Indigenous music of Canada encompasses a wide variety of musical genres created by Aboriginal Canadians. Before European settlers came to what is now Canada, the region was occupied by many First Nations, including the West Coast Salish and Haida, the centrally located Iroquois, Blackfoot and Huron, the Dene to the North, and the Innu and Mi'kmaq in the East and the Cree in the North. Each of the indigenous communities had their own unique musical traditions. Chanting – singing is widely popular and most use a variety of musical instruments.
Kashtin were a Canadian folk rock duo in the 1980s and 1990s, one of the most commercially successful and famous musical groups in First Nations history.
The Innu are among the First Nations of Canada. They have maintained a vibrant folk music culture, especially involving dance and percussion-based music. Philip Mackenzie is an especially important modern musician, known for being the creator a kind of singer-songwriter tradition using the Innu language. Though he originally used only guitar and teueikan, subsequent performers in his folk Innu style have added electronic and acoustic instruments.
Claude McKenzie is a Canadian singer-songwriter. An Innu from Maliotenam, he was half of the popular folk music duo Kashtin, the most commercially successful musical group in First Nations history.
Innu-aimun or Montagnais is an Algonquian language spoken by over 10,000 Innu in Labrador and Quebec in Eastern Canada. It is a member of the Cree–Montagnais–Naskapi dialect continuum and is spoken in various dialects depending on the community.
Elisapie Isaac is a Canadian Inuk musician, broadcaster, documentary filmmaker, activist, and actress. She spent her childhood in Salluit, Nunavik, Quebec, and moved to Montreal in 1999 to pursue communication studies in order to become a journalist.
Akua Tuta is the third album by Canadian folk rock duo Kashtin, released in 1994. Akua Tuta was the final album released by the band under the name Kashtin, although band members Claude McKenzie and Florent Vollant have each continued to record as solo artists.
Samuel Tremblay, better known by his stage name Samian, is a Canadian rapper who performs in both French and Algonquian.
Innu is the second album by Canadian folk rock band Kashtin, released in 1991. The album was certified platinum in Canada, and was a shortlisted Juno Award nominee for the Best World Beat Recording and Best Roots and Traditional Album awards at the Juno Awards of 1992.
Stanley Vollant is an Innu surgeon from the aboriginal community of Pessamit, which is located by the course of the St-Lawrence River, in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec.
Innu Takuaikan Uashat Mak Mani-Utenam is an Innu First Nations band government in Quebec, Canada. It is based in Sept-Îles in the Côte-Nord region on the North shore of the Saint Lawrence River. It owns two reserves: Maliotenam 27A and Uashat 27 located at both ends of Sept-Îles. It is governed by a band council and is a member of the Mamuitun Tribal Council.
Shauit is a Canadian singer-songwriter, who blends traditional First Nations music, primarily in the Innu-aimun language, with pop-rock and reggae music.
Mesnak is a Canadian drama film, directed by Yves Sioui Durand and released in 2011.
Kim O’Bomsawin is a writer, film director, and a human rights activist specifically for Indigenous women in Canada and the U.S. O'Bomsawin is of Abenaki origin, which is a First Nation in Quebec, Canada. She is considered a leading indigenous filmmaker.
Innu Nikamu: Resist and Sing is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Kevin Bacon-Hervieux and released in 2017. The film is a profile of Innu Nikamu, an Innu music festival which is held on the grounds of the former Sept-Iles Indian residential school. Musical figures appearing in the film include Shauit, Florent Vollant and the rock band Simple Plan.
Kanen is the stage name of Karen Pinette-Fontaine, an Innu singer-songwriter from Uashat-Maliotenam, Quebec. She is most noted as a Felix Award nominee for Indigenous Artist of the Year at the 43rd Félix Awards.
Matiu is the stage name of Matthew Vachon, an Innu singer-songwriter from Uashat-Maliotenam, Quebec. He is most noted as a three-time Felix Award nominee for Indigenous Artist of the Year, receiving nods at the 41st Félix Awards in 2019, the 42nd Félix Awards in 2020, and the 43rd Félix Awards in 2021.
Scott-Pien Picard is an Innu singer-songwriter from Uashat-Maliotenam, Quebec. He is most noted as a three-time Felix Award nominee for Indigenous Artist of the Year, receiving nods at the 42nd Félix Awards in 2020, the 43rd Félix Awards in 2021, and the 44th Félix Awards in 2022.
Telling Our Story is a Canadian documentary web television series, premiered on September 17, 2023 on CBC Gem. Created by documentary filmmaker Kim O'Bomsawin, the series profiles 11 indigenous peoples with territory in Quebec, including Abenaki, Anishinaabe, Atikamekw, Cree, Innu, Inuit, Mi'kmaq, Mohawk, Naskapi, Wendat and Wolastoqiyik communities.
Innu Nikamu is an annual music festival, staged in the Innu community of Mani-Utenam near Sept-Îles, Quebec. Launched in 1985 by a community group that included musician Florent Vollant of the prominent local band Kashtin, the festival programs an annual lineup of Indigenous Canadian music and culture, staged on the grounds of the former Sept-Îles residential school.
