yāhkaskwan mīhkiwap (aka light tipi)

Cheryl L’Hirondelle (Cree/Halfbreed; German/Polish) is an interdisciplinary artist, singer/songwriter and critical thinker whose family roots are from Papaschase First Nation / amiskwaciy wāskahikan (Edmonton) and Kikino Metis Settlement, Alberta. Her work investigates and articulates a dynamism of nēhiyawin (Cree worldview) in contemporary time-place to create immersive environments towards radical inclusion and decolonisation. As a songwriter, L’Hirondelle focuses on sharing nēhiyawēwin (Cree language) and Indigenous and contemporary hybrid song forms and Indigenous language sound shapes and personal narrative songwriting as methodologies toward survivance. L'Hirondelle has performed, presented and exhibited nationally and internationally. L’Hirondelle was awarded two imagineNATIVE New Media Awards (2005 & 2006) and two Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards (2006 & 2007). L'Hirondelle also received the 2021 Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Art. In 2025, she was bestowed an Honorary Doctorate from Queen’s University and the King’s Coronation Medal from the Indigenous Curatorial Collective. Her latest album released in October 2025 is Why the Caged Bird Sings, a collection of songs co-written with incarcerated women, men and detained youth from across the land now known as Canada and is available on all platforms.

https://www.cheryllhirondelle.com/

Anders Hunter is from the Stoney Nakoda Nation of Mînî Thnî, Alberta. Anders has experience in being a multi-faceted performer and with over thirty years as a traditional singer and as a song composer. He has also incorporated his father’s drum group, Eya Hey Nakoda, into many collaborative projects. Anders is especially proud of his theatrical project ‘Making Treaty 7’ on which he led his group as a music ensemble and as well as the co-musical Artistic Director.

Anders acted in a grade school educational project that depicted how the making of Treaty 7 came to be, called ‘We are all Treaty People’. The traditional lifestyle Anders was brought up in helped him maintain his cultural identity as a Nakoda. Anders still attends ceremonial events such as the sun dance, sweat lodges, and any pipe ceremony. 

Anders' artistic goal is to break musical barriers and open up doors to more collaborative work between First Nations and non-First Nations peoples.