What do Crystal Shawanda, Leela Gilday, Northern Cree powwow group, a dozen other Indigenous artists, and Roots band Sultans of String have in common? They have all come together in the spirit of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action and Final Report that calls for Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists to work together to create Walking Through the Fire.

This album and live show are a powerful collection of collaborations between the roots group and First Nations, Métis, andInuit artists from across Turtle Island, with the CD releasing September 15, 2023, and a live concert tour launching on September 28, leading up to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

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Fire can be destructive, as we have seen with the unprecedented forest fires still burning in Canada. But what we see right afterward is interesting, as collaborating Indigenous art director Mark Rutledge explains, referencing the title and cover art of Walking Through the Fire. “You’ll see the burnt-out husks of trees and the ash and the charcoal on the landscape. But fireweed is the first plant after a forest fire that emerges, and you’ll see rivers and fields of magenta within the barren landscape, and those nutrients are going back into the soil for the next generation of trees and flowers and regrowth.”

There is fear instilled within the very notion of fire because it can be so destructive, not just to the landscape, but to the lives of people. But what lies beyond fear that holds people back from achieving what they want to achieve? “The other side of fear is growth and potential with collaboration between non-Indigenous and Indigenous people,” Mark continues. “When we drop the word reconciliation on people, there’s a large group of people who don’t understand what that means. And when you don’t understand something, you are fearful of it. But if we go through the same experience together, we walk through that fire together, and we come out together on the other end and have that unified experience together, that’s the power in this album.”

Together these artists are making a safe, creative space where new connections can be dreamed of – not in the Western way of thinking and problematizing – but instead a deeper sharing and understanding, with music being the common ground to help cultures connect and understand each other. “We are opening doors for each other, as Indigenous peoples, as settler peoples. This project is about creating connections and spaces to learn from each other” explains collaborator Alyssa Delbaere-Sawchuk, violist with Métis Fiddler Quartet.

Nine-time Grammy-nominated Northern Cree and community organisers in Kettle and Stony Point welcomed Sultans of String to their annual powwow for one of these collaborations. Steve Wood, drummer and singer, explains, “When you’re collaborating with mainstream music, it shows that we can work together to bring out the very best in who we are as human beings, and we can bring out something very beautiful.”

A central theme running through Walking Through the Fire is the need for the whole truth of Residential Schools and the Indigenous experience to be told long before reconciliation can possibly take place. Grammy-nominated Elder and poet Dr. Duke Redbird, who in many ways provided the initial inspiration for this project, explains, “The place that we have to start is with truth. Reconciliation will come sometime way in the future, perhaps, but right now, truth is where we need to begin the journey with each other.”

WALKING THROUGH THE FIRE TOUR DATES:

2023 Tour

With Leela Gilday, The North Sound, Don Ross, Shannon Thunderbird, Alyssa Delbaere-Sawchuk, Marc Meriläinen (Nadjiwan), and a multimedia extravaganza including Northern Cree, Kendra Tagoona, Tracey Sarazin, Duke Redbird and more.

Sep 28 – Markham                           Flato Markham Theatre
Sep 29 – Stratford                             Stratford Symphony
Sep 30 – St Catharines                     Niagara Symphony
Oct 1 – St Catharines                       Niagara Symphony
Oct 2 – St Catharines                       FirstOntario PAC Education show
Oct 3 – Brantford                               Brantford Symphony
Oct 4 – Lindsay                                   Flato Academy Theatre

With Shannon Thunderbird, Alyssa Delbaere-Sawchuk, Marc Meriläinen (Nadjiwan), and a multimedia extravaganza including Northern Cree, Kendra Tagoona, Tracey Sarazin, Duke Redbird, and more.

Oct 10 – Sudbury                              Café Heritage – Education & Evening show
Oct 11 – North Bay                           Capital Centre
Oct 12 – Timmins                              Timmins Museum, O’Gorman HS
Oct 13 – Geraldton                           Geraldton Concert Series
Oct 14 – Thunder Bay                      Sleeping Giant Folk Music Society
Oct 15 – Dryden                                 Dryden Entertainment Series
Oct 16 – Sioux Lookout                   Sioux Hudson Entertainment Series
Oct 17 – Red Lake                              Red Lake Entertainment Series
Oct 18 – Kenora                                 Lake of the Woods Concert Group
Oct 19 – Fort Frances                       Tour de Fort Entertainment Series
Oct 22 – Burlington                          Burlington PAC
Oct 23 – Burlington                          Burlington PAC Education show
Nov 12 – Walkerton                          Victoria Jubilee Hall

2024

Jan 19 – Ottawa                                 Centerpointe Theatre
Jan 23 – Kingston                              Kingston Grand Theatre – Education & Evening show
Jan 25 – Brampton                            Rose Theatre – Education & Evening show
Jan 30 – Guelph                                 River Run Centre Education show
Jan 31 – Guelph                                 River Run Centre Education show
Feb 1 – Guelph                                   River Run Centre – Education & Evening show

Mar 2 – Winnipeg Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra

Mar 3 – Winnipeg Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra

April 15 – Markham Flato Markham Theatre – Education Show
April 16 – Markham Flato Markham Theatre – Education Show

ALL TIX LINKS