Toga da wôhnagabi (Stories for the Future) Participant Concert 2

Sara Kae is an Ojibwe and Cree artist, writer and performer with limitless range both in the stories she tells and where she tells them. A member of Lake Helen First Nation, Sara got her start touring northern Ontario with her father, speaking and singing in schools and community gatherings from the age of 12. Today, as an honours graduate and Founders Award recipient at Metalworks Institute in Mississauga and 2025 CBCxSOCAN Foundation Reverie resident, Sara’s early career accomplishments include a concert series with the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, co-creating a musical theatre production (“Trading Places”), and opening for Juno award winning, Aysanabee. On the radio Sara’s been heard as a recording artist on her debut single “Rise”, headlining her own Toronto radio program with APTN, and hosting national Truth and Reconciliation Day programming on CBC. Her single “25" released last September opened a new and exciting musical chapter in the story of Sara Kae; told with the tone, nuance, and personality you would expect from a prodigy of Sara’scaliber and lived experience. The full-length EP, Maadaadizi, funded by the Ontario Arts Council is an intimate and organic tribute to Sara's growth.

Morikilr is a Taiwanese singer-songwriter from the Indigenous Lijia Tribe in Taitung.
His work explores the space between loss and belonging, weaving personal memories and tribal stories into warm, reflective soundscapes.
His 2024 debut album, inspired by themes of home, nature, and resilience, was nominated for Album of the Year, Best Indigenous Language Album, and Best Indigenous Language Singer at the 36th Golden Melody Awards. He also received First Prize in the Indigenous
Language Category at the 21st Taiwan Original Music Awards, organized by Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture.
Through his music, Morikilr seeks to preserve fading voices and to
create new connections between the past and the present.

Louis Bouchier is a composer and performer from Edmonton, Alberta, and an active contributor to Canada’s evolving music landscape. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music with a Native Studies minor from the University of Alberta, where he studied composition, improvisation, sampling, sequencing, and a range of hardware and software production techniques. His academic training, combined with deep experience in live performance, has shaped a versatile and exploratory musical voice.
Louis has toured nationally and internationally, performing across Canada and in parts of Europe with the alt-country groups The Uncas and Marystown. As a multi-instrumentalist, he is skilled in electric guitar, lap steel guitar, electric bass, vocals, drum programming, and music composition. His dynamic career has included work as a freelancer and session player with a range of Edmonton-based acts, including Brother Octopus and The Devil’s Sons, spanning genres from Americana to punk to experimental music.
In recent years, Louis has expanded his practice into electronic music performance and education through Sampler Café, a sample-based collective focused on improvisational music and public engagement. Performing under the moniker Dichotomos, he uses live sampling, looping, and sequencing to create genre-defying sets while also educating audiences on the creative processes behind the music. His performances emphasize spontaneity, cultural dialogue, and a DIY ethos.
Louis was also a featured performer in the SubArctic Improv and Experimental Arts Series, where he contributed to multidisciplinary explorations that blend sound, movement, and improvisation. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated a commitment not only to musicianship but to creating spaces for experimentation, collaboration, and knowledge-sharing across musical and cultural boundaries.
This past June 2025, the concert Here-Hearing was held at Mile Zero Dance in Edmonton. As part of a two-night series celebrating local musicians and sound artists, the event combined classical composition, improvisation, electronics, and multimedia. Red River Resonance (Louis Bouchier and Jen Dunford) showcased their distinctive approach to improvised sound, dance, and visuals.
 

Nuskmata Jacinda Mack is a Nuxalk artist, singer, and songwriter whose music bridges the ancestral and the contemporary. Rooted in the powerful traditions of her Nuxalk homelands, Nuskmata’s voice carries the stories, language, and spirit of her people into new creative landscapes that blend traditional songs with modern sounds.
A versatile performer, Nuskmata has sung in live bands and explored a wide range of musical genres, from the heartbeat of traditional Nuxalk songs to the driving rhythms of rock and the storytelling of folk. Her songwriting reflects both cultural resurgence and personal experience—honoring the land, language, and community that shape her identity.
Nuskmata contributed three songs to Nusximta, the first-ever all-Nuxalk language album, a groundbreaking project dedicated to revitalizing and celebrating Nuxalkmc language through music. Her work on Nusximta highlights her deep commitment to cultural preservation and innovation, bringing ancestral knowledge into contemporary artistic expression.
Whether performing in intimate gatherings or on larger stages, Nuskmata’s music is an act of love and resistance—celebrating who she is as a Nuxalk woman and artist, and inviting listeners to witness the living strength of Indigenous voice and creativity.
 

AUNTIE KD is a queer, Cree emerging music producer, composer, songwriter, and drag musician from Treaty 4 Territory (Regina) with lineages from Cowessess First Nation, and Peguis 1B First Nation. Their Alternative Rock style and performance aims to highlight the history of colonialism & intergenerational healing by uplifting underserved voices and exploring a reciprocity with Mother Earth. By storytelling in lyrics, composition and drag performance, “AUNTIE KD” is an homage to their duty to future generations—using fluidity and joy as methods for Indigenous resiliency.

Mobéy Lola Irizarry (they/them) is a Two Spirit cultural worker in Salsa, Bomba, poetry, and transdisciplinary performance. Based in Brooklyn, they hail from the Puerto Rican diaspora in Hartford, CT, and are a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation. They make within the lineages of decolonial uprisings, collections of tiny mirrors at queer clubs, and the precolonial languages of the drum and the braid. They are a Letras Boricuas ‘26 fellow. Lola is the creative director and conguere for Las Mariquitas, Salsa’s young queer future.

Meghan Meisters (professionally known as iskwē) is a multidisciplinary artist and cultural leader whose work moves at the intersection of story, sound, identity, and community. A JUNO Award recipient and two-time nominee, as well as a Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Prize laureate, she is known for weaving Indigenous perspectives into contemporary forms with a voice both fierce and intimate.

In 2025, Meghan joined the National Arts Centre Orchestra as Senior Manager, Community Partnerships, leading a national portfolio rooted in relationship-building, trust, and the belief that artistic excellence grows through connection. She works across disciplines to nurture collaborations, expand access, and support NACO’s evolving role as a cultural partner. Her approach blends strategic clarity with an artist’s instinct for listening, creating space, and illuminating what lies between the lines.

Meghan brings more than a decade of executive experience as CEO of Littlebit Records, where she leads strategic planning, touring, partnerships, digital growth, and the production of award-winning projects. Mentorship is a defining throughline in her artistic and professional path. She has worked with emerging artists through Mikw Chiyâm, Outside Looking In, and Keychange, nurturing creative confidence, artistic agency, and long-term capacity in the next generation of artistic and cultural leaders.

A proud Red River Métis woman, her leadership is shaped by a deep sense of belonging and responsibility. Her contributions include serving as a juror for the Glenn Gould Prize, participating in residencies at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and Stanford University, and building partnerships across Canada, the U.S., France, Germany, the U.K., and Mexico.

Meghan recently completed the Ch’nook Management Program at UBC Sauder School of Business, strengthening her grounding in Indigenous leadership, business strategy, and governance. She is actively preparing for senior executive roles within Canada’s cultural landscape, guided by a vision of arts leadership that is relational, imaginative, and transformative.
 

Dale Mac is from White Bear First Nations, Saskatchewan. His storytelling and music are backed by his soulful and energetic guitars. Whether performing acoustic roots in venues or rock-based stage shows, Dale’s guitar is the energy behind his style. His influences include Pearl Jam, Clapton, Gord Downie, and Springsteen. Dale’s songs and lyrics are based around Canadian landscapes and settings.

Dale’s second EP “American Horse” was nominated for Indigenous Artist Of The Year at the 2018 Sask Music Awards.

He was nominated for the 2021 Industry Achievement Award at the Sask Music Awards for his work with Indigenous Arts boards and bridging communities. Dale also works towards creating opportunities for the next generation of Indigenous artists.

His third album in production titled "Pežuda Road" aka Medicine Road is based on his positive stories and preserving his Nakota language through recording elders, storytellers and blending the impact of language preservation with his music.

Cheryl L’Hirondelle (Cree/Halfbreed; German/Polish) is an award-winning interdisciplinary artist, singer/songwriter and critical thinker with family roots from Papaschase First Nation / amiskwaciy wāskahikan and Kikino Metis Settlement.