I guess it’s been about a year and a half now since I first conceived a vision. It was during Nechi Institute’s first Residential School Healing Gathering. It was an early morning pipe ceremony, with the Elders during the pipe ceremony, as the Elders were… Read More »A Vision Of Healing
My name is Nellie Makokis Carlson. I come born and raised in Saddle Lake, left the reserve in 1956 and I’ve lived off the reserve since 1956. Had nine kids, one passed away, and I have several grandchildren, great-grandchildren, but about four or five years… Read More »On Being An Elder
When I came off of the reserve, I mean from the residential school. I was now fifteen sixteen years old, and my stepfather was sick. His name was Nathaniel Shirt. He was sick and so we had to leave that place of residence where we… Read More »Family Ties
I wasn’t really exactly a good teenager because I liked dancing, but sometimes the thing is, that if when I heard the music, ’cause we were living right close where the crowd was. I used to love to go to see the dances in the… Read More »On Dancing
I’ve discovered that a lot of the history of North America since 1492, the day that Columbus, the infamous day that Columbus, had landed on the Hague in the Caribbean, that our cultures had been destroyed. Whereas before 1492, the cultures were radically different from… Read More »The Importance Of Education And History
Yes, I think that it’s really, really important in schools especially. When it’s a mix school when you have Native and non-Native kids, a lot of times there is a lot of discrimination. A lot of times, the Native kids are made to feel like… Read More »Pride In Storytelling
For Aboriginal young musicians coming up, for me, the one of the things that I was taught to do was play to express not to impress. So stay true to yourself and that’s kind of what I do all the time. When I first picked… Read More »A Word To Aboriginal Youth In Music
I grew up in the middle of the mountains on a lake and my dad told me that if you talk to the lake it will talk back to you. I must have been fourteen years old, “I’m like yeah, whatever”. I don’t know what… Read More »Jump Into The Lake
Hi, I’m talking to you from James Bay, Ontario. I’m a Cree man and I’m a musician. I am a father, and grandfather now. I am doing a whole bunch of things and I’m really happy with my life at the moment, where I have… Read More »Winning A Juno
The main message that I would give to any Native youth, or for anybody for that matter, on trying to start up their art or music business is to follow your heart. If you are interested in music or art, or interested in anything –… Read More »It’s In The Heart