Tia Shawnte was a songwriter, singer, playwright, and poet of the people, writing love songs, musical parodies, and patriotic, religious, and environmental awareness tunes, as well as plays and poems. Born in Oklahoma, Tia was a member of the Chickasaw tribe and had Cherokee, Irish, English, and German roots. She performed her material on stages across the country, including those of the Oklahoma Opry, the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, and the Palomino Club in Los Angeles.
Her songs cover a spectrum of genres, including country, folk, gospel, bluegrass, pop, Irish ballads, classical, and comedy. She believed that behind every face, there is a story that can be put to music if one only would take the time to listen.
When she was not singing, Tia performed in the comedic role of Old Granny Wisecrack, a straight-shooting, Bible-thumping, Southern grandmaw guru.
Before she was able to devote her fulltime attention to her creative pursuits, Tia was a pioneer in music therapy in her clinical social work practice, reaching those with severe depression, addictions, terminal illnesses, and mental illnesses, including catatonia. She led workshops for social work, mental health, and health professionals. Her social work clients included those of all races who were homeless, veterans, or the disabled. She was especially proud of her work across the nation with American Indians.
She used her AIDS-prevention-, awareness-, and comedy song, "Put Your Rubbers On," with her AIDS patients and shared it with nurses and other community health professionals for their AIDS prevention workshops with the homeless, HIV patients, and the drug- and alcohol-addicted.
Tia spoke of a nurse at a homeless shelter who told her about a group of 80 homeless men and women who were forced to attend AIDS prevention and other workshops to earn a bed for the night. The disheveled group, who usually slumped in their chairs and tried to tune out the message, started thumping their chairs and laughing when the nurse played Tia's "Put Your Rubbers On." After the workshop, about 10 men approached the nurse and one said, "Tell Ms. Shawnte, 'Thank you,' for writing that song for us."
Tia believed that "You can reach people through music when you can't reach them in any other way." She added that in her work with the seriously ill, she discovered she could help heal people through her musical humor.
The mayor of Austin, Texas, proclaimed Feb. 4, 1993, as "Tia Shawnte Day" in honor of Tia's "Native Son" song. "Native Son" honors Mother Earth and Tia's American Indian heritage and underscores the ways the Earth and Native Americans have been neglected. The mayor of Nashville and the governor of Tennessee each issued proclamations recognizing Tia for her work championing social causes.
Although raised Baptist, Tia embraced her traditional Native American heritage. She was grateful to the American Indian elders who set her upon her spiritual path.
Tia was a member of the Broadcast Music Incorporated writers' guild in Nashville. For information about her work, contact tiashawnte@outlook.com.
Her songs cover a spectrum of genres, including country, folk, gospel, bluegrass, pop, Irish ballads, classical, and comedy. She believed that behind every face, there is a story that can be put to music if one only would take the time to listen.
When she was not singing, Tia performed in the comedic role of Old Granny Wisecrack, a straight-shooting, Bible-thumping, Southern grandmaw guru.
Before she was able to devote her fulltime attention to her creative pursuits, Tia was a pioneer in music therapy in her clinical social work practice, reaching those with severe depression, addictions, terminal illnesses, and mental illnesses, including catatonia. She led workshops for social work, mental health, and health professionals. Her social work clients included those of all races who were homeless, veterans, or the disabled. She was especially proud of her work across the nation with American Indians.
She used her AIDS-prevention-, awareness-, and comedy song, "Put Your Rubbers On," with her AIDS patients and shared it with nurses and other community health professionals for their AIDS prevention workshops with the homeless, HIV patients, and the drug- and alcohol-addicted.
Tia spoke of a nurse at a homeless shelter who told her about a group of 80 homeless men and women who were forced to attend AIDS prevention and other workshops to earn a bed for the night. The disheveled group, who usually slumped in their chairs and tried to tune out the message, started thumping their chairs and laughing when the nurse played Tia's "Put Your Rubbers On." After the workshop, about 10 men approached the nurse and one said, "Tell Ms. Shawnte, 'Thank you,' for writing that song for us."
Tia believed that "You can reach people through music when you can't reach them in any other way." She added that in her work with the seriously ill, she discovered she could help heal people through her musical humor.
The mayor of Austin, Texas, proclaimed Feb. 4, 1993, as "Tia Shawnte Day" in honor of Tia's "Native Son" song. "Native Son" honors Mother Earth and Tia's American Indian heritage and underscores the ways the Earth and Native Americans have been neglected. The mayor of Nashville and the governor of Tennessee each issued proclamations recognizing Tia for her work championing social causes.
Although raised Baptist, Tia embraced her traditional Native American heritage. She was grateful to the American Indian elders who set her upon her spiritual path.
Tia was a member of the Broadcast Music Incorporated writers' guild in Nashville. For information about her work, contact tiashawnte@outlook.com.