Programme des artistes ambassadeurs

Angela is a dancer, choreographer, educator, and artist from Amiskwaciwâskahikan (Edmonton, Alberta – Treaty 6 territory) and is a member of Frog Lake First Nation. She has over 15 years of professional dance experience as an entertainer and has taught in countless schools, Indigenous communities, youth centers and conferences throughout North America since 2004. 

Angela believes in a responsibility to share the knowledge she has gained and continues to pursue dance education while using her existing skills to mentor others so they can succeed. Currently, Angela tours with the Juno Award winning group Halluci Nation, formerly known as A Tribe Called Red, and is available for performance opportunities, teaching & speaking engagements. 

www.misschiefrocka.com

Beatrice Deer, Canadian Aboriginal Music Award-Winning and Canadian Folk Music AwardWinning singer-songwriter, is from Nunavik. Half Inuit and half Mohawk, Deer left her small village of Quaqtaq, QC. in 2007. She has five albums to her credit. This is a body of work in which she uniquely blends Traditional Inuit Throat Singing and Contemporary Indie Rock. “My All to You”, her fifth album, marks a milestone in the history of ‘Inuindi’ music (a genre pioneered by Deer), as for the first time, she composed all of the original music and lyrics. The themes covered encompass classic Inuit folk tales and legends, and also deal with personal growth as an important tool in the search for understanding and the search for meaning. She has won over audiences around the world and her songs are particularly loved in the Canadian Arctic, where audiences sing her songs during the many concerts she performs there. She sings in three languages: Inuktitut, English and French. As a role model for her community and a healthy lifestyle activist, Deer is often invited to speak. Her main message is that each of us must take control of our own life. 

“No one else can do it for us. It is impossible to change what has happened. You can only adopt new ways of dealing with the past.” 

www.beatricedeerband.com

Blake Angeconeb is an Anishinaabe woodlands artist who hails from Treaty 3 territory. His first venture into art began 6 years ago during a fun painting session with his younger niece, which has since launched him into a full-time career as an artist. Blake’s primary practice involves acrylics and multimedia on canvas, blending the school of woodlands art with pop culture references. Blake is a self-trained painter with a growing collection of small and large scale works who enjoys collaborating with other artists. He is part of the Caribou clan and a proud member of Lac Seul First Nation.

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Since her groundbreaking debut, 1964’s It’s My Way!, the Cree singer-songwriter has been a trailblazer and a tireless advocate, an innovative artist, and a disruptor of the status quo. Sainte-Marie has spent her whole life creating, and her artistry, humanitarian efforts, and Indigenous leadership have made her a unique force in the music industry. In 1969, she made one of the world’s first electronic vocal albums; in 1982 she became the only Indigenous person to win an Oscar; she spent five years on Sesame Street where she became the first woman to breastfeed on national television. She’s been blacklisted and silenced. She’s written pop standards sung and recorded by the likes of Janis Joplin, Elvis Presley, Donovan, Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes. She penned “Universal Soldier,” the definitive anti-war anthem of the 20th century. She is an icon who keeps one foot firmly planted on both sides of the North American border, in the unsurrendered territories that comprise Canada and the USA. 

www.buffysainte-marie.com

Cheri Maracle is an Multi award nominated Actress, Singer/Songwriter, and playwright of the Six Nations of the Grand River lands.  

Cheri has numerous Stage, tv and film credits to her name. Selected theatre credits include: Kisaageetin Cabaret (the National Arts Centre), Paddle Song, a one person Musical (the Firehall Theatre), The UNNATURAL AND ACCIDENTAL WOMEN (The National Arts Centre), The Hours That Remain (Theatre Aquarius), The Rez Sisters (Belfry Theatre), The Road to Paradise (Crow’s Theatre), and Munschtime!  (Young Peoples Theatre), to name a few. Some selected tv/Film credits include: UNSETTLED (APTN, TVO), The Coroner (CBC), The Parker Andersons (Marble Media), Tribal (APTN), DeGrassi (Netflix, Epitome), and Murdoch Mysteries (CBC). Cheri was nominated for a Best Supporting actress at the CSA’s for her role of Sara Bull, in the series Blackstone (APTN) 2012-2015. Cheri recently wrote a Children’s show ‘The Friendship Star’, which debuted at the WEE Festival 2022. She fronts a Jazz band, the Cheri Maracle Quintet, whom she’s performed with all over Turtle Island. Cheri’s music can be found on iTunes.  

www.cherimaracle.ca

Cheyanna Kootenhayoo AKA Kookum is a DJ and multimedia maker from the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation, and Cold Lake First Nations, their maternal Denesuline traditional territory. Based out of Vancouver BC, Kookum has been making a name for their self across the country and is no stranger in the community. 

Kookum is an open format DJ inspired by EDM and Hip-Hop music. This diversemix-diva is a force on the decks and always keeps the party hype, fresh, and unpredictable. 

Before the pandemic Kookum was touring nationally and internationally with the Snotty Nose Rez Kids, holding down a weekly DJ residency, facilitating videography and DJ workshops, operating sound and lighting for community dance parties, and working as a DJ mentor at a weekly East Van youth drop-in program called The Hip Hop Drop. 

Now you can catch DJ Kookum performing virtually for online festivals, curating online events, hosting online workshops, making beats in the studio, and selling merchandise on their online store. 

Kookum has been a video editor for 10 years and has experience editing television, documentaries, and promotional videos. Kookum is also the music supervisor for the children’s television series called ‘Coyote Science’ and is works with the Indigenous Matriarchs 4 Media Lab to host a new podcast on immersive art and VR technology. 

www.djkookum.com

Cody James Houle (he/him), is an Anishinaabe independent artist based out of Brantford, Ontario. Raised in an unsafe home in the small military city of North Bay, Ontario, Houle had to generate his own sense of security and sustain his survival through a deeply intimate connection to nature and his heart’s desire to create something meaningful in this life. Being an artist is his calling and passion but being a father to daughter, Phoenix Raine, and showing her what it means to be an Anishnaabe’kwe is his ultimate priority in life. Growing up with intergenerational trauma and colonialism, Houle felt shame and guilt about being Native; now, his art allows him to show pride and strength in being an Indigenous man.  

A self-taught painter, Houle has been active in the arts community for four years—since realizing he enjoyed the visual art form at the age of 31. While drawn to abstract visualizations and animate florals, it is the woodland paintings that resonate most for Houle and his sense of his culture. For him, paintings are teachings as long as one is open to learning the stories shared; great artists from the past can be mentors for the next generation of visionaries; works available for study feature techniques and stylized choices that unavoidably provide lessons in art and philosophy. Houle believes it is important to share art to inspire hope and encourages anyone (especially youth!) to create for the sake of creating; to express themselves and give expression to their lives because Indigenous life is art!  

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Ahnahktsipiitaa* (Colin Van Loon) originally hails from Piikani aka Brocket AB and spent most of his formative years in Lethbridge AB. After years of experience in the film industry as an actor Ahnahktsipiitaa made a decision to become a filmmaker, entering the SFU School of Contemporary Arts BFA Film Production program. 

Ahnahktsipiitaa works within the film industry commonly as an AD, but most notably spent a year working as the assistant to Alejandro González Iñárritu on the feature film: The Revenant. Ahnahktsipiitaa has been involved with the Talking Stick in many capacities whether it is screening personal films (The Fast, 2014), serving as the Director and Curator of REEL RESERVATIONS: Cinematic Indigenous Sovereignty Series and the additional upcoming Reel IndiGenuity youth film series. When not on a production Ahnahktsipiitaa works on building Blackfoot Nation Films, directing personal projects such as working in collaboration with Section 35 (Kill The Mascots, Save The People Ad campaign) and The Snotty Nosed Rez Kids (Skoden, Clash Of The Clans Music Videos). Ahnahktsipiitaa currently works and resides on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tseil-Waatuth peoples.  

His virtual reality project,  This is Not A Ceremony’, produced by NFB, and directed and written by Ahnahktsipiitaa, and was screened at Sundance, Tribeca and he even went to the Cannes film festival. 

He is Niitsitapi (Blackfoot) from southern Alberta. To see a clip, here’s a link:  https://www.nfb.ca/interactive/notaceremony/ 

*Ahnahktsipiitaa – pronounced Ah-NOT-see-BEE-tah 

https://blackfootnationfilms.com 

DAVID A. ROBERTSON (he, him, his) was the 2021 recipient of the Writers’ Union of Canada Freedom to Read Award. He is the author of numerous books for young readers including When We Were Alone, which won the 2017 Governor General’s Literary Award and the McNally Robinson Best Book for Young People Award. The Barren Grounds, the first book in the middle-grade The Misewa Saga series, received a starred review from Kirkus, was a Kirkus and Quill & Quire best middle-grade book of 2020, was a USBBY and Texas Lone Star selection, was shortlisted for the Ontario Library Association’s Silver Birch Award, and was a finalist for the 2020 Governor General’s Literary Award. His memoir, Black Water: Family, Legacy, and Blood Memory, was a Globe and Mail and Quill & Quire book of the year in 2020 and won the Alexander Kennedy Isbister Award for Non-Fiction as well as the Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award at the 2020 Manitoba Book Awards. On The Trapline, illustrated by Julie Flett, won David’s second Governor General’s Literary Award and was named one of the best picture books of 2021 by the CCBC, The Horn Book, New York Public Library, Quill & Quire, and American Indians in Children’s Literature. Dave is the writer and host of the podcast Kíwew, winner of the 2021 RTDNA Praire Region Award for Best Podcast. He is a member of Norway House Cree Nation and currently lives in Winnipeg. 

www.darobertson.ca

Dawn is a member of the Mohawk Nation, Turtle Clan from the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. She is a Registered Social Worker (RSW). She currently works at the Six Nations Family Health Team which is in historical downtown Ohsweken, as a psychotherapist. Dawn grew up at the Tuscarora Reservation in Lewiston, New York. She received a BA in Community Mental Health from the University at Buffalo, where she also received a Master of Social Work (MSW).  

Dawn has been writing short memoir stories about her family and her time growing up with thirteen siblings, for the past fifteen years. Memory Keeper is her first published collection. Dawn’s stories depict anecdotes, however comedic or horrific, from her life in the Rez. These stories helped her to circumnavigate constructively the residual pain and dysfunction that is the legacy of the Residential School System. As a Registered Social Worker and Community Health Worker, Dawn does not leave the reader impacted by the shock and trauma of her stories, instead she offers a small workbook companion with the published collection as a healing resource for her readers. 

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Je m'appelle Destiny Hoostie. J'ai la chance d'avoir trois enfants aimants. Je suis d'origine mixte - Assiniboine de la Première nation White Bear en Saskatchewan du côté de ma mère et norvégienne et allemande du côté de mon père. Je suis la fondatrice de Takaya Indigenous Designs, une entreprise appartenant à une femme autochtone qui crée des trousses de perlage. J'aspire à contribuer à l'enseignement et à la promotion de l'art perlé autochtone à travers ce voyage.

www.takayadesigns.ca

Orene Askew, aka DJ O Show, brings energy and expertise to every event she hosts and DJ’s. She brings professionalism and passion and remains true to her love for hip hop and R&B, incorporating beats to ensure you never want to leave the dance floor! With an outgoing personality and friendly demeanor, O Show is one of the easiest DJs to work with.     

From Vancouver to Toronto, Las Vegas to Texas, DJ O Show keeps the dance floor packed, working with clients to put together unique packages and customized playlists for weddings, birthdays, holiday parties, corporate events, restaurant and club openings, charity fundraisers, youth conferences and pride events in her city!  

DJ O Show has experience teaching with an inspired approach. She is an inspirational speaker, having traveled across the country to bring ambition and drive to all generations, and is an elected member and Spokesperson for the Squamish Nation Council.  

O Show has DJ’d the red carpet for WE Day Vancouver and was voted the official DJ for YES in Ottawa since 2012 and the official DJ for Gathering Our Voices for five years. She has hosted/MC’d numerous events, including Bowling for Big Brother’s Classic, Babes on Babes, Hershe and working for radio stations like Vancouver’s Virgin 94.5 and Washington’s Movin’ 92.5. She is the recipient of a 2015 BC Indigenous Business Award and a 2018 Stand Out Award from the Vancouver Pride Society.  

Coming from a diverse background, O Show is driven by her passion. She is Afro-Canadian and First Nations and a proud member of the Squamish Nation. Feeling as though she stood out in a unique way, she has embraced both her cultural backgrounds and incorporates the teachings she has learned into everything she does.  

www.djoshow.com

During the last thirty years of his career, Drew Hayden Taylor has done many things, most of which he is proud of.  An Ojibway from the Curve Lake First Nations in Ontario, he has worn many hats in his literary career, from performing stand-up comedy at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., to being Artistic Director of Canada’s premiere Native theatre company, Native Earth Performing Arts.  He has been an award-winning playwright, a journalist/columnist (appearing regularly in several Canadian newspapers and magazines), short-story writer, novelist, television scriptwriter, and has worked on numerous documentaries exploring the Native experience. Most notably as a filmmaker, he wrote and directed REDSKINS, TRICKSTERS AND PUPPY STEW, a documentary on Native humour for the National Film Board of Canada, and for CBC, co-created SEARCHING FOR WINNITOU, an exploration of Germany’s fascination with North American Indigenous culture. 

Oddly enough, the thing his mother was most proud of was his ability to make spaghetti from scratch. 

www.drewhaydentaylor.com

Drezus has been a staple in the Indigenous music scene for over a decade. Born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada and from the Muskowekwan and Cote First Nations respectively, Drezus has opened up a new world that combines traditional Anishinaabe and Nehiyaw teachings with hip-hop music and expression. He credits his growth and perseverance through life’s challenges to the creative arts. 

Drezus won five Indigenous Music Awards from 2012015, was nominated for a Juno in 2009, and most recently won an MTV Video Music Award for “Best Fight Against the System” in 2017 with Taboo of The Black Eyed Peas. In 2019 he appeared on the acclaimed Paramount Network TV series”Yellowstone” alongside Kevin Costner in Season 2. 

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In September 2018, Elisapie released The Ballad of the Runaway Girl, her third solo album. Arguably the most significant work in the singer-songwriter’s career, the album earned her two Felix awards (for Album of the Year – Other Languages and Best Album Production) and a total of five nominations at Gala de l’ADISQ, one nomination for Indigenous Album of the Year at the 2019 JUNO Awards and a feature on the 2019 Polaris Music Prize short list. In addition to taking her all over North America and Europe, this intimate album has amassed great reviews. Rolling Stone France called the music a delicately violent album that seduces as much as it questions, while NPR said Elisapie synthesizes stories from her eventful life with hypnotic arrangements that channel ‘70s rock, indigenous folk music and the low, moody rumble of barnstormers like Tom Waits. On June 19th, 2020, Elisapie returned with a new single called Asuguuq. This song is a gift to Inuit communities in the wake of National Indigenous Peoples Day.  

Ambassador for Inuit culture, Elisapie represents the wild and rough beauty of the North. Her new album, The Ballad of the Runaway Girl, is the musical tale of an expatriate Inuk. She sings about the different facets and challenges of being a woman, but also an adopted child, a mother, and a lover. Through this exploration of her northern roots and her femininity, we learn about an Inuk who is proud of her origins and who works for the recognition of her people’s historic difficulties. Elisapie’s journey started when she was given up for adoption as a baby, on the tarmac of an airport. She went on to grow up in Salluit, dreaming of the South. Then came her escape to Montreal, where she started a family and forgot about the extremes of the North.  

The artist is now reconnecting with her origins, offering her soulful down-home folk music as she tenderly looks back on her heritage. Her style is direct as she tells her story and makes aboriginal musical classics shine. This album goes back to her roots, with both soft and raw moments and her very own mix of Inuktitut, English and French, unveiling the woman behind the music.  

www.elisapie.com

Emily Kewageshig is a 23-year-old Anishinaabe artist. She was raised in Saugeen First Nation #29, a small community located along the shores of Lake Huron. Emily captures interconnection of life forms using acrylic paint, sometimes also working with oil paint, watercolour paint and other culturally significant materials gathered from the land. Her work consists of bold lines, bright colours, and symbolism which is inspired by traditional Ojibwe Woodland artists and Indigenous world view.  

She graduated from Sheridan College’s Visual and Creative Arts Diploma program with Honours in 2017, receiving the “Best in Show” award at the final graduate exhibition. She is currently in her final year at OCAD University to receive a Bachelor of Fine Arts in the Indigenous Visual Culture program.  

Emily presented her first body of work in 2020 at her first solo exhibition titled “Mooshknemgog Bmaadziwin: Full Circle” at the Tom Thomson Art Gallery in Owen Sound, Ontario.  

www.emily-kewageshig.com

G.R. Gritt is a Juno Award winning, Two-Spirit, Transgender, Francophone, Anishinaabe/Métis artist. After living many years in Yellowknife and forming the band Quantum Tangle, they have recently moved back to Sudbury/Robinson Huron Treaty territory where they grew up. This homecoming coincides with a journey that they feel better represents them. With these changes has come a new voice both physically and in the growing magnetism of their songwriting. G.R. Gritt pulls effortlessly from the past to create soulful futurisms with their new sound that elegantly weaves the melodies using vocals, guitar and new electronic elements. They create both intimate and anthemic music that would fit in a folk club, a dance club and anywhere in between. 

The Northern cities G.R. Gritt has lived in forced them every winter through snow and harsh temperatures to make a choice between isolation and seeking community as a source of warmth. Their music serves as one of these beacons of connection for all who come near it. Welcoming yet truthful, they reclaim space through songs that show that intersectional identity is expansive and not to be divided into parts. By exploring the emotional and cultural core of their heritage as a non-binary, queer, Indigenous artist they create new space and encourage others to do the same.  

G.R. Gritt is currently preparing for the release of a new full-length album titled, Ancestors, in 2020 on Coax Records.   

www.grgritt.com

Gerald Auger is of Woodland Cree descent, Entrepreneur, GPRC graduate of Marketing Management, in Business Administration, National Native Role Model, Motivational Speaker, award winning Director and Actor.  Gerald spent over 20 years working with Hollywood as an actor. Some of his most notable television & screen roles have been Pawnee Killer, AMC’s Hell on Wheels, Steven Spielberg’s into The West, Dreamkeeper for Hallmark Entertainment’s, Tin Star for HBO, Anichov’s Bridge in Russia, & as Makamuk on Lost Face. Lost Face made it to the Top 10 of the Oscar’s in 2019.  & He won Best Actor in LA. Both his documentary films, Walking Alone & Honour Thy Father, won industry awards & received industry acclaim. Gerald continues to be involved in film, television, and documentaries, advancing the status of Indigenous People in film & television, exposing, and debunking the stereotyping of his people. His latest TV Series is called Matriarchs, as the creator and executive producer is based on 4 Directional prophecy, and 4 Directional cultural and spiritual beliefs.   

Gerald walked away from mainstream society & Hollywood in 2009 to heal from childhood trauma, being a product of inter-generational impact from residential schools & colonization. Gerald’s 6-year sabbatical out on the land with traditional knowledge keepers, healers and ceremonial elders ended in 2015. Gerald’s continues to work with troubled youth, families, and communities. He draws from his personal experiences of abuse as a child & what he learned from his 6-year sabbatical, to help guide and lead troubled youth and others struggling with life. In working with multi-barrier and disengaged youth, Gerald has developed programs that have helped troubled youth turn their life around for the positive, and hosts healing camps dealing with inter-generational impact through culture, spirituality, and ceremony. Gerald currently works with agencies and organizations dealing with MMIWG and Stopping Violence against Women, and Human Trafficking.  

www.geraldauger.ca

Bomgizhik (Isaac Murdoch) est originaire de la Première nation de Serpent River et fait partie du clan Fish. Il a passé des années à vivre dans la brousse en tant que trappeur, récolteur de riz sauvage, fabricant de sirop d'érable et chasseur. Il étudie les pictogrammes de son peuple et les étoiles. Il vit actuellement à la communauté linguistique et culturelle Nimkii Aazhibikoong.

www.onamancollective.com

Jace Martin is a USA Billboard Mainstream Top 40 Charting artist & producer. He has toured North America and shared the stage with Salome Bey, Robbie Robertson, Sam Moore, Jonny Lang & More. He newest album “Rainboworld” released in 2020 is dedicated to his greatest mentor in music, Salome Bey. The album features excerpts from the theatre production Rainboworld, written by Salome Bey and ft Divine Brown, Joey Stylez, HellNBack, Gavin Brown, Justin Abedin and more. 

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James is a 21-year-old Native American singer/songwriter from the Six Nations of the Grand River. He has been teaching guitar to youth, performing shows and writing songs for more than six years.  

Growing up his family was a very musical family, singing traditional songs which became very influential for James as they encouraged him to pick up a guitar and sing.  

James started competing as a soloist at competitions in Nashville, Boston and New York from 2012 till 2015 & sang in an alternative rock group named “Baylight”.  

Recently, James had the great opportunity to sing back-up for “Lorde” at the 2017 MMVA’s (Much Music Video Awards).  

James has just finished recording his debut album “TIDAL WAVE”, which was produced by Billboard Top 40 Recording Artist, Jace Martin at Jukasa Studios.  

James Wilson is set to release his debut single, “City Lights” to Canadian Radio and you can catch him at a show near you soon! 

James Wilson Music Website

Founder & CEO – Redcloud Studios Inc. 

Jennifer Podemski is an Anishinaabe/Ashkenazi actor, writer, director, and producer with a 30+ year career. Her on screen credits include Dance Me Outside, The Rez, Degrassi TNG, Blackstone, Empire of Dirt, Departure and Reservation Dogs. 

Through her production company Redcloud Studios Inc., Jennifer has been at helm of a variety of television series including: The Seventh Generation, Rabbit Fall, The Other Side, Moccasin Flats, and Future History (Canadian Screen Award 2020 for best director Factual) and the acclaimed feature film Empire of Dirt which Jennifer was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Best Picture and Shannon Masters received the award for writer making her the first Indigenous woman in this category. 

More recently, Jennifer wrote, directed, and produced Unsettled a ten-part drama series for TV Ontario and the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network and is in pre-production with Little Bird, a limited dramatic series for Crave and APTN. 

In 2020, Jennifer launched The Shine Network Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to celebrating Indigenous women in film and television through training, mentorship, and professional development. 

Jennifer is the recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for her work in the Indigenous community, The Birks Diamond Tribute Award, the Nell Shipman Showrunner Award, The 2018 ACTRA Award of Excellence and The Weengushk Film Institute’s 2021 Award of Excellence. 

https://www.shinenetwork.ca/ 

Joseph Pitawanakwat an Ojibway from Wiikwemkoong, married with one daughter. He is the Founder & Director of Creators Garden, an Indigenous outdoor education-based business, focused on plant identification, beyond-sustainable harvesting, and teaching every one of the plants’ linguistic, historical, cultural, edible, ecological and medicinal significance through experiences. His lectures and intensive programming are easily adaptable to make appropriate to individual audiences and have been successfully delivered to a variety of organizations including over 80 first nations communities, 20 Universities, 12 colleges, and dozens of various institutions throughout Canada and the United States.  

Joseph is currently a master’s Student in the MES program at York University but has learned from hundreds of traditional knowledge holders and is uniquely blending and reinforcing these teachings with an array of western sciences.  

www.thehivecentre.ca/facilitators/joseph-pitawanakwat

Founding member of Skydiggers since formation in 1988. They have released 18 albums over their 30 plus year career. 

Long-time collaborator with Gord Downie’s solo recordings and tours starting with Coke Machine Glow (2001) and including Away Is Mine (2020), the last recording Gord made before his passing. 

Many songwriting, record production, and TV and film composition to his credit. 

www.skydiggers.com

The Toronto-native is an award-winning producer and DJ who is impacting the global music community with his fresh sound and meaningful collaborations with diverse artists. Drawing inspiration from his life and culture, Classic Roots developed his original sound through integration of traditional Anishinaabe drumming and singing, with unique sound of techno/house, to establish a sense of indigenous cultural freedom that echoes throughout the electronic music scene. 

www.classic-roots.com

Julian Taylor is a Canadian singer-songwriter of West Indian and Mohawk decent. Formerly associated with the band Staggered Crossing, he has continued to record and perform as a solo artist. He is a prolific artist who has released nine studio albums since 2001. Three with Staggered Crossing, Four with his band JTB and two on his own.   

A Toronto music scene staple and a musical chameleon, Julian Taylor is used to shaking it up. With his songs being placed in such TV shows as Haven, Private Eyes, Kim’s Convenience and Elementary, his versatility as a songwriter is signature; one minute he’s on stage playing with his band spilling out electrified rhythm and blues glory, and the next he’s featured at a folk festival delivering a captivating solo singer-songwriter set reminiscent of Jim Croce.  

www.juliantaylormusic.ca

Kahentawaks is a Mohawk multidisciplinary artist from Kanehsatake. Her practice includes 3D modeling, illustration, game making, and sculpture. Formerly the Skins Workshop Associate Director for AbTeC & IIF, she is now Director of Revital Software, a language revitalization software company. She graduated from Concordia University with a BFA specializing in Computation Arts. Kahentawaks is deeply interested in video games as a vehicle for Indigenous culture & experience, as well as their capacity to facilitate the healing of intergenerational trauma.  

www.indigenousfutures.net/workshops

kahentawakstiewishaw.com

Kevin Hearn is best known as a multi-instrumentalist from Barenaked Ladies, the multi-platinum selling band he’s played with for over two decades. One of the most respected Toronto musicians of the past 25 years, Hearn’s solo albums always attract equally brilliant collaborators such as singer/songwriters Ron Sexsmith and producer Gavin Brown (Metric, Tragically Hip, Sarah Harmer), not to mention his 22-year-relationship with the rhythm section of Chris Gartner and Great Bob Scott. Hearn’s recently released album ‘Calm and Cents’ features violinist Hugh Marsh, alongside Gartner, and Brown. 

Also released earlier this year is Hearn’s exclusive EP titled Kevin Hearn and Friends Present: The Superhero Suite. The special edition 12” EP is a wild medley of vintage superhero-related songs, including iconic music from TV and film running the gamut from the classic Batman theme to the 1978 soundtrack of Superman. The musical luminaries include Ron Sexsmith, Michael Ray of the Sun Ra Arkestra, Carole Pope, Mary Margaret O’Hara, Alan Doyle, The Persuasions and more. One noteworthy highlight is Violent Femmes, Barenaked Ladies and Colin Hay joining forces for the theme song from TV’s Batman. 

One of Hearn’s closest relationships, both musical and personal, was with the late, great Lou Reed, for whom Hearn acted as keyboardist and musical director from 2007 up until his passing in 2013. 

Though Hearn has contributed songs to Barenaked Ladies albums in the past 10 years, the songs on his solo records are much more personal, both in subject matter and musical exploration. “It’s fun for me to make music that doesn’t have to fit a certain criterion, whether it be regarding the style or sound, or who is playing it,” he says. 

www.kevinhearn.com

Lindsey is an Ongweoweh/ Anishinaabe artist & community developer originally from Six Nations of the Grand River with ancestral roots to the Mississauga’s of the New Credit. She specializes in painting & beading as well as arts and culture facilitation, Indigenous governance, community, and program development. Her traditional name is ‘Mushkiiki Nibi Kwe’, which translates to ‘Medicine Water Woman’ and she is turtle clan.   

Lindsey is a graduate of OCAD University and has sat on several community boards and committees in the Toronto area over the last 15 years. Some of her past committee work has been for the Planet IndigenUs Festival, Indigenous Education Council (OCADU), Native Canadian Centre of Toronto and the Institute for Research and Development on Inclusion and Society (IRIS). She is currently a member of the Toronto Arts Council and Steps Public Art- Indigenous Advisory Committees.   

In 2017, Lindsey was shortlisted and awarded a public arts project for the Region of Waterloo’s LRT System resulting in a permanent public instillation for the Block Line stop that speaks to the historical stewardship of the land base of Waterloo and the importance of agriculture from a First Nations perspective. Lindsey also received an International Women’s Day- Leadership in the Arts award in 2019.   

She is currently the Community Safety Liaison for the Ontario Native Women’s Association (ONWA) and practices out of both Toronto and Six Nations of the Grand River.   

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Lloyd Gwin first volunteered to play Santa in the 1970s, he loved it, since then he would ride around on a snowmobile delivering presents to families of his colleagues at the volunteer fire department in High Level, Alberta. Last year, he was able to fulfil his dream of being what he calls Métis Santa. A Métis Santa wears a sash rather than a belt, mittens, and moccasins instead of gloves and boots. Join Lloyd as he reads Métis Christmas Mittens by Leah Marie Dorion and then takes questions from students about Métis Christmas. In the Metis Culture, it’s all about being grateful, thanking our Creator for the gifts of family, friends and community and sharing the spirit of the Christmas Season. 

It’s the kind of sound many musicians take years searching for, and since the rave reception of Mariel Buckley’s acclaimed sophomore album, Driving In The Dark, she has planted her flag firmly as a singer-songwriter who’s in it for the long haul. 

Buckley’s momentum has built quickly, and 2019 earned her Roots Solo Artist of the Year at the Western Canadian Music Awards and first place in the Project WILD – Country Artist Development Program. She finds herself touring steadily with a dependably captivating live outfit, and with performances in support of k.d. lang, Sam Roberts, Sarah Shook & The Disarmers and The Deep Dark Woods; she’s garnered impressive experience and charisma. 

Driving In The Dark solidified her as a rising name among the roots community, and earned a coveted position as one of  No Depression’s Favourite Roots Music Albums of 2018. She experienced chart success, sitting on the CBC Top 20 List for more than 8 consecutive weeks – and placed No. 54 on the  CBC Music’s Top 100 Canadian Songs of 2018 for ‘Rose Coloured Frames’. 

Her songwriting has been described as melodic and tender – a “dazzling and assured take on the sounds of classic country.” (Jonathan Frahm, PopMatters) Now carefully assembling songs for her third release, Buckley’s studious attention to her craft and appetite for stellar recordings will no doubt produce an exceptional collection of music. 

She proves that with each new endeavour she is bound to vulnerability and authenticity. This signature candour is what captivates audiences and listeners alike and will continue to drive her forward. Whether you’ve heard Mariel Buckley or not, you will soon. 

Email: mariel@marielbuckley.com 

www.marielbuckley.com

Marika Sila is an Inuit actress from Yellowknife, NWT. She is best known for her work on the popular TV series ‘The Twilight Zone’ where she played the lead role as Sergeant Yuka Mongoyak, the first female Inuit police officer to attain the rank of Sergeant in the state of Alaska. Marika also specializes in stunts and special skills including, hoop dancing, fire spinning, sword, and staff handling. She started her special skills journey as a hoop dancer and was recently voted Canadian Hoop Dancer of the Year. Marika is currently filming a TV series called ‘Tribal’ and is passionate about sharing their RedPath Empowerment programs to schools and communities across the world. You can watch her episode #4 of ‘The Twilight Zone’ on CBS All Access or download it on iTunes.

www.marikasila.com 

If you can embrace the grace and power of Northern Ontario landscapes, you will feel the music of Mimi O’Bonsawin. She epitomizes the powerful scenery and the beauty of its waters through her music, all the while yielding to her rich and warm French Canadian and Abenaki roots. Her musical creations flow through a centre of love, with the intention to give back and spread awareness.  

Her album ELLE DANSE is a self-produced French EP that has been gaining momentum with placements on Spotify, Amazon, and Apple Music curated playlists. ELLE DANSE was in ELMNT FM’s top 10 Best Albums of 2020, and it was recently nominated for two prizes at the TRILLE OR Awards.    

Mimi’s career has been blossoming. She has received various awards and nominations like Best Pop Record at the Indigenous Music Awards (2019) & Nominated for Best EP at the TRILLE OR Awards (2021). Her Music, now spanning over 4 albums, has reached a wide audience by being regularly aired on CBC & Sirius XM in Canada and the US.  She has composed instrumental tracks for film & TV and her song ‘Stone Gaze’ was placed in Showtime’s Ray Donavon TV Series (E1S5). Other tracks from her catalogue are featured on APTN’s Mohawk Girls, CBC’s TRICKSTER to name a few.  

Not only is she establishing her voice through recorded music, but also tours heavily with her band or as a songwriter reaching a total of 92 concerts performed in 2019 alone (PRE-PANDEMIC).  

Mimi O’Bonsawin’s presence is not limited to the stage and radio play. You may witness her passion for song writing, music, and art by attending her inspirational workshops given in schools and conferences across the country.  

It has been said that at the tender age of 26, Mimi O’Bonsawin is an old soul who is not afraid of creating intimacy with her audience and sharing laughs & tears all the while teaching you a thing or two about yourself and the world around you.  

In a time where you may feel like it has all been done before, Mimi is a rare find. She is one of a kind. When you meet her, you will know it.  

www.mimi.ca

Johnston’s spirit name is Wiishkoonseh Miigizi’enh means Whistling White Headed Eagle. He grew up in Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation and apprenticed with Storytellers since his youth. Sources of his artistic inspiration include woodland painters, Story Tellers, and the traditions of his indigenous culture. Johnston notes: “In a time of reconciliation, it is important for all people to know that we exist and have such a strong, beautiful legacy of stories and teachings from the Anishinaabe Nation that are grounded in my experience and identity.” 

A painter, mural artist, traditional storyteller, and traditional helper, Johnston uses his gift of storytelling to connect his peoples’ stories of love and healing with the broader world and offer support to a range of community organizations. His work has been exhibited across many of Canada’s most important institutions, from the AGO and ROM to the Evergreen Brickworks and the Chippewas of Nawash Cultural Centre. His artistic practice is focused on illustrating stories of the Anishinaabe Nation in a variety of media to raise awareness of their unique histories as they in turn inform his process. He was born and raised on his beautiful reserve, Neyaashiinigmiing, on the Saugeen Peninsula (Bruce Peninsula) and took a keen interest in painting and art at a very young age. 

Johnston has an established portfolio of work and is well recognized in Toronto. His original works are showcased at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) in the Jennings Young gallery (J.S. McLean Centre for Indigenous & Canadian Art). Johnston’s Diiyah Muh’gaanag (Our First Family) is a collection of images of spiritual beings, plants and animals based on Anishinaabe teachings. Drawn in a pictographic style, they tell stories of botany, astrology, and the interconnectedness of all living things. Johnston currently lives in Toronto, Ontario, and is a contributing member to the Indigenous & Canadian collection at the AGO 

www.miigizi.com/pages/artist-introduction

Patrick Hunter is a 2-Spirit Ojibwe painter, graphic designer, and entrepreneur from Red Lake, ON. In 2011, he made the move to Toronto to pursue a career in the visual arts after completing the graphic design program at Sault College in Sault Ste. Marie, ON. After spending too long working in the service industry, it became clear that a major career move would need to be made. Knowing that his cultural background was an asset to his success, in 2014 he launched Patrick Hunter Art & Design. The focus being specializing in original and digital artwork and designs from his Ojibwe roots with the intent to create a broader awareness of Indigenous culture and iconography. He is best known for his paintings in the Woodland art style. However, he is also making a name for himself in the corporate world through artistic and graphic collaborations with RBC and BMO Banks, Ernst & Young, TSN, and most recently the NHL Blackhawks. Patrick’s dream to create a positive future for his people has led him to become the first Artist in Residence for the Prince’s Trust Canada, a Royal charity in which aides in the reclamation of Indigenous languages in Canada. He currently resides in Toronto and is busily preparing a Made-in-Canada collection of apparel, paintings and houseware products to share with all of you. 

www.patrickhunter.ca

Most notably known for his Series Lead role in the Hulu original series Utopia Falls, his Guest Star role in CW’s Supernatural and his Recurring Guest Star role in the series finale of History Channel’s Vikings where you meet his character ‘Wejitu.  

Phillip recently wrapped a Series Recurring role in the Spielberg/Hanks produced Masters of the Air and a Series Lead in an upcoming limited series to be announced. His Lead role in the feature film Wildhood which premiered at TIFF 2021 garnered him a prestigious TIFF Rising Star recognition and is one of the highlight roles of his career to date.   

Born in Canada, Phillip comes from a French, Ukrainian, and Mohawk ancestry. His heritage is a strong part of his identity, and he strives to learn and explore his cultural roots.  

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His First Nations affiliations are Shawnee, Lakota, Potawatomi, Ojibway, Algonquin, Mississauga and Mohawk. 

A Recognized Elder and acknowledged by Vern Harper, and Philip is also is a member of Moose Deer Point First Nation, shares important Indigenous oral histories about the Star Knowledge in connection to constellations and the moon. These oral histories were passed down to Philip through his ancestors, and traditional Elders: Ojibway Elder Edward Benton Banai, Cree Elder Joe Couture, Lakota Elder Floyd Looks For Buffalo Hand, Lakota Elder Jimmy Dubrey, Lakota Elder Chief Oliver Red Cloud, Navajo Elder Leon Secatero, Ojibway Elder Dr. Duke Redbird and “The Urban Elder” Vern Harper (Cree) and Ojibway Elder Basil Johnson also including elders from research Ojibway Elder James Redsky and Ojibway Elder Stewart King. 

Philip is a Sundancer, Pipe Carrier and Sweat Ceremony Leader. Philip Cote’s spirit name is (Noodjmowin) “The Healer” Misko-gayaashk “Red-Seagull” 

and Philip is a member of the Falseface and Eagle Societies. 

Philip is also a tour guide with “First Story”, since 2005 providing an Indigenous history of Toronto covering the last 13,500 years and as far back as 130,000 years this includes star knowledge and Ojibway Cosmology. 

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Rhonda Head is from the Opaskwayak Cree Nation in northern Manitoba, Canada.  Rhonda is a Mezzo-Soprano and has released five albums to date, numerous singles, and is currently working on her sixth album.  Rhonda has received 16 nominations in total and won six international music awards since she began her music career in 2010.  She writes her lyrics in her Indigenous Cree Language, and composes her melodies based off the landscape in her home reserve of Opaskwayak Cree Nation. 

www.rhondahead.com

Sandra Sutter is an award winning Cree Métis recording artist, songwriter, musician. poet and filmmaker who writes, records and performs in multiple genres encompassing roots music; including Native Americana, folk, country, pop, jazz, blues and rock.

Raised in a loving non-Indigenous family, Sandra affirmed and embraced her ancestral and cultural roots later in life. Like many displaced Indigenous people, honouring her proud cultural roots is important to a woman whose birth heritage was lost through time and circumstance. Sandra’s culture influences her every step through life and she has grown into an active and passionate advocate for Indigenous traditions and rights. Her life journey in both the non-Indigenous and Indigenous worlds has given her a unique perspective and opportunity to bring people together through her songs of reconciliation.

2022 sees a return to live performances concurrently with Ms. Sutter’s debut as a Film Producer with her short film about women’s empowerment, A Woman’s Voice. Sutter also released her new single, Midnight Serenade, featured in the short film, in June.

2021’s efforts include a collaboration with Vince Fontaine and the release of ‘Storyteller’ on the Indian City Code Red album released in November and the release of the collaborative Cluster Stars Song Book. Sandra’s 2020 Christmas Release, Aurora 12 Songs for the Season, builds on the theme of her truth and reconciliation focused 2017 release, Cluster Stars; sharing stories about the culture, history, challenges, strength, beauty and resilience of Indigenous Peoples. Aurora 12 is a mix of 8 original songs along with 4 traditional Christmas songs presented in a way that only the award-winning singer-song writer can deliver.

21 Industry nominations in the last three years include wins for two 2022 ISSMA’s (Best Folk and Best Spiritual), a 2021 SSIMA (Best Métis Artist/Group of the Year), a 2018 NAMA (Best Americana) and 2019 IMA (Best Producer/Engineer). Ms. Sutter also received an Esquao Award (Arts) from the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women, an Aboriginal Role Model of Alberta (Arts) Award and a WXN Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada Award.

One of the songs from Cluster Stars, Song of Heaven, is featured in a short film by Tito Gomez and Barb Briggs called ‘The Healing’ that Sandra debuted as an actor in. Indian in the Child, another Cluster Stars piece, is featured in a theatre production, ‘New Blood, the Dance Show’. One of Ms. Sutter’s reconciliation focused poems, She Is, is published in Sheri-D Wilson’s 2020 legacy Poetry book, YYC Pop.

Sandra is the Aboriginal Partnerships Manager for PTW Energy and sits on several Indigenous serving boards and committees across Canada. She lives and breathes the concepts that she thinks, speaks and sings about every day.

www.sandrasutter.com

Sara Dawn Nungos Cornthwaite is a content creator from Nipissing First Nation and is currently living and working in Toronto. She is a cinematographer and photographer, helping to bring projects full circle with editing and animating. With over nine years of professional experience, she frequents television sets and broadcast productions, along with solo videography and documentary work. 

With a love for people and travel, her work has taken her around the world. Often travelling as a solo camera operator, she documents stories from a global perspective. She’s also taken her passion back home, to work with her community to share important stories and teachings. 

Her content has been featured online and in television programming, across radio platforms, digital billboards, and concert arenas. Her photography has been published in branded packaging, books, magazines, newspaper, and digital articles across North America. 

Sara strives to tell meaningful stories in a beautiful way. 

www.saracornthwaite.com

Sebastian Gaskin is a multi-instrumentalist R&B singer-songwriter based in Winnipeg, Canada, who grew up in Tataskweyak Cree Nation, or Split Lake as it’s better known. Sebastian writes and self produces music that is anything but formulaic, thanks to eclectic musical tastes in R&B, Hip Hop, Metal,and Punk. The Winnipeg Free Press says: “…think Post Malone mixed with Frank Ocean, all swag and smooth vocals, hits of hip-hop and rap, rounded out with emotive thoughtful lyrics.”. 

Following the release of Gaskin’s debut EP, “Contradictions”, on their own imprint, LieBoy Concepts, Sebastian made some impressive strides. Gaskin headlined a cross-Canada club tour, and made appearances at established festivals throughout the country, including Festival du voyageur, Canadian Music Week, Interstellar Rodeo, and Calgary Stampede. They have supported artists like Common, T-Pain, and has toured supporting the iconic songwriter and activist Buffy Sainte-Marie. Sebastian frequently collaborates with DJ and producer, Boogey the Beat. 

www.sebastiangaskin.com

Shadow Colomb AKA Shadow Xtreme came into the wrestling ring by way of Pukatawagan, Manitoba. Shadow trained to be a Pro Wrestler in 2008 and has pursued a long career in professional wrestling across Canada. He has entertained crowds with his technical and high-flying wrestling action as seen on MTV Canada, Vice TV, and many other TV programs across North America. 

In 2013, Shadow saw a void in the market and launched the first 100% First Nations-owned wrestling company known as Northern Empire Wrestling (NEW). Through NEW he continues to travel across Canada hosting live wrestling events and anti-bullying workshops, working closely with youth promoting positive and healthy life choices. 

He understands the experiences of growing up on a reservation and made a goal to inspire and give hope to First Nations youth. He continues to work very hard to motivate everyone around him through his work in filmmaking, music, and pro wrestling training. 

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ShoShona is an Anishinaabekwe community organizer, producer, activist, & international touring artist with the JUNO award winning band, DIGGING ROOTS. 

In 2018 ShoShona was recognized for her work with the Professional Excellence Award from WOMEX, “for her role in the ongoing revolution, using the medium of music as an agent of change, to awaken our humanity and help us connect”. 

She is the founder and Artistic Director of the International Indigenous Music Summit, and she serves as President on the Board of Directors for Folk Music Canada. 

www.diggingrootsmusic.com

I am a survivor of St Paul’s Indian Day School from 1966-1968 and Sechelt Residential School from 1968-1971. Born and raised on Eslha7an Reservation in North Vancouver, BC. Both my parents are Residential School survivors as both set of grandparents. My late wife was also a Residential School survivor, so our children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren are inter-generational survivors. 

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Tanya Talaga is Ojibwe with roots in Fort William First Nation in Ontario, Canada.  She worked as a journalist at the Toronto Star for more than twenty years and has been nominated five times for the Michener Award in public service journalism. Talaga holds an honorary Doctor of Letters from Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, and shares her expertise on the boards of PEN Canada and The Narwal. Tanya is the President and CEO of Makwa Creative, a production company focussed on Indigenous storytelling. 

Tanya is the acclaimed author of Seven Fallen Feathers, which was the winner of the RBC Taylor Prize, the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing, and First Nation Communities Read: Young Adult/Adult. The book was also a finalist for the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Nonfiction Prize and the BC National Award for Nonfiction, and it was CBC’s Nonfiction Book of the Year, a Globe and Mail Top 100 Book, and a national bestseller. 

Tanya was named the 2017–2018 Atkinson Fellow in Public Policy and this series resulted in her new book, All Our Relations: Finding A Path Forward, Tanya shared the messages of this book through the Massey Lectures 2018 across Canada.  This book was a finalist for the Hilary Weston Writer’s Trust Prize for Non-Fiction in 2019. All Our Relations has also been published and released in the United Kingdom and Australia under the title, All Our Relations: Indigenous Trauma in the Shadow of Colonialism.  The book will be released in French in 2020. 

She lives in Toronto with her two teenage children, but her heart is in northern Ontario.  Her great-grandmother, Liz Gauthier, was a residential school survivor. Her great-grandfather, Russell Bowen, was an Ojibwe trapper and labourer. Her grandmother is a member of Fort William First Nation, and her mother was raised in Raith and Graham, Ontario. 

www.ttalaga.ca 

The Poets are a band that is based in Moose Factory / Moosonee in northern Ontario.   They first got their start in 2018 at local community art and music festival called The Gathering of Our People.   

Band members include guitarists Clint Hamilton, Rob Carter, bassist Jon Kapashesit, keys Oscar Hamilton, drummer Paul Chakasim and rounding it off is lead singer Vic Linklater.   

All the guys reside in Moose Factory and Moosonee.   Vic saw an opportunity to start something to support Gord Downie’s cause of reconciliation in the wonderful unity that is the Downie Wenjack Fund.    

The band continued into 2021 and beyond with their passion for building bridges and creating partnerships with Indigenous and non-indigenous people and communities across Ontario in the spirit of Gord, Chanie and reconciliation.  

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Theland Kicknosway is an Indigenous youth trailblazer who utilizes his voice to spread his message and showcase Indigenous culture. He is wolf clan from the Potawatomi and Cree Nations and is a member of Walpole Island, Bkejwanong Territory. 

Theland has gained recognition in the Indigenous community and worldwide as a traditional singer, drummer, dancer, activist & influencer. In 2018, Theland became the youngest Indspire Laureate named for Culture, Heritage, and Spirituality. His path-breaking efforts have been highlighted by Nike, Disney, BBC and been mentioned in Teen Vogue, Entertainment Tonight, and Complex. In his 19th year in the Physical World, Theland continues to shine.   

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Singer / Songwriter Vern Cheechoo grew up in Moose Factory, Ontario, a small community on an island on the Moose River, about 200 miles away from the nearest town, with his parents, three brothers and five sisters. Vern is a proud member of the Moose Cree First Nation, and presently resides in Timmins, Ontario. 

Self-taught, Vern started playing guitar at the age of six. He would watch his brothers play and would later try and reproduce what he saw and heard—he was a natural. By the age of eight he was chording for his father, who was entering Vern in talent shows. Vern has come a long way in the music business. From playing in talent shows to playing such venues as the Mariposa Music Festival, Massey Hall, London Home County Folk Festival, North Dakota Arena, Winnipeg Park Theatre, Toronto Danforth Hall, Harbor Front, Toronto North By Northeast, Vancouver’s Music West, Northern Lights Music Festival, Chapleau’ s Nature Fest, Montreal’s First peoples Music Festival, to name a few and opening shows with the likes of Bruce Cockburn, Indigo Girls, Buffy Ste. Marie, Jim Witter, Don Burnstick, Kashtin, and sharing the stage with artists like, long-time friend Lawrence Martin, Kevin Welch, Joe Ely, the Spence Boys, Valdy, Willie P. Bennett, and many, many more. 

Vern has three solo recordings to date. His first release “Lonesome and Hurting” released in 1993 and was an innovative and contemporary collection of country songs and ballads. Vern was featured on CBC-TV’s “Ear to the Ground”, 1993 season—a show that profiles rising Canadian musicians. The single “Lonesome and Hurting” was featured on the popular CBS television series “Northern Exposure”. Vern also made an appearance in “Dance Me Outside” a Bruce McDonald and Norman Jewison movie that also featured the title cut “Lonesome and Hurting” and “Love Me Tonight” as part of the movie’s soundtrack. 

Vern’s second and third releases garnered more attention receiving Nominations, twice for the Juno Awards in 2000 and 2003. Vern is also a two-time Saskatchewan Country Music Award Nominee and 7 times Aboriginal Music Award Nominee, and a winner at the 2000 Aboriginal Music Awards for the Best Produced Album of the year. Vern says, “It’s the love of music and entertaining folks, the fans, that keep me going and I’ll keep going until I can’t play or sing no more”. 

Email: verncheechoo@mushkegowuk.ca

Allan and Christian Nabinacaboo are brothers from the Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach, a small community in the northern borderlands of Quebec and Labrador, and are founders of the rap group, Violent Ground. The group’s name is inspired by the history of the land we live on, and issues indigenous people face, such as drug addiction, alcoholism, colonialism, racism, crimes, and violence. They want to give a voice to all native people through their music. They are composers and lyricists who aim to enlighten and inspire crowds with powerful lyrics and their unique brand of music.   

wwww.violentground.com

Kwey kwey, Wahjay, I am Algonquin / Cree from Timiskaming First Nation. My workshops and inspirational talks are a culmination of what I have learned through various life experiences. In 1992 I went to a native treatment center in Thunder Bay. There I learned the Anishnabe way of life, and how to live without drugs and alcohol. Several years went by and a couple of artist friends taught me how to paint and stretch canvas. This started me on another new journey where I began selling art across North America and parts of Europe. I took a break from creating art and worked in the mines in Northern Ontario for a few years, later transitioning into a position as elected Chief of Timiskaming First Nation. After stepping aside from the 2019 summer election, I picked up my paint brushes again. I find painting to be therapeutic and enlightening.   

Meegwetch.  

www.lineagearts.ca/wayne-mckenzie

Wesley Hardisty is a fiddler and composer whose music blends rock, country, folk, Celtic, Métis and Traditional sounds. His passionate playing is compelling to watch, his love of music evident. 

Wesley is from the Dene First Nation in the Northwest Territories. Largely self-taught, he took up the fiddle at age thirteen in Fort Simpson through the outreach work of the Kole Crook Fiddle Association. He attended the prestigious Gulf Islands School of Performing Arts on Saltspring Island BC. 

His debut CD 12:12 won the 2012 Aboriginal People’s Choice Music Award for Best Fiddle CD. Just 26, he has an impressive resume with hundreds of gigs, festivals, and TV performances. Wesley creates emotionally evocative music and is a soulful musician and inspiring young man.

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Willie Thrasher is an Inuvialuit singer-songwriter from Aklavik, Northwest Territories. At five, Thrasher was taken from his family and sent to a series of residential schools where he was forbidden to practice his traditional culture. In the mid-1960s, he co-founded the Cordells, one of the first Inuit rock and roll bands. With Willie behind the drum kit, the group performed contemporary hits by the Rolling Stones and the Kinks at community venues across the north. One evening, a stranger recommended that the Cordells tap into their Aboriginal roots for inspiration instead of the charts. This prompted Thrasher to pick up a guitar and write original material about his life, family, region, and environment. In 1981, he released his debut album, Spirit Child, via the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). For the last 15 years, Willie has been based out of Nanaimo, B.C. and performs with his singing partner Linda Saddleback. Thrasher’s music was featured on the Light in The Attic’s GRAMMY®- nominated Native North America (Vol. 1): Aboriginal Folk, Rock, and Country 1966- 1985 compilation in 2014 while 2015 saw the re-release of Spirit Child. Most recently, Willie’s 1994 Sunshine Records album, Indian/Inuit Country, has been made available in 2022 through Voluntary in Nature. Having performed across Turtle Island and as far away as London, England, Willie, and Linda are excited to share their musical heartbeat and history with audiences around the world.  

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Eight years into the story of Wolf Saga, electropop polymath Johnny Saga is ready to debut himself-titled LP. A 2018 JUNO Masterclass Finalist who was named RBC Canada Emerging Artist in 2017, Saga’s dreamlike synths dynamize as they soothe, offering a matured take on the affable bangers of the 2010s—MGMT, Daft Punk, Justice and Boyz Noize come to mind, with the wisdom of a decade in between. Wolf Saga was named to honor the spirit of the wolf—a loyal protector of loved ones that holds special meaning in Saga’s Ojibwe culture. With this album, generous in its wisdom and lavish in its fun, Saga is on a quest to give listeners a reason to dance, but jokes that it’s not all bottle service and strobe lights. The album’s songs, guided by the unwavering presence of Saga’s father, who passed away in 2019, were inspired by important causes, such as Black Lives Matter and support for Indigenous land defenders. Saga wants listeners to pay attention. He also wants to ignite our imaginations, comfort our memories, and to help us envision a resilient tomorrow. 

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