In honour of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Studio Bell will be open with free admission from 10 to 5 pm on September 30. Explore the Speak Up! exhibition and listen to powerful remarks by Elder Eldon Weasel Child.
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation serves as a powerful opportunity to recognize and reflect on the legacy of residential schools, and to listen, learn, and honour the voices of Indigenous people in Canada.
National Music Centre (NMC) is honoured to welcome Elder Eldon Weasel Child, a respected knowledge keeper of Blackfoot culture from the Siksika Nation and a member of NMC’s Indigenous Programming Advisory Committee. As a musician and cross-cultural educator, he brings a wealth of experience and insight into the importance of preserving Indigenous history and traditions.
Elder Eldon Weasel Child will deliver a special presentation at 12:00 pm, sharing his unique perspectives on Truth and Reconciliation, and emphasizing the critical role that cultural understanding plays in the healing process.
About Eldon Weasel Child:
Born and raised at Siksika Nation in Alberta, Blackfoot was Eldon Weasel Child’s first language, and he is actively involved with the Blackfoot cultural way of life.
Music is also a big part of his life. He began singing powwow music at the age of six and became lead singer of his first drum group at eight years old. He won a world-class singing championship with drum group Blackfoot Crossing in 1987 at the Gathering of Nations, in Albuquerque, NM.
Eldon has served on several boards, commissions, and tribunals at Siksika for over 30 years. As well, he has served as an elected member of Siksika Council for over 20 years. As a recognition of his service and leadership, Eldon received the Alberta Aboriginal Role Model Award for Leadership in 2003.
Eldon is a renowned country musician, having been a runner up in the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame talent contest in 1999, which included a prize of a five-song recording in Nashville, Tennessee. He also received an award for Music Artist of the Year from the Blackfoot Canadian Cultural Society in 2013.
Eldon is currently a knowledge keeper/instructor of Blackfoot culture and language with several institutions, including Old Sun Community College and Blackfeet Community College. He is also a consultant and cross-cultural educator at Siipisto Consulting.
About the Speak Up! exhibition:
With the support of TD Bank Group, the award-winning Speak Up! exhibition on Level 3 showcases Indigenous artists who have made a social impact on music in Canada, while motivating a new generation to take action and offering a better understanding of where they come from.
The evolving exhibition currently features Willie Thrasher, the celebrated Inuvialuit musician who has advocated for Inuit and First Nations issues throughout his career; Juno award-winning singer-songwriter Leela Gilday from the Dene Nation; traditional pow wow singer Edmund Bull of the world champion Cree group, Red Bull Singers; and Juno Award-winning traditional trio The Bearhead Sisters from the Paul First Nation in Alberta.