Chubby Cree is a Cree hand drum ensemble whose main members are Noah Green and his grandmother Carol Powder. They are based in Edmonton, Alberta. [1]
Powder and Green are members of the Samson Cree Nation. [2] Powder was raised as a native Cree speaker and was first taught to sing by her grandfather. [3] Powder reports that she first heard Green sing at the age of eight months, when he mimicked a tune she was singing to him as she put him to bed. She bought him his first drum when he was one year old, [1] [4] and he first performed in a group at the age of two. [3]
In September 2024, Powder, her husband, and their 10 grandchildren found themselves homeless after being evicted because their landlord planned to sell the house they were renting, and they faced anti-Indigenous discrimination in finding a new home. [5] They found a new home later that year with the help of an outpouring of community support, including from the charity Jordan's Principle, MLA Janis Irwin, and the bookstore Audreys Books. [5] [6]
The group is named after a nickname given to Powder's younger brother Rick, who had died in 2016. [1] The ensemble Chubby Cree was originally mostly women, comprising Powder, Green, and four of Powder's daughters [2] ; Powder has been a strong opponent of protocols that keep women from playing the drum at powwows. [7] Powder and Green are the main members now, although they are sometimes still joined by Powder's daughter Robin or others. [3] Powder and Green both sing and drum, and Green has been particularly acclaimed for his powerful voice. [1] [4]
Chubby Cree's first major performance as a duo was outside the Alberta Legislature Building before Greta Thunberg took the stage at the October 2019 Strike for Climate Action. [1] Green was nine years old at the time. [4] They have since played at numerous other events, including the commemoration of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Surrey, British Columbia in 2022 [3] [8] and memorials for homeless people who died in Edmonton. [9] Powder and Green play many traditional songs but also write their own, and in 2022 released their first single, "Rock Your World". [10]
In 2023, the group was the subject of Jules Koostachin's documentary Chubby Cree: PiMahCiHoWin (The Journey), which was released through Telus Originals. [1] [3] In 2024, their story was the subject of a picture book, The Heartbeat Drum by Deirdre Havrelock. [6]