Melvin Klaudt accepted a decoration of appreciation to the Klaudt Indian Family for 100 years of ministry by an Indian Family at the Assemblies of God Indian Missions Native American Fellowship Conference.
Lumberton, N.C.-In June, the Native American Fellowship of the Assemblies of God recognized the Klaudt Indian Family for 100 years of ministry. The event happened at the Native American Fellowship Conference, which was held in Lumberton, North Carolina at PowerPoint Church. Melvin Klaudt one of the original members of the Klaudt Indian Family Singers received the certificate of appreciation.
Back in the 1920s, Reverend Reinhold Klaudt married Lillian White Corn Little Soldier of the Arikara-Mandan tribe, a descendant of Chief Sitting Bull. The couple, then living on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota, raised a family dedicated to spreading the gospel through song.
The family of seven-Reinhold, Lillian, Vernon, Melvin, Raymond, Ken, and Ramona-not only performed in their Native American attire, but some say they were the first group in gospel music to also include strings and horns. They performed in gospel concerts, church venues, revivals, Las Vegas, state fairs, professional sports games, and theme parks, sometimes performing more than 400 dates a year. Their versatility was also showcased in the variety of musical arrangements as they performed in family duets, quartets, and trios, as well as through vocal and instrumental solos. During the century they became a fixture on radio and had their own Family Tone record label, also publishing sheet music and song folios for the gospel music community. They were also one of the first gospel singing groups to use a custom motor coach in their travels and semi-trucks to haul tent equipment that would hold 3000 people. As television became a household commodity, the family was featured on programs and also became even more well-known. Somehow the family found time for all five children to graduate from the Church of God Bible Training School in Cleveland, Tennessee.
After more than five decades of travelling together, The Klaudt Indian Family retired in the 1980s. However, they came out of retirement to perform at the Grand Ole Gospel Reunion in 1996, when Lillian was age 90.
Lillian Klaudt was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2004, three years after her death and the death of Reinhold, who had eventually stepped back from singing to become the group's manager.
Family members, including the third generation, continued to work in ministry in various forms. In 2007 the Klaudt Indian Family was inducted into the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame. The original siblings also established the Klaudt Indian Memorial Foundation to keep the family ministry alive. They have assisted students through their scholarship program to Lee University, the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, the University of Georgia, singing schools in Texas, Tennessee and Georgia. Their goal is to honor the heritage and legacy of Mom and Dad Klaudt and to promote gospel music to a new generation. In 2008, the Klaudt Indian Family received the "Lifetime Achievement Award" from the Atlanta Society of Entertainers.
In 2019, The Klaudt Indian Family began their TV Ministry, "Just Keep Singing," which has been viewed in 169 countries. Melvin Klaudt has served as host and producer of the program.
In 2020, Melvin Klaudt was inducted into the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame.
