Canada

A Modern Indigenous Musical Movement

There are three officially recognized Indigenous groups in the settler state of Canada: the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples. Within the first nations are over 600 tribes, each with varied and unique cultural and historical traditions.1 While land seizure and the exploitation of Indigenous peoples began with the conquest of the Americas in 1492, settler dominance is maintained to this day. The Canadian government continued to impose assimilatory policies in the following centuries, like the Residential School system and the Indian Act of 1876, which banned most forms of indigenous cultural expression. Indeed, it was not until 2008 that the Canadian government issued a formal apology addressing the Residential School system.2 

Drawing on a deep tradition of Indigenous resistance in Canada, several musicians have created music in the past few years which draws on themes of settler colonialism and indigenous identity. Despite the varied cultural and identity backgrounds that these musicians come from, there is a sense of solidarity in Canada’s Indigenous Music scene. Artist’s collaborations, interrelations, and support for one another create a wide range of Indigenous music today. Recently, there has been a move towards genre-bending experimental music within Canada’s indigenous music scene. Dubbed the Indigenous Music Renaissance, or Indigenous Cultural Revolution, this movement is defined by the intersection of modernity and tradition.3 The use of electronic tools and hip hop elements often combine with traditional songs, language, and culturally distinct music methods.

From Ikaluktutiak (Cambridge Bay, Nunavut), Tanya Tagaq is a Canadian Inuk throat singer, who pushes political, temporal and creative boundaries in her work. Tagaq grew up during the wane residential school system in Canada, through which indigenous children were forcibly removed from their homes and assimilated into Canadian culture.4 Tagaq engages with Indigenous rights issues through her work, such as the residential school system, land sovereignty, and the systemic targeting of Indigenous women. Tagaq’s music is characterized by her use of traditional Inuit throat singing as a medium of expression. Although she grew up on Indigenous musicians like Willie Thrasher, she only discovered throat singing in her 20s after being sent a CD by her mother.5 

Although Tagaq’s music draws on the rich tradition of Inuit throat singing, her practice incorporates her own stylistic contemporary elements. In the Inuit practice, throat singing is typically a competition between two people, pushing the boundaries of each voice as far as possible. Lacking a partner, Tagaq learned how to throat sing on her own. She describes her technique, “You’re always breathing and the song continues, even though you’re maintaining breath. Using your nasal cavities and your epiglottis to switch between high and low notes. You just start and do it for a while and get used to it. Then it happens on its own, and then it becomes more creative and it’s very fun singing with beatboxers.”6 

Tagaq reached international recognition after featuring on Bjork’s album Medulla, and shortly after released her debut album, Sinaa. Since, she has received numerous awards for her work, including the Polaris award for her 2014 album, Animism.7 In 2022, Tagaq released her newest album, Tongues. Tongues is a direct, passionate and resolute condemnation of colonialism in all of its forms. Most explicitly, in “Colonizer,” Tagaq speaks directly to the settler audience with the repeating lyrics “You’re guilty.” Despite the sonic and lyrical intensity that characterizes many tracks, Tongues is also a love letter to indigeneity and future generations.  “Do Not Fear Love” and “Earth Monster,” written about Tagaq’s daughter, close the album on a hopeful note.8

Cris Derksen

Cris Derksen is a two-spirit Indigenous Canadian cellist, originally from Northern Alberta. She is part Cree, by her father, and Mennonite by her mother.9 Derkson’s music might be thought of as a reflection of her multiplicitous racial and gender identity, refusing to be defined by a single genre or style. Derkson is classically trained in cello, but uses electronic tools in her work. She is passionate about expanding and removing the boundaries which construct “classical” music. Derksen describes her musical process, “I’m taking little bits of things that I really love in music, like hip hop, and putting them with classic motifs or with Indigenous pentatonic sounds, and it’s really braiding the traditional contemporary over and over and over again until it becomes something new. It’s the idea that creating art is taking something you love and making it your own, while the braiding never ends. It’s always moving forward.”10 Indeed, Derksen’s music is proof that modernity and tradition can not only coexist, but thrive as partners. 

Alongside producing her own albums, Derksen composes for symphony orchestras and festivals.11 Derksen has even contributed to film and documentary work. Her album Orchestral Powwow was nominated for a Juno award in 2016.12

In Orchestral Powwow, Derksen mixes and bends varied musical traditions with ease, incorporating primarily western classical music and powwow style vocals and drums. Although the piece was released as an album, it can be performed with a full chamber orchestra, including 6 Powwow singers and drummers, 1 hoop dancer, 1 percussionist, female vocal soloist and Cris Derksen on cello.13 During the creation of the piece, Derksen collaborated with powwow groups such as Northern Voice, Black Bear, and the Chippewa Travellers.14

The Halluci Nation

Three-time Juno award winning group The Halluci Nation (formerly known as A Tribe Called Red) is an Ottawa based DJ collective currently made up of Tim Hill and Thomas Eren Ramon.15 Previous members include Dan General, Ian Campeau and Jon Limoges.16 Known better by their DJ names, 2oolman and Bear Witness, Hill and Ramon incorporate elements of reggae, hip hop, dubstep, and pow wow drumming to create the genre entitled “Powwow Step,” a title coined by the collective. The group’s past and present members come from different tribal origins including the Anishnabe from Nipissing First Nation, the Mohawk of the Six Nations of the Grand River, and Cayuga Six Nations.17The group articulates a message of Pan-Indigenous solidarity in their music and new name: The Halluci Nation. An homage to the Indigenous Poet Trudell, the phrase “We are the Halluci Nation” titled the group’s album in 2016. After Trudell’s death, the group renamed themselves The Halluci Nation in 2021, recalling Trudell’s message of solidarity through common humanity.18  
Their 2021 release, One More Saturday Night, evokes themes of land reclamation, anti colonialism, and joy within defiance. Tracks like “Land Back” signify resistance to ongoing threats from private companies and the Canadian government.19 The track was written in support of the Indigenous protests against the Coastal GasLink pipeline, which threatens the Wet’suwet’en First Nation’s land.20 On Collaboration ≠ Appropriation, the group features the voice of Tanya Tagaq, who chants, 


“Our water, our land, our blood, our women
We’re taking it back, our men, our children, our hair, our language, our food, our blood
We’re taking it back”21

Works Cited:

  1. Government of Canada; Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada; “Indigenous Peoples and Communities,” Government of Canada; Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, June 11, 2021, https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1100100013785/1529102490303. 
  2.  “Government Apologizes for Residential Schools in 2008 | CBC Archives,” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, June 25, 2018, https://www.cbc.ca/archives/government-apologizes-for-residential-schools-in-2008-1.4666041. 
  3.  Jesse Kinos-Goodin, “A Tribe Called Red, Wab Kinew, Tanya Tagaq on the Indigenous Music Renaissance | CBC Music,” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, Feb. 21, 2020, https://www.cbc.ca/music/a-tribe-called-red-wab-kinew-tanya-tagaq-on-the-indigenous-music-renaissance-1.545141
  4.  Andrea Warner, “Inuk Throat Singer Tanya Tagaq Will Make You See Canada in a Chilling New Light,” Pitchfork, Condé Nast, Nov. 4, 2016, https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/1351-inuk-throat-singer-tanya-tagaq-will-make-see-canada-in-a-chilling-new-light/. 
  5. Anupa Mistry, “Tanya Tagaq,” Red Bull Music Academy, Red Bull, 2019, https://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/lectures/tanya-tagaq-lecture. Accessed April 4, 2022. 
  6. Ibid.
  7. April Claire Welsh, “Tanya Tagaq on Fighting for Justice and Singing for Björk,” Fact Magazine, Nov. 14, 2016, https://www.factmag.com/2016/11/08/tanya-tagaq-fighting-for-justice-singing-for-bjork/. 
  8.  Peyton Thomas, “Tanya Tagaq: Tongues,” Pitchfork, Pitchfork, Jan. 26, 2022, https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/tanya-tagaq-tongues/. 
  9. Gail Johnson, “Powwow Meets Classical Music in Electronic Cellist Cris Derksen’s Daring Compositions,” Stir, Stir, Oct. 12, 2021, https://www.createastir.ca/articles/cris-derksen-vancouver-symphony-orchestra. 
  10.  Ibid.
  11.  “About Cris Derksen,” Latitude 45 Arts, Canada Council for the Arts, https://www.latitude45arts.com/cris-derksen. 
  12. “Q&A With Aboriginal Cellist Cris Derksen,” UBC, May 7, 2018, https://you.ubc.ca/ubc_stories/aboriginal-cellist-cris-derksen/. 
  13.  “Orchestral Powwow,” Latitude 45 Arts, Canada Council for the Arts, https://www.latitude45arts.com/composer-catalogue-2/orchestral-powwow. 
  14.  Matt Humphrey, “Cree Cellist and Composer Showcases Orchestral Powwow in Vancouver | CBC News,” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, Apr. 28, 2018, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/classical-powwow-music-cris-derksen-1.4518747. 
  15.  “Electronic Duo A Tribe Called Red Rename Themselves the Halluci Nation,” The Canadian Press, Apr. 6 2021. 
  16.  Alexa Woloshyn, “A Tribe Called Red’s Halluci Nation: Sonifying Embodied Global Allegiances, Decolonization, and Indigenous Activism,” Intersections 36, no. 2 (2016): 101–09, https://doi.org/10.7202/1051602ar.
  17. Ibid.
  18.  Neumos, “The Halluci Nation (Formerly Known as a Tribe Called Red,” Neumos, https://www.neumos.com/events/detail/the-halluci-nation-formerly-known-as-a-tribe-called-red-tickets-409749. 
  19.  Tom Beedham, “The HALLUCI Nation Turn Anti-Colonialism into a Celebratory Dance Party for ‘One More Saturday Night’,” Exclaim!, Ontario Creates, July 26, 2021, https://exclaim.ca/music/article/the_halluci_nation_one_more_saturday_night_album_review. 
  20.  “A Tribe Called Red Release Song ‘Land Back’ in Support of Wet’suwet’en Nation,” The Star, The Canadian Press, Feb. 28, 2020,
  21.  A Tribe Called Red ft. Tanya Tagaq. Lyrics to “Collaboration ≠ Appropriation,” Genius, 2021, https://genius.com/The-halluci-nation-collaboration-appropriation-ft-tanya-tagaq-lyrics