Songs from above the treeline

Aboriginal voices unite in Banff

by Dominique Carrier

“Land informs the way we sing, move, sense, think, and ultimately how we connect,” says Sandra Laronde, the director of Aboriginal Arts programming at The Banff Centre.

The nature of land and the diversity within Aboriginal cultures is the inspiration behind Diverse as This Land, Laronde’s multi-year vision for music programming in Aboriginal Arts. “We tend to see Aboriginal people through a limited lens that does not always encompass our true size and potential. Truly, our art and culture is as diverse as this land,” says Laronde.

Earlier this fall, Aboriginal Arts presented five of Canada’s most accomplished Aboriginal female music artists in a two-day concert event called Songs Above the Treeline — the first in a series of concerts to be presented as part of Diverse as This Land. “I’m deeply interested in how land shapes voice, movement, and cultural expression. We are all inextricably linked to the land, and we carry our sense of place wherever we go,” says Laronde.

Songs Above the Treeline featured Tanya Tagaq, Lucie Idlout, Leela Gilday, and Inuit throat singers Kendra Tagoona and Becky Kilabuk, and encompassed traditional, electronic, rock, folk, and contemporary music genres influenced by northern cultures and life above the treeline. “I liked the idea of bringing the treeline to the Canadian Rockies so that southern audiences could experience a slice of the north,” says Laronde. “There are so many overtones, harmonic resonances, and dissonances that roam across the tundra, which in turn inspires music and a unique form of throat-singing.”

Through their music, the five women explored northern song traditions from a diversity of Aboriginal nations, such as Dene, Inuit, and Innu. “It is a first in bringing northerners together in Canada and allows us to equally enjoy each others’ art,”says Inuk performer Lucie Idlout. “It is an opportunity to dispel what can be otherwise thought of as Aboriginal music, because though we may be traditional, we are innovating in a modern world, we are current, and we are not the stereotype some expect.”

In addition to these two concerts, 13 women from across Canada participated in a Songs Above the Treeline voice intensive workshop with faculty instructors Lyz Jaakola, who is Ojibwe/Finnish, and Dene singer/songwriter Leela Gilday. Throughout the workshop, the women explored traditional and contemporary song creation.

”The four days were filled with creative spirit, emotion, and inspiration. The sharing of songs, laughter, and tears will be embedded into my heart,” says participant Amber Weasel Head, who is Blackfoot (Kainai)/ Flathead Salish. “Through the workshops, I got to take a glimpse of my spirit and hear it resonate through song. As we shared our voices and I could hear the spirit of my grandmothers singing and harmonizing with me.” The voice intensive also encouraged collaboration between northern and southern communities, and provided artistic development training to the singers.

“Sharing space, time, and talent with a variety of gifted Aboriginal women while encouraging them to find and use their unique voices affirmed to me that we are indeed vessels of positive creative energy,” Jaakola says.

Diverse As this Land will continue to explore how land shapes vocal and cultural expression through workshops and annual concerts. “We all need to be more exposed to the tremendous diversity that exists within Canada, from our tundra to the mountains to the sea to the prairies to the woodlands. All of these places have their own beauty, tone, and spirit,” says Laronde.

Above: Tanya Tagaq (right) delivers a bravura performance at Songs Above the Treeline, with cellist Cris Derksen and dub/DJ artist Michael Red.