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/