Aboriginal Music Week

Aboriginal Music Week   is a one week festival that takes place in downtown Winnipeg every fall, featuring musical performances by First Nation, Métis and Inuit artists. Performers of hip hop, folk, rock, blues and country take centre stage throughout the week.

Transcript: Aboriginal Music Week

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Transcript: Aboriginal Music Week

Voiceover: Alan Greyeyes – Chairperson – Aboriginal Music Manitoba Inc.:

Aboriginal Music week is a 5 day festival in downtown Winnipeg.

We program everything from fiddle music to Hip Hop to Blues and Rock.

What the Aboriginal community in Winnipeg is looking for is role models and people that are doing well in the music industry, but they could also see themselves reflected in those artists…

Winnipeg's Most – Brooklyn, Jon-C, Charlie Fettah – Hip Hop Artists:

Our music is hip hop, rap… we've got into a little bit of club.

… we make urban music basically, I mean, that's what fuels all our passion is urban music.

A lot of the northern communities ahhh… the youth are really listening to what we're doing and they really see something that they like.

Our message is clear… I mean, we're not ashamed of who we are… we're not ashamed of where we came from… you know… we're proud Winnipeggers, proud Manitobans, you know, proud Canadians, you know what I mean and that's what it is.

John Arcand – Métis Fiddler/Musician:

I'm a Red River Métis!

I grew up listening to fiddle players like my grandfather and my Dad and all his brothers… there must have been 10 of them and they all played the fiddle…

I started remembering these tunes and I recorded them all and now they're… preserved forever.

Slick – Métis dancer:

We're two brothers that have been dancing for 5 years… and we've just been able to travel the world through dance it's been very fun and exciting.

It's pretty amazing…we get to perform for other people…

It just gets us going when they like… cheer really loud… it just makes us dance harder.

Leela Gilday – Singer Songwriter:

I am from Yellowknife Northwest Territories and I'm a proud Dene.

I tell my stories and the stories of my people and the North and things that are important to me and I don't think that Aboriginal youth often see that reflected in the media and so, I feel happy to be an example.

I'm very proud… despite all of our struggles as Aboriginal People that we survive and continue to live and carry on traditions, carry on culture and just exist as a people.

Winnipeg's Most – Hip Hop Artists:

We've got that strong voice and we want to give it back… you know what I mean… give back to our people.

John Arcand – Métis Fiddler/Musician:

Music is part of our roots and it should be carried on.

L'il Jay – Métis dancer:

I'm gonna do this for my whole life.