FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
FIRST AMERICANS IN THE ARTS HONORS OUTSTANDING FILM, TELEVISION, THEATRE AND
MUSIC PERFORMANCES IN 19 CATEGORIES AT THE 14TH ANNUAL AWARDS
CEREMONY
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA – March
14, 2006 – On Saturday, March 25, 2006, First Americans in the Arts (FAITA)
will present the 14th Annual First Americans in the Arts Awards
Presentation honoring Native American Indians for their outstanding
performances in motions pictures, primetime television, theatre and music in
2005. The event will include a silent auction, reception and dinner along
with the awards show, held at the Beverly Hilton, located at 9876 Wilshire
Boulevard, Beverly Hills, CA 90210. The event will begin at 6:00pm with a
reception and silent auction featuring American Indian art and jewelry.
The awards ceremony will give
attendees a first-hand look at the star-studded Awards Presentation attended
by leading film and television stars, both American Indian and non-Indian,
including Tyler Christopher and Natalia Livingston (ABC’s
General Hospital), Karina Lombard (The L Word), Rick Schroder
(Strong Medicine) and many more.
Among this year’s recipients are
Humanitarian award winners, ABC Entertainment and Extreme Makeover:
Home Edition for their 2 hour season finale, “The Piestewa Family.”
Other award recipients include “The
New World’s” Q’Orianka Kilcher and August Schellenberg, “Into
the West’s” Tyler Christopher, Zahn McClarnon, Tonantzin
Carmelo, Nakotah LaRance and “Edge of America’s” Chris Eyre
for directing and DeLanna Studi. Tony award winning actress,
Kristin Chenoweth will be the recipient of two awards for her roles in
NBC’s “The West Wing” as well as Sony/Columbia Pictures’ “Bewitched.”
A
Lifetime Achievement Award will go to guitar pioneer Link Wray, inventor of
the “fuzztone” who influenced musical
styles from punk rock, grunge, heavy metal to rockabilly and rock & roll.
Wes Studi is this year’s
Master of Ceremonies and Host. This often intimidating but charismatic and
ruggedly handsome actor is best known for performances such as the fiercely
angry Magua in “The Last of the Mohicans” and the title character in Walter
Hill’s biopic, “Geronimo: An American Legend.” Studi recently appeared in
New Line Cinema’s “The New World,” TNT’s “Into the West” and Showtime’s
“Edge of America.”
The event will feature traditional
and contemporary performances by Native American performers including the
Native American Music Award’s Female Artist of the Year, Jana and
Outstanding Musical Achievement winner Quese iMC. An excerpt from
the Autry’s Native Voices stage play “The Red Road” will be performed by
Arigon Starr. Traditional dance performances will include the Hoop,
Fancy Shawl and a Men’s Fancy Dance Exhibition. The evening’s entertainment
is being sponsored by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community.
Founded in 1991, First Americans in
the Arts (FAITA) is a nonprofit trust created to recognize, honor and
promote American Indian participation in the entertainment industry.
Scholarships are also given out to students pursuing careers in film,
television and theatre. For more information or to receive an invitation,
please call (310) 270-5388 or write to us at
www.firstamericans.org.