The Jerry Cans

Indigenous Band #5

The Jerry Cans is a five person band from Iqualuit, Nunavut. Their music is mostly written in Inuktitut, and combines Inuit throat singing with folk, country and rock. The group consists of a vocalist/guitarist, a vocalist/accordionist, a violinist, a bassist and a drummer. The name of the group actually comes from the drummer building a drum kit out of old jerrycans. 

Squires, J. (n.d.). The Jerry Cans. [Photo]. Retrieved from  https://calgaryherald.com/entertainment/local-arts/the-jerry-cans-bring-some-northern-light-to-calgary-with-genre-hopping-inuktitut-music/

Music:

The group has released three albums to date, in 2012, 2014 and 2016, with a fourth upcoming to be released sometime this year (2020). The band as a whole has not won any notable awards, but achieved nominations for Aboriginal Songwriter of the Year and Pushing the Boundaries at the CFMA in 2015. They were also nominated for Breakthrough Group of the Year and Contemporary Roots Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2018. 

Goals:

The group has published a children's book, Mamaqtuq!, based on their song that shares the same name. I actually remember being read this book, though I can't remember how old I was. The band also made the record label "Aakuluk Music", which releases albums by Nunavut artists to help northern musicians. They also performed live at the Juno Awards in 2018, alongside other musicians from Nunavut.

Squires, J. (n.d.). Juno-nominated The Jerry Cans (Steve Rigby, Nancy Mike, Andrew Morrison, Gina Burgess, and Brendan Doherty) bring a taste of Canada's Far North to Peterborough Musicfest for a free concert on Canada Day at Del Crary Park in Peterborough. [Photo]. Retrieved from https://kawarthanow.com/2018/06/29/peterborough-musicfest-the-jerry-cans/

Though not intense activists, The Jerry Cans are a group worth listening to, and their children's content is charming, including their book and music for the children's series, Anaana's Tent. They did an Inuktitut cover of The Tragically Hip's Ahead by a Century, which was actually stunning. They've released two more singles so far this year, and many fans are looking forward to their upcoming album, titled Echoes, which is said to be released May 15, 2020.

You can find their website, which includes updates, their store and music videos, here:

https://www.thejerrycans.com/

Tanya Tagaq

Indigenous Singer #4

Tanya Tagaq is from Cambridge, Nunavut, and also attended school in the Northwest Territories and Nova Scotia. One of her most stunning achievements is her tours and album in collaboration with Björk in 2004, and has been an active artist since 2002.


Bertlesen, O. (n. d.). Cambridge Bay’s Tanya Tagaq entertaining a large audience at the Riddu Riddu international indigenous festival in northern Norway during a July 17 performance. [Photo]. Retrieved from https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/photo_tanya_tagaq_in_norway/

Music:

Tanya has released five studio albums, her third, Animism, having won the 2014 Polaris Prize. The same album also won the Juno Award for Aboriginal Album of the year. She has received many nominations throughout her entire musical career, and has performed across Canada. Besides be an accomplished musician, Tanya is also a visual artist and has published book, called Split Tooth, which is a mix of fiction and memorial aspects, and was nominated for both 2018 Scotiabank Giller Prize and 2019 Amazon.ca First Novel Award. 

Goals:

Tanya has spoken out against anti-sealing activists, which is huge. The seal skin trade is an immense portion of the modern Inuit economy, and rules preventing them from selling the skin have a devastating effect, even though they hunt sustainably and use every part of the animal. A picture of Tanya and her child wearing sealskin received comments saying she should have her child taken away from her, which is an awful way of racism against Inuit apparel and way of life.

N. A. (2015). Tanya Tagaq at Interstellar Rodeo, 2015. [Photo]. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Meetup/Indigenous_Musicians

One of Tanya's unique aspects of her art is her solo form. Inuit throat singing is traditionally done by two woman, and Tanya's lack of a partner was a large step away from the usual Inuit throat singing. Her combination of modern and traditional singing, with her own twist, as well as a book and visual art, is an amazing combination of skills. Tanya is a varied artist in many forms, and brings attention to problems in the media that are usually very one-sided.

A biography on Tanya Tagaq by Timothy Monger can be found here:
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/tanya-tagaq-mn0001400520/biography

 

iskwe

Indigenous Singer #3

iskwe is originally from Winnipeg, but has moved to LA, NYC, Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario. She combines her Cree, Dene and Irish heritage into a medley of indie, folk and alternative music styles, and brings creative and theatrical aspects to her art both onstage and in her recordings and music videos. I just want to say that her stage name is not capitalized, to clarify that I'm not making a grammatical error.


Lee, D. (n. d.). iskwē performing at Banff Centre. [Photo]. Retrieved from https://www.banffcentre.ca/is/iskwe

Music:

iskwe has released three albums to date, her second, The Fight Within, being the most acclaimed. She won both WCMA Electronic Artist of the Year and REVEAL Indigenous Arts Award in 2017, as well as multiple nominations in 2019 and 2020. Her debut song "Nobody Knows" was featured in the Netflix show "Between" which is about the missing and murdered Indigenous women and children.

Goals:

iskwe's amazing stage energy flows from her anger at the missing and murdered Indigenous women and children case. She feels the abductors and kidnappers have gone unpunished for their crimes, and that Canada is unwilling to address the issue. She hopes that this case will be a thing of the past by the time her niece, now age four, is old enough to know about it.


Medig, K. (n.d.). iskwe in wearable art. [Photo] Retrieved from https://www.banffcentre.ca/is/iskwe

As stunning as her music is on its own, and as creatively formulated her music videos are, iskwe's true power lies in her live performances. It isn't uncommon to have audience members in tears in response to her dynamic artistry and uses of dance, visual art and poetry that ties her craft into an unforgettable experience.

A link to her official website can be found here:

https://iskwe.com/

A Tribe Called Red

Indigenous Band #2

A Tribe Called Red is an electronic trio, who mix modern influenced music with Canadian First Nations aspects, usually vocals and drumming. They produce powerful and fun music, while conveying an important message and gaining much in the way of popularity. They have performed across Canada and were featured in the music documentary When They Awake, by P. C. Marcellino and Hermon Farahi.

N. A. (n. d.). A Tribe Called Red. [Image]. Retrieved from http://atribecalledred.com/

Music:

The group has released a total of three albums, along with several solo tracks on Soundcloud. They're third album, We are The Halluci Nation, won Album of the Year at the Canadian Independent Music Awards in 2017, and they have won and been nominated for many other Canadian music awards in 2014, 2017 and 2018. Both their first album, A Tribe Called Red, and their second, Nation II Nation, were nominated for the Polaris Prize. 

Goals:

The band has been fighting for Aboriginal awareness since the very beginning of their career. They've been open supporters of Idle No More and have asked non-Aboriginal patrons of their performances not to wear headdresses or war paint to their shows. They also called off a show at the opening of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, disagreeing with the museums' portrayal of indigenous human rights issues.


N. A. (2013). ATCR. [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/07/12/a-tribe-called-red-redface-indian-costumes_n_3576884.html

Another surprising aspect that brought the group together and pushed them farther, was that the members of the group are from different communities. The different communities' histories had met, and they were enemies in the past. But they bonded over their music and their need to spread knowledge through their art, and it created an even more powerful relationship within the band.

A link to the official "A Tribe Called Red" website can be found here:
http://atribecalledred.com/

Kelly Fraser

Indigenous Singer #1

Kelly Fraser was born in Igloolik, and moved shortly after to Sanikiluaq, Nunavut. She first received attention for her Inuktitut cover of "Diamonds" by Rihanna, in 2013. She released a total of two albums, and was educated in Ottawa and BC.


CBC. (2014). Kelly Fraser of Sanikiluaq, Nunavut has released her first album. [Album Cover]. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/nunavut-s-kelly-fraser-releases-first-cd-isuma-1.2670639

Music:

Kelly's first album, Isuna, which means think, was released in 2014 and was composed of three cover songs and seven originals. Her second album, Sedna, came out in 2017. Sedna is the Inuit goddess of the sea, and Kelly brought this theme into the album, along with an aspect of healing, including recovery from colonization, residential schools and relocation. This album was nominated for "Indigenous Music Album of the Year" at the Juno Awards of 2018.

Goals:

Kelly had the overall goal of sharing Inuit culture and raising awareness for the various issues, such as racism and bullying, that are present in most of Canada's Indigenous populations' everyday life. She was modernizing Inuit stories as well as bringing the Inuktitut language into popular songs,


CBC. (2018). Kelly Fraser arrives on the red carpet at the Juno Awards on March 25, 2018. The 25-year-old from Sanikiluaq, Nunavut, is one of 12 winners of the 2019 Inspire Awards. (CARAS/iPhoto). [Photo]. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/kelly-fraser-indspire-award-1.4843009

Kelly, regretfully, died by suicide in 2019. It was her death that brought much more recognition to her music and motivation. It is awful to say, but she was almost a martyr of sorts, and her family states that she was struggling with PTSD from trauma, cyber-bullying and racism. She was age 26 at time of death, and it came to public attention that she had a third album, Decolonize, in the making. It was never released, and it is a shame that more of this acclaimed singer and songwriter's words will go unheard.