Juno Award for Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year

The award faced controversy in its inaugural year, after nominee Sazacha Red Sky was accused of cultural appropriation.

[2] George's son Leonard sought a legal injunction to prevent the award from being presented at the Juno Awards ceremony at all,[3] and a final compromise revising Red Sky's nomination to reflect the album instead of the song was announced on the morning of the ceremony.

[5] In late 2019, the Junos announced plans to rename the category as Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year for the 2020 ceremony.

The Junos suggested the change would likely "eliminate a lot of the confusion and put us in a better position to explain the need for the category, when challenged.

"[6] At the Juno Awards of 2021, it was announced further changes were being made for the Juno Awards of 2022, splitting the category into two new categories for Contemporary Indigenous Artist of the Year and Traditional Indigenous Artist of the Year.