Northern Cree
The Northern Cree Singers are an acclaimed powwow group, founded in 1982 by brothers Steve, Earl and Randy Wood from the Saddle Lake Cree Nation in Alberta. Consisting of more than a dozen members from the Treaty 6 area, Northern Cree has historically brought the voices of powwow to stages and audiences that were once unheard of.
The eight-time Grammy nominated group has travelled thousands of miles on the powwow trail, performing their traditional music all over North America and collaborating with artists like A Tribe Called Red, M.I.A. and Santigold. In 2017, they won a JUNO Award for their album Going Home Star: Truth and Reconciliation with Tanya Tagaq and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.
Northern Cree has released over 35 albums, and their powerful performance at the 2017 Grammy Awards resulted in 4 million hits on their website. They were recently awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Indigenous Music Awards in 2017.
Throughout their career, Northern Cree has demonstrated, particularly to young people, that powwow connects to culture, spirituality, language and the heart of a Nation.
Curator's Comments
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Speak Up! is curated by David McLeod (member of the Pine Creek First Nation, MB), Indigenous programming consultant.