11 Ways to Spend the Summer Solstice and National Aboriginal Day

June 21st is National Aboriginal Day in Canada. What will you be doing to celebrate?

Although we're not totally sold on the idea of the federal government designating one day a year to celebrate Indigenous culture, at least it's an opportunity to check out some amazing performances by Indigenous artists.

And, as June 21st also marks the summer solstice, there are more than enough reasons to get out of the house and show your love for all things NDN, First Nations, Aboriginal, Native, Métis, Inuit, and Indigenous.

There are many different events being planned across the country (here, here, and here, for example), so we were hard pressed to narrow things down.

But here are eleven decidedly great ways to spend the solstice and National Aboriginal Day this year.

11. Learn about Métis culture at the National Aboriginal Day Celebration at Métis Crossing

The Métis Nation of Alberta and their affiliate organization, Métis Crossing, will be hosting a celebration for National Aboriginal Day on June 21st. Located at the Métis Crossing Historic Site (south of Smokey Lake, Alberta), between 11:00 AM and 6:00 PM, the day's events will include an open stage jam, cultural interpretation, a genealogy exhibit, games, on-site concession, and an elder’s lounge. For more info click here.

10. See Kinnie Starr, Cris Derksen, and Binaeshee-Quae perform at the Luminato Festival in Toronto

Acclaimed Mohawk singer-songwriter and hip-hop artist Kinnie Starr, Métis cellist and experimenter Cris Derksen, and jazzy alterna-folk artist Binaeshee-Quae will perform on June 20th and 21st respectively, as part of the Luminato Festival's New Canadian Music Series which runs daily at the Festival Garden Stage in Toronto. For more info, check out: https://luminatofestival.com/festival/2015/new-canadian-music-series

9. Watch Kaha:wi Dance Theatre at the Aboriginal Cultural Festival and Competition Powwow in Ottawa

Led by founding Artistic Director Tekaronhiáhkhwa Santee Smith, Kaha:wi Dance Theatre (pronounced Ga-Ha-Wee) is an artist-based dance company known for their energetic and innovative performances that blend traditional and contemporary styles. KDT will be performing as part of Ottawa's Summer Solstice events at Vincent Massey Park. On Saturday, June 20th at 1pm, KDT will perform the piece Medicine Bear, which weaves a magical narrative of traditional Iroquoian stories: how the Bear Clan came to be known as the “Keeper of the Medicines” and the hunter who discovered the gift of healing. Plus, don't forget about the full traditional powwow going on all weekend too. For more info, visit: http://www.ottawasummersolstice.ca/

8. Bring your family for a pancake breakfast at Trout Lake on Coast Salish Territories in Vancouver

The Annual National Aboriginal Day Celebration on Coast Salish Territories will once again be held at Trout Lake on Sunday, June 21st. It’s a community-based full day of events that celebrates the diversity of Indigenous Peoples from across Canada. First Nations, Métis & Inuit peoples gather to share their experiences, stories, songs, traditional games, dances & spirit with each other & the general community. All events are FREE, all Aboriginal community members & supporters are welcome; and it's a family-friendly event, with no alcohol or drugs permitted. There's a full day of activities, but get there early before the pancakes run out! For more information visit: http://www.vafcs.org/events/aboriginalday/

7. Start implementing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's recommendations in Halifax

Celebrate National Aboriginal Day with justice in Halifax: by joining other like-minded people to support the Mi'kmaq Nation in Nova Scotia, and taking up national calls by Indigenous and allied organizers to implement the 94 recommendations put forth by Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The work of reconciliation belongs to all of us, and Halifax organizers are taking the lead. But no matter where you live, why not start learning more about how you can bring more truth and more justice into this colonial world of ours. Here's more information on how Nova Scotian organizers are gathering and getting started for NAD: http://solidarityhalifax.ca/2015/06/statement-celebrate-national-aboriginal-day-with-justice/

6. Catch Leonard Sumner at the Indigenous Arts Festival in Fort York

Anishinaabe MC/singer/songwriter Leonard Sumner will be one of many performers taking part in the Indigenous Arts Festival at Fort York in Toronto. Fusing elements of hip-hop, country, and rhythm & blues, his music appeal cuts across age lines, allowing his style to be enjoyed by people who typically 'aren't into rap'. Sumner will be rocking the festival mainstage on Saturday, June 20th at 5:30pm. For more information, click here.

5. Join the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations for the Aboriginal Cultural Festival in Victoria

Featuring three days of performances on an outdoor stage in the plaza at the Royal BC Museum in the heart of downtown Victoria, BC, the Aboriginal Cultural Festival will run from June 19-21, 2015. Each day will be dedicated to a coastal nation: there's a Coast Salish Nation Day, a Nuu-Chah-Nulth Nation Day, and a Kwakwaka'wakw Nation Day. All weekend the festival will open with performances from the two local Host Nations and follow with shows from Aboriginal performers from across the province as well as a show from 3-time World Hoop Dancing Champion Alex Wells. Full schedule and info at: https://www.aboriginalbc.com/victoria-aboriginal-festival/

4. Go see Ghostkeeper, Derek Miller, and Crystal Shawanda in Edmonton

Second in size only to Winnipeg's #ADL2015 celebration, Edmonton will be putting on a full day's worth of events on June 21st, culminating in a mainstage show that will feature some incredible Indigenous performers—including the idiosyncratic experimentalism of Ghostkeeper, the full-blown, blues rock of Derek Miller, and the powerful contemporary country sounds of Crystal Shawanda. Definitely worth checking out. For more about Edmonton's 9th annual Aboriginal Day celebration, click here.

3. Rock out with Don Amero, Brett Kissel, and Lightning Cloud in Winnipeg

With his new album, Unrefined, recently released to the world, Don Amero is taking to the Aboriginal Day Live mainstage alongside his buddy Brett Kissel, and Los Angeles-based hip-hop duo Lightning Cloud, to rock The Forks in Winnipeg. Look out for a special rendition of a new song that Amero and Kissel wrote a few months back, called "Rebuild This Town". Oh, and RedCloud will be incorporating crowdsourced words and ideas into his freestyles during Lightning Cloud's set. You don't want to miss 'em. For more on #ADL2015 in Winnipeg, check out: http://www.aboriginaldaylive.ca/winnipeg/winnipeg-live-concert/

2. Get your Electric Pow Wow on with A Tribe Called Red in Vancouver

You may have seen ATCR before, but not like this. A Tribe Called Red will be bringing the electric pow-wow out of the nightclubs and into the park—Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park to be precise—for a massive, outdoor Indigenous throwdown on Saturday, June 20th. This one isn't free, but it's definitely worth the price of admission. The Tribe will rock the spot alongside Blondtron & Waspy, the amazing Git Hayetsk Dancers, and local DJ crew Klash Akt. Get down to the bass-heavy sounds of DJ NDN, Bear Witness, and 2oolman rocking a stage surrounded by the sunset, sea, and ancient cedars. An Aboriginal Day meets summer solstice taste of Indigenous dance music perfection? Sounds like it to us. More info and tickets available here: http://malkinbowl.com/a-tribe-called-red/

1. Celebrate the Midnight Sun in Inuvik, NWT

In Canada's Northwest Territories—the only place in the country where National Aboriginal Day is a statutory holiday—you can experience a summer solstice that lasts well into the night. Join other northerners in Inuvik, NWT on June 21st for a day of events celebrating the local Gwich'in, Inuvialuit and Métis people and cultures. From traditional drumming, dancing, and foods, to a Midnight Sun Run in celebration of the summer solstice's warm temperatures, experience what it's like to be out in the sunlit streets long after midnight, above the Arctic Circle. And that photo above? That was taken at 1:30am in late May. Learn more about NAD celebrations in the NWT here: https://www.facebook.com/Inuvik.NWT.Canada

DOWNLOAD: Enter-Tribal - "Native Cypher"

Taking it back while moving it forward, this quartet of Indigenous MCs steps up and rocks a classic beat in the first of a new series they call the Native Cypher.

Flexing their verbal versatility and lyrical skills, Chief Rock, Beka Solo, JB the First Lady, and Heebz the Earthchild from Mob Bounce, combine to drop some science over the East Flatbush Project hip-hop classic instrumental "Tried by 12".

Looking foward to seeing what's next up in the Native Cypher. Now kick back and enjoy the ride.

DOWNLOAD: Enter-Tribal - "Native Cypher"

VIDEO: Russell Wallace - "Indian Head"

Lil'wat Nation composer Russell Wallace shares a new video for his track Indian Head which was composed in 1992 - the 500 year anniversary of Christopher Columbus.

Russell Wallace has been a composer and traditional performer on the west coast of Turtle Island for a couple of decades. He continues to release material from his early catalogue - which both was before its time and has stood the test of time. Recently he released a brand new video for his song entitled Indian Head.

I asked him what his inspirations for the music and video were, he replied:

"It was written around the time of the 500 year anniversary of Columbus' 'discovery'. At that time there was a lot of house and acid house music with the sound of the whistle so I thought of the eagle whistle and thought it would be cool to have a techno song with that in it as well as singers. I liked the idea of gated sounds and thought that our voices have been cut out of history many times. For the video, I thought about the images of 'Indians' and most of them are are men and they usually are just heads which says a lot about what American history thinks about us....a bounty on our heads.....Indian heads.....my head."

Watch "Indian Head" by Russell Wallace here:

Check out more of Russell Wallace and his work in the RPM Podcast #004: “New Traditional”.

Songweavers Studio: Musical Medicine Week

The Songweavers Studio program, hosted by the Knowledgeable Aboriginal Youth Association’s (KAYA) in Vancouver, is a free youth recording studio with the goal to empower the voice of Aboriginal youth. This month, Songweavers is presenting Musical Medicine Week - five days of workshops, community and music.

By providing access to gear, support and know-how for youth ages 14-29 who are interested in creating music, Songweavers is a safe venue for creative expression. From the Songweavers press release, Local Indigenous musicians educating Indigenous youth interested in culture:

Songweavers Studio Musical Medicine Week will utilize the knowledge and wisdom of local Indigenous musicians to educate Indigenous youth interested in music culture. By sharing an introductory understanding of how the music industry works, as well as teachings from traditional Indigenous music culture, Musical Medicine Week aims to provide youth with the tools to create a sustainable career in the Indigenous music industry.

RPM is one of the supporters of Musical Medicine Week - we love nothing more than to see emerging artists and young voices creating work! - and RPM contributors Christa Couture and Ron Dean Harris, aka Ostwelve, are among the mentors presenting workshops.

If you're in Vancouver, check it out! All ages, and all are welcome.

Here's the skinny on the schedule:

Monday February 20th

Music Business — What does it take to become a sustainable artist within the music business? Learn the tools to become a successful independent artist using social media, grants, and inside information with Rex SmallBoy, Grant Writing with Christa Couture, Social Media with Ron Dean Harris (OS12). 4:00 pm Doors, 4:30 pm Opening Circle, 5:00 pm Workshops Start

Tuesday February 21st

Songwriting — Writers Block? Singer Songwriter? Hip Hop Artist? Join us for a night of creative writing, and self expression. Learn tips and tricks to enhance your writing ability. Hip-hop Songwriting with Theresa Point (Apt Exact), Singer/Acoustic Songwriting with Christa Couture. 4:00 pm Doors, 4:30 pm Opening Circle, 5:00 pm Workshops Start

Wednesday February 22nd

Traditional Music — Honouring where we came from and where we are going. Join us for a night of traditional hand drum songs and teachings from the Coast Salish to the Prairies. We will end the night by creating our own hand drum song. Bring your Drums! Coast Salish teaching and songs with Elder Wes Nahanee, Women Hand Drum Songs with Jerilynn Webster (JB the First Lady),Prairie Songs with Renae Morriseau (of M'Girl). 4:00 pm Doors, 4:30 pm Opening Circle, 5:00 pm Workshops Start

Thursday February 23rd

Electronic Music — Join us for a night of Djing, Remixing, and Production. Find out what it takes to become a successful DJ and producer. We will be remixing the hand drum song we created the night before with Bear Witness of A Tribe Called Red. 4:00 pm Doors, 4:30 pm Opening Circle, 5:00 pm Workshops Start

Friday February 24th

Indigenous Video Dance Party — ALL AGES Indigenous Dance Party and community feast! Showing all Indigenous music videos, and showcasing music videos our Songweavers youth created in the last year! Coast Salish Opener Dustin Rivers, DJ MukLuk, Emcee for the night Francis Pierre. 4:00 pm Doors, 4:15 pm Coast Salish Opening & blessing of the food, 4:30 pm Free Dinner, 5:00 pm Dance Party start!

All events take place at: W2 Media Cafe 111 West Hastings Street Vancouver, BC

For more information visit: kayavancouver.org.

Indigenous Music For The Holiday Season

We've been keeping our antlers tuned to the moccasin telegraph to bring you this great list of holiday music from some of our favorite Indigenous musicians here on Turtle Island. Enjoy!

First on our list of holiday music is Star Nayea, a pop/blues/rock singer based out of Seattle, Washington. Here she brings us a classic tune first introduced by ElvisPresley called Blue Christmas:

Next, check out Swil Kanim, a Coast Salish violinist, and his version of Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas:

Métis singer-songwriter Don Amero has released a 7-track Christmas album this year entitled Christmastime. Stream the songs and buy the CD or download at donamero.com/christmastime.

Choctow artist Samantha Crain from Shawnee, Oklahoma, recorder her holiday song Breaking The Ice for Christmas compilation Fowler Volkswagen Presents: A Blackwatch Christmas. Preview her track here, and head to fowlervwchristmas.com to download the entire album for free.

Lastly, we've assembled a festive YouTube playlist of holiday season videos for your Christmas enjoyment!

Track listing:

War Child - Twelve Days of Indian Christmas (Round Dance) Laura Burnouf - Little Drummer Boy (In Woodlands Cree) Jana Mashonee - Silent Night (Sung in Arapaho) Joey Stylez - Snow Angel J Dizzay - You're My Present

To view this playlist in YouTube click this link: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL67440DA5AF9FBCD2 

Songs of Resistance at 2011 Indigenous Assembly Against Mining and Pipelines

From November 4-7, 2011, representatives from many Indigenous communities, including the Secwepemc, Wet'suwet'en, St'at'mic, Tsimshian, Dakelh and Carrier from the Yinka Dene Alliance, Tla-o-qui-aht, Ahousaht, Cheam and Fort Chipeywan--will meet to discuss resistance strategies at the Indigenous Assembly Against Mining and Pipelines in Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories.

In response to the "Meeting Minds, Making Mines" conference being held by the Canadian Aboriginal Minerals Association at the Pan Pacific Hotel from November 6-8th, a strategy session will be hosted in East Vancouver with various affected communities in attendance.

British Columbia Premier Christy Clark recently pledged to speed up approvals and snip the red tape for the creation of 8 new mines and the expansion of 9 existing mining projects in BC. The plan also includes "10 new non-treaty agreements with First Nations by 2015 to improve economic certainty." It's clear that the current provincial agenda is to override Aboriginal Rights and Title to guarantee economic security to the mining companies.

In a public letter sent out on September 23rd, Secwepemc activist Arthur Manuel called on Aboriginal leaders to resist the further exploitation of Indigenous homelands:

We need to not let this opportunity pass us by, we need to believe in our Aboriginal Title and Rights.  The onus or burden to make the economy in our territory serve our children and grandchildren is our job.  Follow this story and get involved in meetings about mining and other economic issues.  You own the land... Be careful out there in your traditional territory, some little people in the future are depending on you.

On Sunday November 6th there will be a public demonstration starting at 3pm at the Vancouver Art Gallery. A public panel will also be held on November 7th at 6:30pm at 1803 East 1st Ave (just east of Commercial Drive) in which impacted Indigenous communities will be speaking out against mining.

Songs of Resistance

During a rally held in May 2011 against a proposed open-pit copper mine on Chitapii (Catface Mountain) in Ahousaht Territory, Kalilah Rampanen - the 11-year-old daughter of Nitanis Desjarlais and John Rampanen - shared her song More Than Copper to Me.

Rampanen, who is Nuu-chah-nulth from Ahousaht, wrote and performed the song at the Imperial Metals AGM to protest a proposed mine where they have been exploring for copper.

The Ahousaht band council is one of the only First Nations working with Imperial Metals; and they have approved exploratory drilling in their territory.

Check out her performance below:

VIDEO: Kalilah Rampanen - "More Than Copper to Me"

VIDEO: Ostwelve - "Light Inside"

Coast Salish hip-hop artist, and RPM's own Ostwelve has released a new video for Light Inside.

Ostwelve was in Paris this past summer with the hip-hop/digital art collective Beat Nation. In between their performances, Os fit in a visit to the famous Père Lachaise Cemetery - resting place to the likes of Jim Morrison, Édith Piaf, Marcel Proust, Oscar Wilde and Gertrude Stein - and filmed his stroll among the sunlit graves, adding another solid video to his repertoire.

Directed and edited by Ostwelve, Light Inside:

Impossible Nothing Talk 'Montechristo'

Impossible Nothing's album Montechristo is a unique collaboration between friends Darwin Frost and Bracken Hanuse Corlett (Oweekeno/Coast Salish). Frost composed the beats and Hanuse Corlett curated the songs and designed the artwork.

BHC: I'm a multimedia artist hailing from the Wuikinuxv and Klahoose Nations. I started working in the arts ten years ago in theatre and performance. I then shifted focus into media arts and visual arts. I have trained with acclaimed Northwest Coast Heiltsuk artists Bradley Hunt and his sons Shawn Hunt and Dean Hunt. I'm a graduate of the En'owkin Centre of Indigenous Art and I'm in my grad year at Emily Carr University of Art and Design.

DF: My name is Darwin Frost, and I do magic. I work in the present moment with media to manipulate it so that our beings have an easier time traversing through life; I world-walk.

RPM: How did you come to collaborate on this album?

DF: Bracken has always been someone who has been able to draw from within and bring up something interesting. He's abstract within his artwork, which ranges from traditional west coast to full on maximalist pop, and his use of color has always been something I admired.

BHC: The Impossible Nothing is my bro. He asked me to collab(orate) and I said yes. We had some good discussions/battles on the tracks and the flow of putting an album together. It was like building a comic book.

DF: We both are multimedia artists but at the point in time we were doing this album, Bracken was working on visual art like drawing and painting primarily and I was working on music. It was natural to include both our works as one project. Montechristo was paired down to 11 tracks from about 45 so it was a lot of work on both of our parts to get it done

RPM: What are you working on next?

BH: I am working on a video project for a media arts grant that I got this summer. I'm working on some video and paintings for my grad show. I'm also going to release a beat tape in 2012 under the alias Amphibian 14. And I am going to be locked in my studio in preparation for an upcoming solo show. I'm on this maximalism shit Darwin goes on and on about.

DF: I keep most of that to myself. I am working on paintings, more albums (commercial ones and free ones), music videos, and lots of other art in between.

Impossible Nothing's album, Montechristo, is available for download on Soundcloud and Bandcamp.

Check out their track "Mother Tongue".

◯⨝⊻Mother Tongue - Off of "Montechristo". Out now! by Īṃƥɵʂşiƃɭȅ∞Ƞ૦ƫȟįȵğ

VIDEO: Cody The Catch - "Summer In The City"

Coast Salish rapper Cody the Catch hits us up with a new video for his song Summer In The City.

Shot in Vancouver B.C., this video captures a beautiful day in the summer with a great soundtrack of rap supplied by Cody the Catch.

This video was directed and edited by Chrome Vision and Stat from Iron Krookz productions and Cody the Catch himself.

Got a video you would like to see on our website?

Drop us a line to: info@rpm.fm 

RPM Podcast #004: "New Traditional"

In our fourth episode, RPM looks at New Traditional, beginning with the question: What is it? And how can something be new and traditional at the same time?

Perhaps it is music made new today but in a traditional style, perhaps it is any music that comes from our people.

Ostwelve talked with two giants in the field of New Traditional music - Jennifer Kreisberg, a Tuscarora artist from the groundbreaking all-female drum group Ulali and Lil'wat musician and composer Russell Wallace, one of the first Indigenous artists to experiment with samples of traditional music - to get their take.

Representing the East and West Coasts of Turtle Island, Jennifer and Russell offer many insightful - and a few differing - views on the subject.

Get more artists and music with our YouTube Playlist: New Traditional.

DOWNLOAD: RPM Podcast #004 - "New Traditional"

Subscribe via your favorite RSS reader

The RPM podcast is produced & engineered by the amazing Paolo Pietropaolo.

Photo illustration created by the talented Joi Arcand.

New 'Potlatch Music' Blog Shares Cultural Videos

The Potlatch Music blog has brought together a great compilation of west coast potlatch videos from a large group of nations within the 'Potlatch Coast'.

Just across our desk here today at RPM.fm, the Potlatch Music blog is a new blog site that compiles a large number of amazing potlatch videos from nations like the Haida, Nuxalk, Tlingit, Tsimshian, Nuu-chah-nulth, Nisga'a, Kwakwaka'wakw and Coast Salish peoples.

The potlatch is a ceremonial gift-giving festival that has been practiced since time immemorial on the northwest coast of Canada and the United States. In 1884, the potlatch ceremony was banned in Canada and became a criminal act until the 1950's when it started to make a resurgence in the northwest coast Indigenous cultures.

Now thriving within this resurgence, videos and other media have been circulating on the internet and the culture grows as the population of Indigenous nations grow as well. Like the powwow videos that hit YouTube on the Sunday night of the powwow, potlatch videos are showing the strong energy of co-creation through music and culture in these ceremonies.

A lot has changed in societ'y since the early to mid 1900's when Indigenous cultures were illegal and Indigenous people couldn't gather in more than a group of three without intervention of the authorities. Now Indigenous people can enjoy their gatherings as well as invite their loved ones remotely through the comfort of the internet.

The Potlatch Music blog features videos old and new, some from archival footage and more from the newer potlatches of today.

Here's a video from the 2010 Hobiyee Nisga'a New Year celebration's Chiefs entrance:

Hychga to Manik for letting us know about this blog site.

Do you have an Indigenous music blog or website you'd like to share?

Drop us a line at info@rpm.fm or leave us a comment below.

RPM YouTube Playlist: West Coast - Volume 1

To accompany our West Coast Volume #001 Podcast, we have compiled a playlist with some additional West Coast based Indigenous artists on our RPM YouTube channel.

The playlist includes:

Rapsure Risin’ – The Lights Go Out Discreet Da Chosen 1 – Ma Letter JB The First Lady – Get Ready Get Steady K.A.S.P. – On A Roll Kristi Lane Sinclair – Last Song Optikz – Gifted Manik – Commercial Drive M’Girl – Eyes Wide Open Ry Moran – Dreams Of Grey Urban Buffaloes – Regret Nothing

There's no way we could ever fit all West Coast Indigenous music videos in one playlist, so stay tuned for more playlists from the RPM YouTube Channel.

What videos would you like to see featured on our YouTube channel and playlists?

Send us your video picks on our Get Involved page and Suggest An Artist.