Grammy given out before the main awards and occasional background use in movies.

While they work in a multitude of genres — pop, jazz, traditional spirituals, Christian and nearly any other section you can find in a big record store — the artists whose heritage runs back farther than anyone else in the country can seldom find a place to have their music heard inside it.

Ellen Bello, a former big-label music marketer and now CEO of the Native American Music Awards, has been seeking to change that ever since she first saw American Indian musicians play a festival in New York City in 1991.

“These groups were so talented and sounded great, but they had no idea how to pursue music as a profession,” Bello said. “I took them on as clients, and once the word got out that there was an office helping native groups get heard, I had a steady stream coming into my office.”

By 1998, Bello, who helped produce the first Video Music Awards at MTV, had organized the first Native American Music Wards, shortened to NAMAs and called the “Nammys” by those in attendance.

The evolving world music scene and work in the realm of native music by popular musicians such as Robby Robertson had increased its exposure, but, to this day, music by natives remains a word-of-mouth affair, Bello said.

“It’s really pretty much a very independent, grassroots scene,” she said. “In a way it’s a good thing, as it’s still very independent and not driven by what sells ... but we’re always hoping we can reach more people.”

This year’s awards — held Saturday at Seneca Niagara Hotel and Casino — will honor American Indians working in roughly 30 music categories. Bill Miller, a Mohican native and Grammy winner who has toured with Tori Amos, Eddie Veder, Arlo Guthrie and others, will be honored with a lifetime achievement award.

Ed Koban, guitarist in NAMA-nominated band Tonemah and, along with Darryl Tonemah and LP Tonemah, a Tuscarora native, joined the band in 2001 after meeting the Tonemahs in coffeehouse performances.

The band gets many of its national performance gigs from speaking engagements by Darryl Tonemah, an administrator at the University of Oklahoma. They write about modern-day subjects, play modern instruments and record in Nashville with veteran session musicians.

“We’re not making songs about headdresses and life in the tee pee,” Koban said. “It’s 2007 on every reservation in the country ... we’re singing about the problems that natives face today, and Darryl writes about what he sees amongst the youth and elders in every tribe.”

Playing at this year’s “Nammys” means a chance to perform to a big audience in their hometown, Koban said, but also world-wide exposure through satellite broadcasting. Some native artists, including Pura Fe, find year-round work touring France, Germany and other European nations.

“I’m excited that the (NAMA awards) are even here,” Koban said. “We always watch from the seats, and it’ll be an honor to play for our fellow musicians.”

Bello noted that Seneca Niagara Casino’s heavy percentage of tribal members amongst casino staff makes the event a celebration of native accomplishments on many levels.

“We’ve had more cooperation from the Seneca than almost any other casino,” she said. “It’s making it much easier for us to bring this music to the stage and recognize the people who make it.”

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Contact reporter Kevin Purdy at 693-1000, ext. 107.