Crystal is a citizen of both the U.S. and Canada. She was born in Ontario and grew up on a reservation called Wikwemikong on Canada's Manitoulin Island. Shawanda's debut album, "Dawn of a New Day", was released in the summer of 2008. The album debuted at #2 on the Canadian Country Albums chart and #16 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and Crystal became the highest charted album by a full-blooded Native American country artist in the SoundScan era.