Ignite the Arts Festival Weekend

Indigenous Artists for this Event!

• Digging Roots

  Digging Roots

  [Anishinaabe]

  Digging Roots breathe life into songs from their land, Turtle Island, to raise their voices in solidarity with a global chorus of Indigenous artists, activists and change-makers. For over a decade, JUNO Award winners Digging Roots have traveled the world with a joyful message of resistance, celebrating Anishinabe and Onkwehonwe traditions of round dance and interconnectedness interwoven with the bedrock sounds of blues, soul and rock n’ roll.

  [Anishinaabe]

• Hayley Wallis

  Hayley Wallis

  [Kitasoo/Xais’xais]

  The rich textured tone of singer songwriter Hayley Wallis’ voice has an unmistakable confidence that is immediately recognizable. Hayley delivers a powerful emotional performance that evokes a response as dynamic as her vocal range. She is part of the Kitasoo/Xais’xais Nation, originally from Klemtu, a small isolated island located in the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia. Hayley is well on her way to breaking into the scene with her debut single coffee cup, a relatable soulful pop anthem about mental health and reaching out for help.

  She began her musical journey at a young age, singing for her family and community, and credits their support for developing the passion she now has. Moving from her home in pursuit of her artistic aspirations, she now resides in Vancouver, BC, balancing work life and family life as a young mother while steadily focused on her musical goals. Hayley has amassed tens of thousands of views on her YouTube cover videos and has worked hard to refine her original songs to release on major platforms. She is working on her highly anticipated EP set for release in spring 2022.

  Hayley is passionate about leaving a strong legacy and paving a path along her way. She sings for herself, for her children and for her people and hopes to set an example that will empower the young generation of her community to pursue their dreams.

  [Kitasoo/Xais’xais]

• Hujune

  Hujune

  [Dakelh]

  Hujunē is comprised of Dakelh sisters Kumbayaz Dennis (flute, vocals) and Sabina Dennis (guitar, vocals). Tying activism and lyricism together the sisters have continued to be a strong presence in the grassroots activist community as well as a strong presence on stage as they perform their all original Dakelh contemporary music.

  Sabina Dennis-Luksil yoo (Caribou Clan)
  Kumbayaz Dennis-Luksil yoo (Caribou Clan)

  [Dakelh]

• Kiva MH

  Kiva MH

  [Secwepemc/ Nuu-Chah-Nulth]

  Kiva Morgan-Hall is a Secwepemc/Nuu-Chah-Nulth youth grounded through the roots of his people. He started his artistic solo and collaborative journey with The Melawmen Collective at the age of 7 years old, as a participant of their workshops (visual, song writing), then as a youth facilitator, and later as a working lyricist of the group as an early teen.

  He is a trained traditional cultural Nuu-Chah-Nulth dancer and performer, and his young wisdom shines through his verses, time and time again, relating to all generations.

  [Secwepemc/ Nuu-Chah-Nulth]

• Saltwater Hank

  Saltwater Hank

  [Gitga’at/Tsimshian]

  A member of the Gitga’at community, Tsimshian folk artist Saltwater Hank resurrects stories of the land, loss and absurd circumstance and shines them through a sepia lens, witnessing ageless characters with hearts and lives on the line. Historically speaking, many have come and gone before us without broad notice, despite having made significant impacts during their lives.
  These are the stories that Saltwater Hank sinks his teeth into, spinning them into timeless folk songs with a penchant for a jig.

  Saltwater Hank’s debut album, Stories From the Northwest, is a recording built upon the influence of Hanks before him. Saltwater Hank’s father Henry (also known as Hank) was his first and most influential exposure to music, and instilled in him a deep curiosity and love for the craft. Born in Prince Rupert, Saltwater Hank’s earliest memories of gingerly strumming his father’s guitar strings, to hearing him, his grandfather and uncles perform the songs of Hank Williams Sr. and other country favourites, the influence of these formative experiences is clear when listening to Saltwater Hank.

  Recorded reel-to-reel in the basement of a church in Prince George, BC with some of the province’s best players, Stories From the Northwest is a collection of expertly played tunes with a nostalgic familiarity and a progressive tone. Recruiting Danny Bell and Amy Blanding (fellow members of retired folk-rock project, Black Spruce Bog), to accompany him on the album along with other esteemed Northern artists Naomi Kavka, Big Fancy, Brin Porter and Chloe Nakahara, Together not only as musical cohorts but as friends too, the album portrays their chemistry and camaraderie, all captured through a single ribbon microphone, true to the methods of eras gone by.

  [Gitga’at/Tsimshian]

• The Melawmen Collective

  The Melawmen Collective

  [Secwepemc/ Nuu-Chah-Nulth/ Nlaka’pamux]

  A contemporary Indigenous alternative fusion woven together with elements of hip/trip-hop, rock/folk, righteous rhymes and rich harmonies, carried through with experience, manifestation, and visions of intergenerational stories of pain and healing. The Melawmen Collective brings a uniqueness to their sound like no other, drawing in a wide variety of listeners through sharing their own journeys of life through their musical evolution together. ‘Melawmen’ means medicine in the Secwepemc language, and the unceded territory of the Secwepemc People in what is now known as BC, is where co-founders Meeka Morgan (vocals, Secwepemc/Nuu-Chah-Nulth), Rob Hall (Vocals, Ghengis Ghandi’s, Ashcroft), Geo Ignace aka Geo The Voice (Vocals, Secwepemc/Cree), and Kiva Morgan-Hall (Vocals, Secwepemc/Nuu-Chah-Nulth), continue to grow. The collective is honoured to be joined by Cass Gregg (Bass, Tŝilhqot’in) and Victor Laso (Drums, Republic of Chile).

  URL https://themelawmencollective.bandcamp.com/

  [Secwepemc/ Nuu-Chah-Nulth/ Nlaka’pamux]

• The Spiritual Warriors

  The Spiritual Warriors

  [Lil’wat]

  The internationally acclaimed music group, The Spiritual Warriors, create music inspired by the land and life in the coastal mountains of the Lil’wat Nation. With their unique blend of indigenous chants and contemporary roots, rock, reggae, the Spiritual Warriors are distinctly west coast. The band perform most of their songs in Ucwalmícwts and are passionate about preserving and promoting their language and culture. The uplifting reggae rhythm only underlines the beautiful harmonizing of the vocals sung bilingually in English and Ucwalmícwts the Lil’wat language. The Spiritual Warriors, formerly known as Kalan Wi, are led by father and daughter, Leroy (vocals, guitar) and Daisy Joe(vocals) and accompanied by founding member Rich Doucet on drums, Mike Rowe on Bass, Cuyler Biller on guitar, Quentin De Lorenzis on keys and Leonard Fisher on percussion. The band regularly collaborates with other first nation artists and musicians to write and perform live. Ancestors’ their debut album was released in 2019 and has received 4 nominations at the Native American Music Awards in New York and won for Best World Recording. This truly unique band will take you on a cultural journey to the natural heartbeat of the Indigenous drum and the St’at’imc people.

  URL https://thespiritualwarriors.ca/

  [Lil’wat]