Shy-Anne still eligible for Juno Aboriginal Album of the Year

Shy-Anne Hovorka has successfully appealed a Juno Awards committee decision to disqualify her album Pseudo from consideration for Aboriginal Album of the Year.
“It was the opinion of the screening committee that your album Pseudo does not fit into the Aboriginal Album of the Year category and must be disqualified,” Laura Bryan, senior coordinator of tickets and awards for the Junos wrote in a Dec. 1 email.
Eligible music, includes traditional drumming, singing and “fusions of all genres of contemporary music that ... reflect the unique Aboriginal experience in Canada, by virtue of words or music.”
Hovorka was stunned to read the email.
“I didn’t understand their decision,” Hovorka, a Métis originally from the Red Lake area, said. “To say my content was not Aboriginal enough, it didn’t make sense to me. Other musicians with less Aboriginal content have not been disqualified and have in fact been nominated for the award.”
In response to her disqualification, Hovorka emailed a rebuttal.
“The song Fire is all based on the ancient Ojibwe prophecy of the eighth fire,” she said in an email. “The song Ancient Voices is a reflection of us losing our connection to spirit, land, and our culture. The song Can’t Change the World is a song dealing with all the things we are dealing with as Aboriginals, especially our youth. It was my way of showing what needs to change here in Canada in regards to our youth ... suicide, drugs, gangs, alcohol and politics.” 
Hovorka wasn’t the only person upset by her disqualification. When her fans found out, the Junos were flooded with emails and phone calls questioning the committee’s decision.
“It got a little out of hand,” she said. “I feel bad for the Juno people ... having to deal with that.”
The Juno nominations will come out in February. Given the issues she’s faced with just keeping herself eligible, Hovorka is not optimistic of her chances to be nominated as a finalist for Aboriginal Album of the Year.
Having the decision reversed, Dec. 3, was just the first step. There could be hundreds of nominees in the category and the judges may hold her to a higher standard if they remember the original disqualification. They could easily not name the album a finalist, she said.
“I tell all my students they need to stand up for themselves and follow their dreams,” she said. “I wouldn’t be able to say that to them if I didn’t stand up for myself either.”