‘We see you. You all matter. You are the future.’

August 31, 2015
2oolman, DJ NDN, and Bear Witness of A Tribe Called Red pose with Brent Couchie, 13 at the youth Q&A session held on Aug. 29 in Nipissing First Nation.
2oolman, DJ NDN, and Bear Witness of A Tribe Called Red pose with Brent Couchie, 13 at the youth Q&A session held on Aug. 29 in Nipissing First Nation.
A Tribe Called Red in Nipissing First Nation on Aug. 29.
A Tribe Called Red in Nipissing First Nation on Aug. 29.

By Marci Becking

NIPISSING FIRST NATION –  Juno Award-winning group A Tribe Called Red wowed nearly 1000 people on Saturday night with a free concert after hosting a youth workshop earlier that day.

“We see you.  You all matter.  You are the future.  Empowerment comes from the things you carry.  Your culture is super important.”

Those were the messages to the youth from A Tribe Called Red.

Since 2010 the group – currently made up DJ NDN, Bear Witness and 2oolman – has been mixing traditional pow-wow vocals and drumming with cutting-edge electronic music.  DJ NDN (Ian Campeau) is a citizen of Nipissing First Nation, making this an extra-special stop on their Rez Tour 2015.

“The Rez Tour and speaking to the youth has been the most rewarding,” says DJ NDN.  “It’s incredible to see how (the community) has developed – nice to see how far everything’s come.”

Bear Witness and 2oolman, who hail from Six Nations, agree and say that no matter what Rez they go to, they feel like they are at home – even in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

“When we went home to Six Nations, it was the night after we played in front of 15,000 people at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto during the Pan Am Games,” says Bear Witness.  “We got to see people, family that we hadn’t seen in a long time.  We’re playing for people who want to be played to.”

DJ NDN says that it’s exciting to play to communities who have never experienced this type of music.

The group members say that they never learned their language.  Ironically, they use samples of Cree and other drums and in the mixing process, the sentences get re-structured.

“We’ve been told by Cree drums that even though we re-structured the language in the song, that it still makes sense,” says DJ NDN.  He also explained that there is no specific way to mic up a hand drum or a big drum.

All three say that their family influenced them in their lives.  DJ NDN was in a drum group and a smoke dance head dancer.

They attribute social media, specifically music blogs, for their success.  They say it’s a great way to engage their fans and introduces non-indigenous people to the music and culture.

“Reserves are away from towns on purpose,” says Bear Witness.

DJ NDN’s family travelled from Ottawa to see the concert in Garden Village.  His daughter June asked what the group’s next goal was.

“To finish the next album and hang out with my daughter June,” said dad.