Jana Mashonee, (born Jana; May 11, 1982), better known by her stage name, Jana, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, author and philanthropist. She is originally from

Robeson County, North Carolina Robeson County is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of North Carolina and is its largest county by land area. Its county seat is and largest city is Lumberton. The county was formed in 1787 from part of Bladen County and named in ...

. Jana is a two-time Grammy nominee and nine-time

Nammy The Native American Music Awards (also known as the NAMAs or "Nammys") are an awards program presented annually by Elbel Productions, Inc., The Native American Music Awards Inc., and The Native American Music Association, a 501(c)(3) non-profi ...

winner. Her music is steeped in R&B and gospel roots, which introduced her to the mainstream.

Early life

Jana was born May 11, 1982, and is from

; although she grew up in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

. Jana is a Native American of

Lumbee The Lumbee are a Native American people primarily centered in Robeson, Hoke, Cumberland and Scotland counties in North Carolina. They also live in surrounding states and Baltimore, Maryland. The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina is a state-rec ...

and

Tuscarora Tuscarora may refer to the following: First nations and Native American people and culture * Tuscarora people **''Federal Power Commission v. Tuscarora Indian Nation'' (1960) * Tuscarora language, an Iroquoian language of the Tuscarora people * ...

descent. She was first introduced to music by her father (who is a singer and drummer). The surname Mashonee was a native name given to Jana by her family. Of the Siouan language, the translation means "money belt. Mahshonee graduated from Davidson College with a degree in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...

, and shortly after got a record deal. First signed to Curb Records, her single, "Ooh, Baby, Baby," was picked as ''Billboard''’s single of the week and went on to become a radio and sales success. "More Than Life" followed, selling over a million copies on its own and as part of numerous compilation albums. A controversial version of Led Zeppelin’s epic " Stairway to Heaven", came next, earning her the honor of being the first Native American to top the

Billboard dance charts Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as th ...

Career

Exploring her cultural roots, Jana then released ''American Indian Story'', a concept album that garnered her a second Grammy nomination. The video for the single, ''The Enlightened Time'', won awards at film festivals around the world as well as a

for Best Short Form Music Video. Music from the album is featured on the Discovery Channel's series, ''

Flying Wild Alaska ''Flying Wild Alaska'' is a documentary television series that aired on Discovery Channel in 2011 and 2012. The show features the Tweto family from Unalakleet, Alaska who run the Alaska airline Era Alaska. They operate the hub operations from ...

''. Her first book, ''American Indian Story – The Adventures of Sha’kona'', based on the Grammy nominated album of the same was also recently completed. The fantasy filled mystery-adventure young adult novel is the uplifting story of the young heroine, Sha’kona, and her journey of self-discovery and courage. Jana continued to pay tribute to her heritage with ''American Indian Christmas'', featuring ten classic Christmas songs sung in ten different Native American languages accompanied by a full orchestra and traditional Native American instruments. A critical and commercial success, the album won her another Nammy award. On December 16, 2011, she featured some of these songs in an emotional and intimate performance at Carnegie Hall in New York. ''New Moon Born'' took Jana in a new direction, steeped in R&B and gospel roots, which brought her back to mainstream attention. She debuted the featured track, an emotional cover of Sam Cooke's classic, " A Change Is Gonna Come", at the American Indian Inaugural Ball for

President Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

. This was her second performance for a First Family. A year earlier she sang at the First Lady's Luncheon for Laura Bush. The song went on to win her an eighth Nammy for Song of the Year and the video took the Best Music Video prizes at the Indie Film Festival and at the American Indian Film Festival. Jana's tour schedule has brought her to forty nine of the fifty states as well as overseas. Jana is also an actress. In 2012, Jana starred in her first movie '' Raptor Ranch'', which debuted at the Israel Film Festival. In 2014, it was released on HD-DVD, Redbox, and to select streaming networks under the name ''The Dinosaur Experiment''.

Charity

Her Jana’s Kids Foundation has been helping Native youth through its programs and scholarship offerings. Jana was named 2011 Woman of the Year by "yearofthewoman2011.com" for her philanthropic work. Her philanthropic work extends also to supporting charities such as The Golden Hat Foundation for autism, founded by Kate Winslet. About her foundation, Jana stated that "I've been blessed to be able to travel across the country to many reservations to talk to youth and address issues of cultural identity and education. From this, I've been able to raise enough money to offer scholarships to deserving Native youth in the artistic, academic, and athletic fields..." Jana performed with

Sarah McLachlan Sarah Ann McLachlan OC OBC (born January 28, 1968) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. As of 2015, she had sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is '' Surfacing'', for which she won two Grammy Awards (ou ...

Loreena McKennitt Loreena Isobel Irene McKennitt, (born February 17, 1957) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer who writes, records, and performs world music with Celtic and Middle Eastern influences. McKennitt is known for her r ...

among other stars to support this charity cause at Carnegie Hall in December 2012.

Personal life

Referring to herself as an "

Urban Indian Urban Indians are American Indians and Canadian First Nations peoples who live in urban areas. Urban Indians represent a growing proportion of the Native population in the United States. The National Urban Indian Family Coalition (NUIFC) consid ...

", Jana has stated "From a cultural perspective, I describe myself as an Urban Indian because I am a Native American person who "walks in both worlds" –an expression that refers to Natives who live their lives in the traditional and in the contemporary/modern worlds." Mashonee grew up in a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

church and is a self proclaimed Christian, stating she focuses more on exploring spirituality of the Creator than just rules written by men. Jana is currently residing in New York City.

Discography

Albums

*''Flash of a Firefly'' (2005) Radikal Records Nammy Award Winner *''American Indian Christmas'' (2005) Standing Stone/SOAR Records Nammy Award Winner *''American Indian Story'' (2006) Standing Stone/SOAR Records

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

nominated *''New Moon Born'' (2010) Miss Molly Records Nammy Award Winner

Singles

*"What Am I to You" b/w "Kind of Love" (1997) – Top 40 on the Radio & Records’ rhythmic chart (Curb records) *"Near Me" b/w "The Price" (1998) – A cover of a song originally by the artist Sheryl Crow. (Curb Records) *"Ooh, Baby, Baby" (1999) - A success on radio and in the Radio & Records, DMA, Hitmakers, and Gavin charts. Billboard magazine named "''Ooh, Baby, Baby''" pop ''Single of the Week'' in October. (Curb Records) *"More Than Life" (2000) – Reached the Top 10 on Billboard's Artists to Watch chart and peaked in Billboard Magazine's Hot Shot Debut At No. 29. Remixes were made by

DJ Skribble Scott Ialacci, professionally known as DJ Skribble (born October 10, 1968) is an American DJ, producer, remixer, radio personality and actor. In the early 1990s, he teamed up with Kamron, ATA, Firstborn and Tommy Never in Young Black Teenagers ...

and Anthony Acid. (Curb Records) *"Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" (2001) – A cover of a song originally by the artist

Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally as Meat Loaf, was an American rock singer and actor. He was noted for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. He is on t ...

. (Curb Records). *"Stairway to Heaven" (2002) - Peaked at No. 7 on Billboard's

Hot Dance Singles Sales In the issue dated March 16, 1985, ''Billboard'' magazine debuted its first chart devoted exclusively to 12-inch Singles Sales. The 50-position weekly ranking joined ''Billboard''s established Club Songs chart, reduced to the same 50 positions, ...

chart, and was remixed by

and Dave Gadbois. (Radikal Records) *"Found a Love" (2003) – (Radikal Records) *"Do It Mr. DJ" (2004) – (Xtreme Records) (Peter Presta & Jana) *"I'll Be with You" – (Standing Stone/Radikal Records) *"A Change Is Gonna Come" – Miss Molly Records/Sony/Red Music *"Stay with Me Baby" – Miss Molly Records

Awards and nominations

*Merit Award 2009 – The Indie Fest for "A Change Is Gonna Come" video *

nominations **Nominated – Best Native American Music Album for ''American Indian Story''. **Nominated – Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album. Co-writing on the song ''"Kiss and Tell"'' with

Crystal Lewis Crystal Lynn Lewis (born September 11, 1969) is an American contemporary Christian and jazz singer, songwriter and actress. Lewis has been nominated for several Grammy Awards, and has won multiple GMA Dove Awards. Additionally, she has released ...

, which appears on Lewis' album '' Fearless''. *

Native American Music Awards The Native American Music Awards (also known as the NAMAs or "Nammys") are an awards program presented annually by Elbel Productions, Inc., The Native American Music Awards Inc., and The Native American Music Association, a 501(c)(3) non-profi ...

(NAMMY's) ***Best Pop Artist ***Best Pop/Rock Recording (''More Than Life'') ***Song of the Year (''Stairway to Heaven'') ***Best Female Artist (''Found a Love'') *** Record of the Year – ''Flash of a Firefly'' *** Best Producer (with Alex Salzman) for Jana's ''American Indian Christmas'' ***Best Pop Recording (''American Indian Story'') ***Best Short Form Music Video (''The Enlightened Time'') ***Best Producer (with Alex Salzman) for Jana's ''American Indian Christmas'' ***Song/Single of the Year "A Change is Gonna Come" *American Indian Film Festival ***Best Video "A Change is Gonna Come" *Queens International Film Festival ***Winner Best Domestic Music Video (''The Enlightened Time'')

Acting career

Job as Creative Director

From January 2010 till June 2016, Jana Mashonee was also Creative Director on the Activation, Inc. in New York, NY.http://www.linkedin.com/in/janamashonee

References

External links

janaofficial.com
– Jana Mashonee's official website.
Jana Mashonee
at ReverbNation * Jana'sAllmusic.com biography
SingerUniverse Magazine
March Best Vocalist of the Month Winner Jana Mashonee {{DEFAULTSORT:Mashonee, Jana 1980 births Living people 21st-century American women singers 21st-century Native Americans American Christians American film actresses American women pop singers American people of Native American descent Davidson College alumni Grammy Award winners Lumbee people Native American singers People from Robeson County, North Carolina Singers from North Carolina Tuscarora people 21st-century American singers 21st-century Native American women