SAKÂWÎNOW MUSIC FESTIVAL

Indigenous Artists for this Event!

• DJ Kookum

  DJ Kookum

  [Alexis Nakota Sioux]

  Kookum is an Indigenous DJ and videographer 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 but grew up listing to EDM and Hip Hop music. This diverse mix diva slays on the decks and always keeps it hype, fresh, and unpredictable.

  [Alexis Nakota Sioux]

• DJ O Show

  DJ O Show

  [Squamish Nation]

  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! 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 of the Squamish Nation Chief & Council. 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.

  URL http://www.djoshow.com/

  [Squamish Nation]

• DJ SHUB

  DJ SHUB

  [Mohawk]

  2022 Contemporary Indigenous Juno-winner, DJ Shub has pioneered a growing genre of electronic music – PowWowStep – since his initial start with internationally-acclaimed group A Tribe Called Red. Born Dan General, he is a Mohawk, turtle clan of the Six Nations of the Grand River located in Ontario, Canada. Since the creation of PowWowStep, he has grown more aware of the Indigenous way of life through his music, merging his heritage with his craft. As a solo artist, DJ Shub released his first EP “PowWowStep” in 2016 and has since played some of the biggest music festivals in North America. He’s also been featured in a number of national media outlets. His song “Indomitable” was notably handpicked by Sacha Baron Cohen as the theme music to his hit Showtime series, “Who Is America?”

  URL https://www.djshub.ca/

  [Mohawk]

• Garret T. Willie

  Garret T. Willie

  [Nlaka’pamux/‘Namgis/Kwakwaka’wakw/]

  Garret T. Willie is an old soul masquerading as an uncommonly wise, weathered, witty and world-weary 23-year-old. He’s about to give rock ‘n’ roll a formidable 21st -century kick in the ass with plenty of wild, heartbreaking, and hilarious stories to share in true rock ‘n’ roll form.

  Garret T. Willie hails from Kingcome Inlet, off the coast of British Columbia. He’s been through some serious sh*t and lived through a lot more than most of us have at his age. But while Willie’s back story also gives him more right than most to sing the blues – and at heart, Garret T. Willie is a rock ‘n’ roller – he’d rather that not be the whole story.

  Willie is the personification of an open book in the lyric sheet to his upcoming debut record Same Pain. Through his songs, there’s a helluva lot of raunchy fun going on above and beyond the occasional exorcism of tragedy and trauma. To listen to Same Pain is to get to know him more than you might be aware, but also to find a friendly, sensitive voice with a gift for transmitting universal emotions. Willie gets himself, and in doing so kinda gets all of us. He also knows what makes the blues tick. And, man, can he rip it up on the guitar.

  URL https://youtube.com/channel/UC-0Y3XNZyfi_u8Q69Wg1-Dw

  [Nlaka’pamux/‘Namgis/Kwakwaka’wakw/]

• PIQSIQ

  PIQSIQ

  [Inuit]

  With a style perpetually galvanized by darkness and haunting northern beauty, sisters, Tiffany Kuliktana Ayalik and Kayley Inuksuk Mackay, come together to create Inuit style throat singing duo, PIQSIQ. Performing ancient traditional songs and eerie new compositions, they leave their listeners enthralled with the infinity of possible answers to the question “what is the meaning of life.”
  With roots in Nunavut’s Kitikmeot and Kivalliq Regions, the sisters grew up in Yellowknife, NWT, where endless sunlight shines for two short summer months and deep, wintery darkness consumes the rest of the year. These environmental extremes had a huge impact on Tiffany and Kayley’s overall aesthetic and the pair have always engrossed themselves in creating soundtracks to life that reflect this natural phenomenon.

  [Inuit]

• Quanah Style

  Quanah Style

  [Cree]

  Quanah Style is Canada’s most infamous 2-spirit trans recording artist and house music diva. From coast to coast, there are few dance floors who haven’t felt her presence. After a brilliant run of singles on the Toronto-based LGBTQ+ record label Wet Trax, Quanah became a Pride festival fixture, performing her anthemic hits with vogue dance crew House of La Douche. Music videos for songs such as her debut “Beat of My Heart” and the Storyhive award-recipient “Give Me Life” showcase Quanah’s undeniable star-quality. Her incredible stage presence, signature vocals, and inspirational story led her to become the subject of several documentaries produced by CBC Arts, World of Wonder, APTN and Vice Magazine. She has also opened for Peaches, Bif Naked, Buffy Sainte-Marie, and more.

  URL http://quanahstyle.com/

  [Cree]

• Snotty Nose Rez Kids

  Snotty Nose Rez Kids

  [Haisla]

  Skyrocketing Hip-hop stars Snotty Nose Rez Kids second and third albums (The Average Savage, 2017 and TRAPLINE, 2019) were shortlisted for the Polaris Prize while TRAPLINE was also named one of the top 10 hip-hop albums of 2019 by exclaim! magazine.

  [Haisla]

• 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]