Remix 2 Resilience – The Confluence

Indigenous Artists for this Event!

• Butterflies In Spirit

  Butterflies In Spirit

  [Skatin/Sts’Ailes]

  Butterflies in Spirit: Dance, Healing, & MMIWG builds on the years of community healing work Lorelei Williams has done with her dance group, Butterflies in Spirit. Founded in 2012, Butterflies in Spirit is a Vancouver based dance group consisting of family members of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG).

  [Skatin/Sts’Ailes]

• Curtis Clear Sky and the Constellationz

  Curtis Clear Sky and the Constellationz

  [Blackfoot/Anishinabe/ Maori/Guarani]

  Curtis Clear Sky and the Constellationz captivate audiences with their funky rhythms, thundering percussion, blasting horns, soulful harmonies with empowering lyrics that gratify your soul. Their highly-engaging performance will make you “bump with the booming blasting blare”, “you’ll be moving your feet like you don‘t care”. You can find Curtis Clear Sky and the Constellationz latest album Indigifunk that features Juno Award winning Mohawk Bluesman Murray Porter on their single “Turtle Island”. Indigifunk is available on all digital streaming platforms including Spotify and Apple music. In 2020 Curtis Clear Sky and the Constellationz are developing a new album with super talented Indigenous musician Beaver Thomas and they will highlight news songs at the upcoming 2 Rivers Remix Virtual Feast show.

  [Blackfoot/Anishinabe/ Maori/Guarani]

• DAWN MORRISON

  DAWN MORRISON

  [Secwepemc]

  Dawn Morrison is of the Secwepemc Nation and Director of the Working Group on Indigenous Food Sovereignty (WGIFS). Dawn is the Founder, Chair and Coordinator of the B.C. Food Systems Networking Group on Indigenous Food Sovereignty. In the years away from her ancestral Secwepemc (Shuswap) community, Dawn’s work in various capacities throughout her 20 year long career in Horticulture has literally kept her in touch with her Indigenous roots through applying an ecological approach to studying and working with plants. Her Secwepemc heritage along with her technical and practical background in horticulture and ethonobotany, as well as her passion for environmental and cultural revitalization lead her to a long lasting career in Aboriginal adult education and community self-development.

  [Secwepemc]

• Ecko Aleck

  Ecko Aleck

  [Nlakapamux]

  Ecko Aleck is from the Nlaka’pamux nation – Grizzly Bear clan, living on Pentlatch territory on Vancouver Island. Ecko is the artist and visionary behind Sacred Matriarch Productions. Initially launching her performing artistry with her english name Ecko, she is transitioning to take the stage as “Sacred Matriarch” for future shows and performances.

  Sacred Matriarch music can be described as the bridging between the ancestral world and modern times with a spicy addition of BIPOC truth-bombs woven with Indigenous hip hop or as Ecko likes to call it – IndigeHop.
  Ecko’s first EP launched December, 2019 and her next album is in the works for a release date later this fall/winter.

  [Nlakapamux]

• Eekwol

  Eekwol

  [Muskoday/Cree]

  Eekwol (Lindsay Knight) is an award-winning hip hop performing artist in Saskatoon, Treaty Six Territory, originally from Muskoday First Nation. Eekwol has been making music for many years. Her 5th full-length album titled, Good Kill was released in 2017 and the single,”Pitiful feat. 2oolman” made it to the #1 spot on the National Aboriginal Music Countdown and charted in Sirius Radio and numerous college and community stations and streaming site playlists. For 2019, she successfully received a Canada Council grant and completed a concept project with fellow lyricist, T-Rhyme titled, For Women By Women.

  Eekwol uses her music and words to spread messages of resistance, revolution and keeping the language, land and culture alive for the next generations. Through her original sound she displays her activist roots by living and creating as a supporter of both Hip Hop and Indigenous culture and rights. She is currently working towards her PhD Degree at University of Saskatchewan, which she has taken along with her many years of dedication to hip hop and created something unique and astounding to give back to the community.

  Along with motherhood, music and academic work, Eekwol frequently works with young people across the country as a mentor and helper. She achieves this through performances, workshops, speaking events, conferences and programs.

  [Muskoday/Cree]

• Hasaatuk

  Hasaatuk

  [Nuu-Chah-Nulth]

  Hasaatuk (Kalilah Rampanen) comes from the western coast of British Columbia, Canada. Her heritage stems from the nuu_aan_u_ (Nuu-chah-nulth) territory on western Vancouver Island, Woodland Cree near Fort McMurray and Finnish ancestry. Kalilah’s music explores a diverse range of indigenous, environmental and social horizons that combine a blend of acoustic, blues and alternative styles of expression. Her passion for music took root at an early age that has blossomed into a trifecta of strong, melodious vocals, captivating guitar riffs and, a meaningful message.

  In addition to her musical path, Kailah is actively involved in activism and advocacy for the protection and preservation of Indigenous lands, culture and language. Kalilah has participated in a wide variety of campaigns that raise awareness of environmental devastation caused by mining, oil extraction, deforestation, climate justice and aquaculture. She uses her music to shed light upon the interconnectedness that is maintained through ancestral, indigenous roots to the lands and waters and she maintains a lifestyle that keeps her connected to her traditional territories, culture and family.

  [Nuu-Chah-Nulth]

• James McGuire

  James McGuire

  [Haida]

  Sgaan Kwahagang James McGuire is of the G̲aag’yals K̲iiG̲awaay Skedans Raven clan and a citizen of the Haida Nation. The lessons of his ancestors inform a balanced way of interacting with the natural world. James expresses this passion through many avenues: as a musician with Haida rock and roll trio Jason Camp and The Posers; as an award winning production designer and props manager on Sgaawaay K’uuna edge of the knife, a feature length film in the Haida language; a cultural singer and dancer with Hltaaxuulang Gud ad K’aaju; a student of Haida oral histories; and working in collections, conservation, and repatriation at the Saahlinda Naay Haida Gwaii Museum.

  [Haida]

• Janet Rogers

  Janet Rogers

  [Mohawk/Tuscarora]

  Janet Rogers is a Mohawk/Tuscarora writer from Six Nations of the Grand River. She was born in Vancouver British Columbia in 1963 and raised in southern Ontario. Janet traveled throughout 2017-2019 working within numerous residencies in Vancouver BC, Santa Fe NM and Edmonton AB. Janet is based on the Six Nations territory of the Grand River where she operates the Ojistoh Publishing label. Janet works in page poetry, spoken word performance poetry, video poetry and recorded poetry with music. She is a radio broadcaster, documentary producer and media and sound artist.

  [Mohawk/Tuscarora]

• Jason Camp & The Posers

  Jason Camp & The Posers

  [Haida]

  Jason Camp and The Posers plays what has been dubbed Post-Colonial Rage Rock. The band consists of three Haida madmen: SG_aan Kwah.

  Agang (James McGuire) is on vocals and guitar, Jaahljuu (Graham Richard) rockets away on his drum kit and Jonny Begel hypes up the crowd.

  We write and sing about life on Haida Gwaii, local legends, good times and indigenous struggle worldwide. Our debut EP Neat Times and Family Values gives a snapshot of our sound. Our first full length album First Contact is now released and available on all platforms.

  Both of us are from Haida Gwaii and are of Haida descent. The isolation of the islands we live on has created a hotbed of talented musicians with a DIY attitude, working together to make live shows and on-island recording happen. We have created a lively scene here and have taken our brand of mischief on tour from Skidegate Haida Gwaii to Brooklyn NY.

  On top of making our high energy, rage-filled, Punkabilly music we also both perform in a traditional Haida Dance group. We are experimenting with how to let our background in Haida Dance bleed through into our recordings and our live show.Haida tradition informs our lives in every way.

  [Haida]

• JB The First Lady

  JB The First Lady

  [Nuxalk/Onondaga]

  Jerilynn Webster, aka JB the First Lady, is a member of the Nuxalk & Onondaga Nations. She is a Vancouver-based hip hop and spoken word artist, beat-boxer, cultural dancer and youth educator.

  With four studio albums under her belt, JB sees her songs as a way of capturing oral history, and isn’t afraid to write lyrics that speak to challenging subjects like residential schools and missing and murdered indigenous women.

  [Nuxalk/Onondaga]

• Kevin Loring

  Kevin Loring

  [Nlaka’pamux]

  Kevin Loring – Artistic Director, Savage Society
  Kevin Loring is an accomplished Canadian playwright, actor and director and was the winner of the Governor General’s Award for English Language Drama for his outstanding play, Where the Blood Mixes in 2009. The play explores the intergenerational effects of the residential school system. It toured nationally and was presented at the National Arts Centre in 2010, when Loring was serving as the NAC’s Playwright in Residence.
  A Nlaka’pamux from the Lytton First Nation in British Columbia, Loring created the Songs of the Land project in 2012 in partnership with five separate organizations in his home community. The project explores 100-year-old audio recordings of songs and stories of the N’lakap’amux People. Loring has written four new plays based on his work with the community including Battle of the Birds, about domestic violence and power abuse, The Boy Who Was Abandoned, about youth and elder neglect, The Council of Spider, Ant & Fly that tackles themes of death and Words of our Chief, based on the 1910 Memorial from the Interior Chiefs to Sir Wilfred Laurier.
  A versatile artist and leader Loring has served as the co-curator of the Talking Stick Festival, as Artist in Residence at the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre, as Artistic Director of the Savage Society in Vancouver, as a Documentary Producer of Canyon War: The Untold Story, and as the Project Leader/Creator, and Director of the Songs of the Land project in his home community of Lytton First Nation Kevin is also the Artistic Director for Indigenous Theatre at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.

  Currently Kevin has been commissioned by Savage Society to write a new large scale work entitled Knaksht: The Helping Hand.

  [Nlaka’pamux]

• Kinnie Starr

  Kinnie Starr

  [Mohawk]

  JUNO-winner Kinnie Starr, a multi-threat songwriter, performer, visual artist, filmmaker and producer. Starr is a trailblazing female Indigenous artist with her unique blend of conscious hiphop and groove driven pop.

  [Mohawk]

• Kinwa Bluesky

  Kinwa Bluesky

  [Bear Clan/Anishinaabe]

  Kinwa Bluesky is Bear Clan and Anishinaabe from the Sandy Lake First Nation and Kitigan Zibi Anishinaabeg. She comes with sacred feet, and now lives softly on the unceded, traditional territory, and homelands of the Musqueam Peoples.

  Professionally, Kinwa is an Indigenous legal advocate who is committed to implementing equitable law, governance, and rights through social justice, Indigenous, and human rights-based initiatives.
  Kinwa works to support our collective civic responsibilities to implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action and Principles, the UN and BC’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, and more recently, the Calls for Justice in the Final Report of the Inquiry into the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

  She holds Juris Doctorate and Master of Laws degrees and is currently a Ph.D. Candidate at UVic’s Faculty of Law. Kinwa is a traditional storyteller, Peloton online athlete, and Master Lego Builder.

  [Bear Clan/Anishinaabe]

• Kym Gouchie

  Kym Gouchie

  [Lheidli T’enneh/ Cree/Secwépemc]

  With ancestral roots in the Lheidli T’enneh, Cree and Secwépemc Nations, KYM GOUCHIE is fostering change through her music and art. Her music brings awareness to First Nations and women’s issues, promoting reconciliation and authentic community engagement. Her stories are a testament to the human spirit, weaving together threads of her own journey from personal tragedy to triumph. Kym’s traditional hand drum, clean, crisp acoustic guitar and full-bodied voice make her a powerful force. Indigenous-folk, and country tones alongside poignant and inspirational lyrics capture the hearts of young and old — her genuine and heartfelt performances have a profound and sometimes emotional impact on their audience. Throughout the pandemic, Kym has found beauty in the ability to connect with people around the world with the click of a button. She sees herself as a bridge, connecting hearts and minds… reminding us that we’re all in this together.

  [Lheidli T’enneh/ Cree/Secwépemc]

• Lacey Hill

  Lacey Hill

  [Oneida/Mohawk]

  Lacey Hill is Oneida/Mohawk of Six Nations of the Grand River Reservation, Wolf Clan. She is a singer/songwriter and inspirational speaker. Lacey went solo launching her debut album titled 528, independently, in 2013, which put her in the music scene and opened up the stage to perform her original songs. 2017 Her sophomore album 528 Volume II M has taken Lacey across Canada and on to international stages. 2018-19 Lacey traveled to New Zealand, Australia and UK, stage managing and providing original compositions for Tara Beagans’ theatre production DeerWoman. 2020, Lacey released and premiered “The Shiner” as a single for APTN’s Amplify series. 2021, Lacey is gearing up to release her 3rd album. Check her social medias for more details.

  [Oneida/Mohawk]

• Leela Gilday

  Leela Gilday

  [Dene]

  Apassionate singer/songwriter and soulful performer, Leela Gilday has a voice that comes straight from the heart. Confessing her stories to her audiences with a gutsy voice and open stage presence, Gilday weaves her experiences as a northerner, a member of the Dene Nation, and a traveler into a beautiful world that transports the listener.

  [Dene]

• Leroy Joe

  Leroy Joe

  [Lil’wat]

  Leroy Joe is a First Nations musician from The Lil’wat of the St’at’imc Nation. He has been playing guitar and writing songs for over 30 years. His most recent accomplishments include 2 awards and 8 nominations at the 2019 Native American Music Awards in Niagara Falls NY, USA. His band, The Spiritual Warriors won Best World and his other project, The Kindness Project won Best Historical/Linguistic. Leroy wrote the music and helped to produce both projects, his band Kalan Wi, also won for Best Historical/Linguistic in 2013 at the NAMA’s. Leroy blends the Lil’wat language and chanting style with reggae and world music to create a unique roots/rock sound, Leroy also plays many genre’s, including bluegrass, reggae, jazz, rock, folk and pop. Leroy has released four recordings in his career including a recording of the Lower St’at’imc people’s hand drum songs, a recording the people of St’at’imc use to learn the songs that where handed down from the ancestors.

  [Lil’wat]

• Lorelei Williams

  Lorelei Williams

  [Skatin/Sts’Ailes]

  Butterflies in Spirit: Dance, Healing, & MMIWG builds on the years of community healing work Lorelei Williams has done with her dance group, Butterflies in Spirit. Founded in 2012, Butterflies in Spirit is a dance group consisting of family members of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG).

  Lorelei Williams is a young single mom from the Skatin Nations on her mom side and Sts’Ailes on her dad’s side. To commemorate Aboriginal female victims of violence, Lorelei founded Butterflies in Spirit, an Indigenous women’s dance troupe, consisting of family members of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. To date, they have staged over 70 awareness-raising performances for organizations such as Amnesty International and Canada’s Assembly of First Nations.

  They have also traveled internationally performing at the International Women’s World Peace event in Bogota, Colombia. She started this dance group as a way to get attention to her missing Aunt Belinda Williams picture and honour her cousin Tanya Holyk who was murdered by serial killer Robert Pickton. Lorelei has volunteered at Vancouver’s Battered Women’s Support Services as a crisis line support worker. She is also an active member of the missing and murdered Indigenous women’s coalition.

  [Skatin/Sts’Ailes]

• Madelaine McCallum

  Madelaine McCallum

  [Metis]

  MADELAINE MCCALLUM is a dancer originally from Ile a la Crosse, Saskatchewan. Though she is well known for Métis dance (she’s been jigging since she could walk!), she enjoys all forms including Pow Wow, contemporary, Hip Hop and just movement from the soul. Madelaine has performed for many stages. Performing was a natural progression into choreographing her first solo piece which includes Powwow dancing, contemporary and Metis Jigging.

  Through many performance’s with her solo piece and collaborating with many dance/theatre companies such as Compaigni Vni Dansi, Dancing Earth and Full Circle etc. Her passion for dance has taken her all over Canada. Madelaine is currently one of the choreographers for Butterflies in Spirit, a dance group made up of family members of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. Founded by Lorelei Williams. Madelaine has a passion for sharing her knowledge of dance and culture.

  Madelaine also shares her story of survival and how dance has been her outlet and savior throughout her life. Her belief in sharing knowledge with her community to empower and strengthen them and her deep love of dance and firm belief in its healing powers, for the audience as well as the dancer, is what makes Madelaine McCallum such a name to look out for!

  [Metis]

• Marcel Gagnon

  Marcel Gagnon

  [Lheidli Tenneh]

  Marcel Gagnon is a local musician and elder member of the Lheidli Tenneh Band. Although he’s achieved national recognition as a Juno finalist, Olympic performer and an Elder in Residence at UNBC, he is certain his most fulfilling accomplishment is his connection to family. He lives off the grid and spends his time writing and helping people in need. Marcel feels his music has deepened over time and now writes from his soul.

  [Lheidli Tenneh]

• Miss Christie Lee

  Miss Christie Lee

  [Musqueam]

  Musqueam hip-hop artist Christie Lee Charles is Vancouver’s first Indigenous poet laureate. She raps as Miss Christie Lee, and champions poetry, language and arts, and elevating the role of Host Nation and urban Indigenous poetry and cultural practices.

  Christie Lee Charles, 33, who incorporates traditional knowledge, stories and ancient Musqueam dialect into her music, is the daughter of Henry Charles, a well-known Musqueam elder and storyteller who died last year, and during her speech to council Tuesday she highlighted her father’s work as the elder for the DUDES Club, a support group for men in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

  Her project is to connect the greater Vancouver poetic scene and the public to this history of local Indigenous communities, language and lands we live on today,” said Charles. “It will create new relationships and help elevate the beautiful and cultural understandings of my people. This will empower the young people from Indigenous communities and give them a path for creative expression.”

  “I started off with poetry in elementary and high school, and then it kind of just turned into rapping, and now it’s back into poetry, it’s all the same style,” she said. “Rapping and studying our language and our culture, that’s the most exciting thing for me.”

  [Musqueam]

• Ms.PANIK

  Ms.PANIK

  [Haida]

  Lyrical Wisdom, Looped Melodies & Rhythm.
  Turn up your inner Freq* with Award-nominated Haida loop-poet, interdisciplinary artist & producer Ms.PAN!K. Experimental loop-pedal-driven soundscapes merge and mix vocal elements, traditional drum, guitar, and percussion all overlaid with poignant lyrics to satiate and meditate on. Haida wisdom is woven with multiple genres; PAN!K explores live PA and production tangling indie and folk roots with elements of hip hop, spoken word & Indigenous soul.
  2019 Western Canadian Music Award Nominee for “Spiritual Artist of the Year.”
  Ms.PAN!K is originally from the unceded territory of her Xaayda Ancestors on Haida Gwaii she is of the K̲aayahl ‘Laanaas Clan. PAN!K works, lives, plays and writes tunes on the unceded ancestral territory of the Tla-o-qui-aht & Nuu-chah-nulth Nations.

  URL https://www.panikdanyk-music.com/epk-media

  [Haida]

• Nigit’stil Norbert

  Nigit’stil Norbert

  [Gwich’in]

  Nigit’stil Norbert is a multidisciplinary artist, land defender and advocate. She was born and raised in Denendeh/Yellowknife, NT. In 2019 she planted her Gwich’in roots in their ancestral home of Inuvik, NT. In 2013, she graduated from OCAD University with a Bachelor Degree of Fine Arts in Photography. Norbert started her graphic recording and illustrative services to give voice to individuals, community and organizations to amplify good work. Within her art, and within her life, she likes to speak simply, honestly and without fear.

  [Gwich’in]

• Ostwelve

  Ostwelve

  [Sto:lo/Nlaka’pamux]

  Emcee Ron Dean Harris aka Ostwelve, is a Stolo/Nlaka’pamux multimedia artist based in Vancouver, BC.
  As hip-hop artist Ostwelve, he has performed in numerous festivals and has opened for acts such as Guru, K’naan, and Snoop DoggRon got his start with professional graphic design at the age of 14 after submitting a design to a Vancouver-based skateboard company “Arson” and got this design printed. In the same year he began co-hosting the “When Spirits Whisper” on CO-OP Radio 100.5 FM (formerly 102.7 FM).

  In the past years he’s worked on number of projects, most prominently as an actor and composer for APTN/Showcase dramatic series “Moccasin Flats” for two seasons as a performer and a lead character, and in the subsequent film project “Moccasin Flats: Redemption” in 2007. As well, he was the lead composer for APTN children’s Cree language series “Nehiyawetan: Let’s Speak Cree”.

  He has gone on to contribute music to TV series such as ARCTIC AIR, MOHAWK GIRLS, FIRST STORY, SKYE & CHANG and film projects like FIRE SONG, NUMBER 14, THE ROAD FORWARD, WINDIGO TALE and CEDAR & BAMBOO.

  In 2011, he was hired as Content Manager for RPM.fm, an Indigenous music culture website based out of Vancouver. The website focuses on bringing the latest of Indigenous music culture to its audience, as well as a podcast series of which he was the host. The podcast was selected as the recipient of the United Nations DPI Gold Medal as well as being awarded a Silver Medal in the Culture & The Arts, Audio Podcast category at the New York Festivals Awards.

  Check out the podcasts here: http://rpm.fm/podcasts/

  Most recently, Ron is featured in the National Film Board musical documentary “The Road Forward”, directed by Marie Clements. https://www.nfb.ca/film/road_forward/Ron performed and emceed at 2RMX in 2019 and 2018.

  [Sto:lo/Nlaka’pamux]

• Russell Wallace

  Russell Wallace

  [Lil’wat]

  Russell Wallace is an award-winning composer, producer and traditional singer from the Lil’wat Nation. His music can be heard on soundtracks for film, television and theatre/dance productions across Canada and the U.S. Wallace is one of the founding members of the Aboriginal Writers Collective West Coast and is an alumnus of the UBC Creative Writing program. Wallace has written poetry, short fiction, theatre, and music theatre. Wallace was the artist in residence at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival in 2019, a guest programmer for Word Vancouver and was the artistic director for the Aboriginal Electronic Music Festival for a number of years.

  [Lil’wat]

• Sabina Dennis

  Sabina Dennis

  [Dakelh]

  Sabina Dennis sa hutni. Laksilyu dustoh.Nadleh Bunk’ut hasya. The music we perform as a group is called Hujunē which simply means those who sing. I was born of the indigenous resistance movement in the 70’s , momma was a hippy, spiritual, hard working, white descent father Dakelh A.I.M.ster, residential school survivor, son of medicine lines of our ancestors. The call of our sacred Mother Earth has always been in the forefront of my being. The songs I sing came through me and that is all, some feel deeply the messages and that is the purpose of performing for me. Intentions, awareness, presence all in the moment. We will never give up our cultural freedoms or inherent rights to a unified human autonomy. Awet Za.

  [Dakelh]

• 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]

• ShoShona Kish

  ShoShona Kish

  [Anishinaabekwe]

  ShoShona Kish is an Anishinaabekwe community organizer, producer, activist, songwriter and JUNO award-winning touring artist. This year ShoShona was awarded the Spirit of Folk Award at the International Folk Awards in Kansas City and was recognized by the Berlin based WOMEX organization for her work internationally with the prestigious Professional Excellence Award, “for her role in the ongoing revolution of upheaving Indigenous communities and their culture – using the medium of music as an agent of change, to awaken our humanity and help us connect”.

  ShoShona leads the multi-award-winning band Digging Roots, with her husband, Raven Kanatakta. Their music breaches categorization, seamlessly blending global and traditional Indigenous sounds with roots, blues and soul. They have brought their unique musical marriage of unvarnished truth and unconditional love to venues and festivals around the world.

  [Anishinaabekwe]

• TA'KAIYA BLANEY

  TA'KAIYA BLANEY

  [Tla’Amin]

  Ta’kaiya is a Tla’Amin Singer/Songwriter/Activist who grew up along the shores of the Salish Sea. Ta’kaiya has performed and spoken at UN conferences, festivals and environmental events around the world. Her video, Earth Revolution, was named Best Music Video at the 2017 American Indian Film Festival.

  URL http://www.takaiyablaney.com

  [Tla’Amin]

• 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]

• Willie Thrasher & Linda Saddleback

  Willie Thrasher & Linda Saddleback

  [Inuvialuit]

  Willie Thrasher is a gifted Inuk singer and songwriter living in Nanaimo, BC with his partner Linda Saddleback. Three of Thrasher’s songs appeared on the 2014 Grammy-nominated compilation, Native North America (Vol. 1), renewing interest in his and other Indigenous artists’ work. Thrasher’s powerful 1981 debut album, Spirit Child, which the 3 songs came from, was then reissued in 2015.

  Thrasher was born in Aklavik, Northwest Territories, in 1948 and at five years of age, Thrasher was taken from his family and sent to a residential school where he was forbidden to practice his Inuvialuit culture. Music was a way for Thrasher to escape the pain and longing. He has recorded both as a solo artist, and as a member of several bands, including The Cordells, and Red Cedar, with Morley Loon.

  Thrasher has advocated for Inuit and First Nations issues for much of his career. Today, Thrasher performs at home and around the world with his partner Linda Saddleback due to the global attention garnered by Native North America (Vol. 1). Wherever he may be, Willie Thrasher is a trailblazing troubadour with an Indigenous heartbeat sound.

  [Inuvialuit]