new tribe june web

Free Vol. 1 2 Issue 13 SUMMER 2014 Now Available online www.usay.ca

IHTSIPATAPIYOOP SUMMER BUDGETING ABORIGINAL MUSIC

THE FLU SHOT DEBATE

HOLIDAY MOVIES FOSTER CARE DEATHS

BOOK REVIEWS

* *NEW TRIBENEW TRIBENEW TRIBE* magazine

*

Winnipeg BoyzWinnipeg BoyzWinnipeg Boyz

**MOVIE REVIEW BREAKDOWN TRIBE TALENT+ MOVIE REVIEW *

Q&A with the tribe

2 NEW TRIBE SUMMER 2014

NEW TRIBECalgary’s Aboriginal Youth Monthly

[email protected]

Creative DirectorJohn Medeiros

Graphic Design

Aboriginal Design Group

Urban Society for Aboriginal YouthSuite 600, 615 Macleod Trail South

Calgary, Alberta T2G 4T8403.233.8225

Executive DirectorLeeAnne Ireland

Program ManagerJacqueline Dubyk

Financial OfficerJessica Hawryluk

Community Outreach WorkerLevi First Charger

Mentorship CoordinatorJosh Fox Morin

Board of Directors

PresidentSarena Provost

Vice-PresidentAmanda Gonet

TreasurerMelaina Patenaude

SecretaryCheryl Hanley

NEW TRIBE is a youth magazine. Our mission is to promote a positive outlook on Aboriginal living in an

urban setting by promoting information sharing within the Aboriginal and youth communities

Opinions expressed in submitted work/letters are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of NEW TRIBE or USAY. This magazine is a forum for Aboriginal youth to speak their minds and share their stories without intervention.

The publisher assumes no responsibility or liability for plagiarism of the works in the magazine. All writings are presumed to be the original work of the contributing authors.

Special Thanks to our Community Partners & Funders

NOTEBOOKfrom*the*editor

Hello New Tribe Readers,

Are we finally going to have nice weather for a change? After a seemingly long winter it’s great to see the sun come out and everyone out and enjoying some summer weather. It’s shaping up to be a great season with lots of events to keep everyone busy having fun.

In the March issue I mentioned that New Tribe would be switching to online versions only but it was decided to run quarterly print issues instead for the time being. Things are changing and once everything is updated and firm I will be letting everyone know the future format of the magazine.

As always we appreciate your support and will continue to do our best to bring out the magazine to the community.

Need updates on upcoming USAY and New Tribe Magazine events? Feel free to search us out on Face book and join our growing friends list. We post upcoming events,

s u b m i s s i o n requ i rements and deadlines, and fun stuff like upcoming movie nights and book clubs. It is also a great place to comment on stories or articles you wish to see in our upcoming

issues.

Do you have an opinion on this issue of New Tribe magazine? Good, bad, or ugly send in your thoughts and we will print it in the letters section.

Spread the word, and stay true to it.

John MedeirosCreative DirectorNew Tribe Magazine

CONTENTS

NEW TRIBE SUMMER 2014 3

23144 NEWS BRIEFS

6 TRIBE TALENT

8 CREATOR

10 COMMUNITY

12 ON THE TABLE

14 BREAKDOWN

19 COMMUNITY

20 EVOLUTION

23 COMMUNITY

24 MUSIC REVIEW

26 MOVIE REVIEW

27 COMMUNITY

29 BOOK REVIEW

29 COMMUNITY

31 U AROUND TOWN

32 YOUTH HOOPS

SUMMER

20

8

COVER STORYWINNIPEG BOYZ

16

Shawn Atleo resigns as national chief of Assembly of First Nations

Shawn Atleo has resigned as national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, saying he does not want to be a “lightning rod” in the debate over the government’s education bill.Atleo has been heavily criticized for supporting the Conservative government’s Bill C-33, aimed at reforming aboriginal education in Canada.

Aboriginal chiefs from several provinces want Ottawa to scrap the First Nations Control of First Nations Education Act, saying it has failed to meet conditions set out by aboriginal leaders.

Atleo said Friday he believes that the work started many years ago “must continue.”

“Failure is simply not an option. Fighting for the status quo is simply

not acceptable,” he said.

Atleo said his actions as national chief have been “based on principle and on integrity,” and that he has been “honoured” to serve in the role.

In a statement, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he was “saddened” to hear about Atleo’s “unexpected” resignation.

Harper said his government has worked closely with Atleo since he was elected national chief in 2009 to improve the economy, education and standard of living on Canada’s reserves.

Observers say Harper has lost a key ally in Atleo, who has been described as a thoughtful, moderate voice by his supporters. Some of Atleo’s critics, however, say that he has been too conciliatory in his dealings with Ottawa.

In his statement, Harper said Atleo was “a conciliator and strengthened the relationship between First

Nations and the Crown.”

Disagreement on education bill

Atleo has called Bill C-33 a necessary step toward giving First Nations control of their schooling. But some First Nations leaders strongly disagree, saying the bill will keep most of that control in the hands of the federal government.

Derek Nepinak, the Grand Chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, is among those who have said they will do “whatever is necessary” to oppose the bill.

Nepinak told CTV’s Power Play Friday that indigenous people and First Nations communities “across the country” reject Bill C-33.

SOURCE -CTV News

Aboriginal Happenings From Across Canada

NEWS*BRIEFS



COMMUNITY


TRIBE*TALENT

AUGUST BISHOP


In the next few weeks school will be out for the summer and many of you will be starting your summer jobs. This is the perfect time to begin to learn how to take control of your financial future.

The best way that you can make the most out of your new income is to set goals for yourself, such as saving to purchase a car, or saving for new school clothes at the end of the summer.

The first step is to take a look at what financial obligations you may have during the summer, this may include buying a bus pass to get to and from work, helping out your family with the grocery bill, or helping pay for your cellphone bill. Whatever they may be its important to make a list of these obligations.

The second step is to create a budget that includes all of these things, as well as the money you make at your summer job. By creating a list of incomes and expenses we can start to look at where all your hard earned dollars are going. Below is a sample budget:

INCOME: Wages/Allowance $ 500 Gifts $ 50 Bonus $ 30 TOTAL INCOME: $ 580 EXPENSES: Food $ 100 Transportation $ 58 Entertainment $ 150 TOTAL EXPENESE: $ 308 INCOME – EXPENSES: ($ 580 - $ 308) = $ 272

While each individual’s monthly income and expenses may vary, this example can serve as a framework to create your own personalized budget. Seeing where your money is going helps you to determine is your getting the most out of our summer income.

Most people think of a budget as another way of creating limitations on how they can spend their money. But the best way to think of this is to see making a budget as conscious choice to take control of your money.

But setting financial goals for yourself and sticking to a budget you are taking control of your future and creating skills that will create positive results in the future.

COMMUNITY

by Tarra Wright-ManyChief

SUMMER BUDGETING


COMMUNITY

by Andrea Smith The Urban Society for Aboriginal Youth will be publishing its fourth annual indigenous language comic this June. The book is an effort to hook young readers with awe-inspiring art work and a captivating story line, while sharing words and phrases from the Blackfoot language.

“It’s about a little artist girl, who’s painting. She gets frustrated and destroys her painting... and then the Creator comes down and says well you just destroyed the world,” says Brian Batista, artistic director for the project.

The book will be written entirely in Blackfoot, with English translations found underneath the Blackfoot writing, as well as at the back of the book. Batista co-created the story line with experienced story teller, Marshall Leigh

George, and found the eight young artists who did the illustrations for the comic. The book, funded by Canadian Heritage, is aptly named Ihtsipatapiyoop, which means “Creator” in English.

“There’s that algorithm... that macrocosm... that she is creating. But she doesn’t realize it has to do with all of creation,” he says. “So we have two creators in the story: Creator, the spiritual creator, and also the human as a creator.”

Batista also wanted to ensure that along with educating youth about the Blackfoot language, they would educate the youth about history—particularly first nations history in Canada. The art work in the novel runs through a sequence of themes starting with the east coast, and finishing with the west coast. Key pieces of history are included, such as the Treaty 7 agreement—a treaty that covers most of southern Alberta (including areas in and

around Calgary).

And because it’s an art book, Brian did away with the old-school speech bubbles found in traditional comics like Archie magazines and Sunday newspapers. Instead, he and his team created an open lay-out with text boxes and smooth, flowing illustrations depicting a variety of scenes on one page. “Pages are designed to flow how you would read it,” says Batista. “It might look a little more chaotic, but I didn’t want to restrict them by boxing it in... My concept behind that was it’s very western—the idea of all these panel boxes.” Mitchell Poundmaker, one of the artists who worked on the comic, loved Batista’s idea about having an open page design. “I like the fact that he steered away from the conventional box—literally thinking outside the box. It’s these big beautiful art pages that sort of melded together with no fixed borders or boundaries.”

Poundmaker, who found the job through contacts on Facebook, jumped at the opportunity to be a part of such a noble project, he says.

“People are using graphic novels as reading tools for kids in the classroom these days. I thought that would be cool... On top of the fact that they’d be learning Blackfoot,” says Poundmaker.

Poundmaker and the other artists were versed in the basic story-line, and given free reign over the illustrations they wanted to


COMMUNITYcreate to match it. While the story is supposed to be full of detailed and exciting imagery, the task of drawing to script wasn’t always easy.

“Page 40 took me so long. The character Sage Sweetgrass appears 11 times. It’s her doing flips and using her paint brush to destroy the evil ink blots and liberate this eagle,” says Poundmaker.

After battling through it--sweat, blood, and tears--he says he was rewarded with a true feeling of accomplishment.

“When it was done, I was like ‘Oh my God,’ I could have done four pages by the time it took to do this one page. But it was worth it,” he says.

Poundmaker and the artists who worked on the novel aren’t the only ones who faced a challenge when it came to producing Ihtsipatapiyoop. Randy Bottle is a First Nations Elder that was asked to write a blessing for the book, as well as to translate the English script completely into

Blackfoot. “Some of the words were quite easy to translate, but because of the phraseology, sometimes I had to turn the sentence the other way,” says Bottle of the complications he experienced when translating. Blackfoot was actually Bottle’s first language, and as a result he speaks it fluently. Despite this, he faced stumbling blocks he didn’t expect. English and Blackfoot are different in many ways, including grammar rules and references to past and present, for example. Even pointing to a niece or nephew can be a problem because traditionally, children in the family are regarded as the children of everyone, so niece and nephew can be a difficult concept to express.

“I had to make sure I had the actual translation that was written in the script. And some of the words that were used we don’t have in Blackfoot, so it was hard to come up with them,” he says.

His wife Anita Eaglebear worked with him on the project. They received 200 panels with the storyline, all in English text, and spent 3-and-a-half days translating them. Though difficult at times, Bottle felt it was a worthy cause. “I think we have to look at ways to educate our young people, and this story is something they can relate to. I think them just trying to say the word, and even making that effort to pronounce the word, is also educating them,” he says. “If we can use this as a tool... well I think it’s good.” The comic will come as a package, including a DVD version, and a documentary of the making of it. It will be available through USAY for anyone that wants one, and will be distributed to schools and youth services on and off reserves around the Calgary area. Visit the USAY website, or drop by the USAY office for more details. www.usay.ca


COMMUNITY


FLAVOR

On the Table

Honey Chicken Kabobs

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/3 cup honey 1/3 cup soy sauce 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch cubes 2 cloves garlic 5 small onions, cut into 2 inch pieces 2 red bell peppers, cut into 2 inch pieces skewers

DIRECTIONS

In a large bowl, whisk together oil, honey, soy sauce, and pepper. Before adding chicken, reserve a small amount of marinade to brush onto kabobs while cooking. Place the chicken, garlic, onions and peppers in the bowl, and marinate in the refrigerator at least 2 hours (the longer the better).

Preheat the grill for high heat.

Drain marinade from the chicken and vegetables, and discard marinade. Thread chicken and vegetables alternately onto the skewers.

Lightly oil the grill grate. Place the skewers on the grill. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until chicken juices run clear. Turn and brush with reserved marinade frequently.

connect



COMMUNITY

Breakdown of Chase and Status video for

“Alive”

After the release of the music status video “Alive,” by UK artists Chase and Status, some controversial comments and issues have come up. Although the video is highly appreciated by many fans, critics, and communities, music director Josh Cole’s Alive video has received some negative comments too. This video showcases some truth about a native Indian community in the North America who struggle to get rid of drug addiction. Josh created this video based on the true stories in some native Indian communities. The

clip shows young Blackfeet Indians, their lifestyle, addiction, and struggle.

The video is based on a young lad of this Native Indian community in Montana. The video shows his addiction habits forces him to commit some crimes. Later when he realizes his mistakes, he finds someone close to him dead. Driven by spiritual thoughts and rituals, he returns to his friends and advises them to stop addiction. However, he ends up losing his life as one of his friends shot him. The

soothing music and lovely lyrics of the Alive song complements this video beautifully. Many fans and critics depict that the video clearly conveys a strong message.

Despite of the strong video and powerful music, Josh Cole is under fire from many top critics and media. This is because the way he showed the life of Blackfeet Tribes. According to many Twitter comments, this new production from Cole exploits the image of a local community’s ceremonial rituals and poverty-filled life.

COMMUNITY


This video has certainly attracted unwanted media attention to this local Indian community. According to the critic comments, Cole has done an excellent job in conveying an important message through this video. However, they have also mentioned showing some ceremonial rituals was absolutely unnecessary. The ceremonial sundance by the Blackfeet Indians was filmed for this video. Cole has included this clip in his new music album Alive. According to them, showing the sacred ritual in a drug abuse video was not a good decision.

However, Cole doesn’t agree to what the critics have to say. With an aim to spread public awareness against drug abuse, Josh Cole created this video. He, during an interview, told that his aim is to spread the message about the dangers of addiction. Cole claims that he made this video with the consents of Blackfeet natives. He traveled to Browning, Montana in order to shoot this video in a real tribal setting. The video shows tribe youths and how they struggle and commit crime to fund their drug abuse habits. Cole also commented that he was once a victim of drug abuse. Therefore, he had included such themes in many of his narrative videos. The aim of releasing this video was to convey a message to many of those facing dangerous outcomes of addictions

to follow a spiritual life.

Cole also said during the interview that his work is to showcase problems in the society, but not to show pity on a community. He even spent time with the local community in Montana to discuss about their problem before showing it in the video. Cole also mentioned about his work with an ethnic community in Ethiopia. He worked closely with them during a status video production two years ago. Now he has plans to work with them again for another video production.

He also mentioned that his aim is to highlight the social issue in a community. In the future, he is planning to launch a status video highlighting the plights of prostitutes in a city who belong to the Rastafarian religion in Ethiopia.

Cole claims that he and his team works diligently to show the positive attitude of a community despite of the social problem it faces. In the past, Josh Cole and his team has worked at various regions in the UK, Europe, Africa, and

Asia for status video production. Also, most of his narrative work is based on social issues in a particular community.

The video, however, has received considerable attention from people of all age groups. Although the music was a production of an UK based company, many viewers from the Americas and Asia have given positive comments on Alive. Many viewers have mentioned that the video is a bit complex, yet carries an important message. Even the native communities of Montana appreciated this video. According to a comment, many

Blackfeet tribes felt happy seeing this video about their community.

They, in fact, want this video to go global so that many people can see, understand, and feel the social

problem that Blackfeet tribes are facing. However, many natives have also reacted seeing the actual sundance shown in the video. As this is a very sacred ritual, showing it in a video is not appreciable. Participating in watching the ritual is always welcome. However, showing the actual ritual on a global platform has certainly affected the sentiments of many native communities in a negative way.

In the end you will decide how you feel about it one way or another.

Jacob Banks in Chase & Status video “Alive”


Life sometimes hands you challenges, and growing up in Winnipeg, Manitoba’s roughest neighborhood, the North End, gave the two members of the Winnipeg Boyz –General William Jon-C Pierson, and Charlie Fettah, experiences that they say “helps drive the music we create together.”

The Winnipeg Boyz, are a two member hip hop group, though they prefer to call themselves and what they do “a project.” They have been together for a year and a half, and used to be a part of the hip hop band Winnipeg’s Most. Jon-C started up Winnipeg’s Heatbag Records after a personal tragedy, and Charlie Fettah joined him after they both parted from the hip hop band Winnipeg’s Most.

The Winnipeg Boyz released their debut album *AbInitio* on November 5th 2013. The album features productions by Juno Nominated producers Stomp, Boogey The Beat, & 2oolman. The full length album is filled with 15 tracks and features guests; Krizz Kaliko, Bubblz, Blu , Lorenzo, Nathan Cunningham, Drezus, Rup Monsta, plus More......

I caught up with them and asked them a few questions. Here is what they had to say.

Please tell me a bit about your band-struggles, challenges, what you would like to share with your

fan base.

We basically grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba’s roughest neighborhood, the North End. Jon-C is an Aboriginal of Sagkeeng First Nation and Charlie Fettah is from Winnipeg.

We grew up into the inner city struggles that plagued Winnipeg. The gangs, drugs, and fast money forced us to grow up fast.

With no community support or programs available to us, we ran around in the streets learning how to survive in the cold environment we were born into.

How did Winnipeg Boyz get started? How many are in your group?

The Winnipeg Boyz consists of me- (Fettah) and the General Jon-C. We have been group for about a year and a half, but we have been making music together for too many years to count. Ha ha. It’s more of a project than a group, him and I were members of Winnipeg’s Most, and so it was an easy transition for the both of us. We have always made music together and collaborated so it was really natural.How did you get into the hip hop/ rap scene?

Jon-C- tragedies, heartaches and lost feelings. Hip Hop helped me deal with it. As far as the rap scene, we kept saying YES to any and all

offers/chances to rap in front of a live audience. We have been grinding the rap scene for a min already. Heatbag records started making a name in 2005 and we continue to keep making heads snap with new projects and videos to this day.

Why hip hop, who are your influences?

Why hip hop? I don’t think we had a choice. We were living hip hop before I ever thought of making hip hop. I don’t think we get to pick the WHYS…. Influences come from all the hard working emcees we grew up listening to, all the classics and all the lyricists-Tupac, Biggie, Big L, Easy E, outkast, nas, Kanye West, Wu-tang, ludacris, jay-z, and the new aged rappers Young Jeezy, Akon, Ace hood, Kendrick lamar, yg, Madchild, Oun P, Cassidy, plus all Canadian local and mainstream music.

Where do you draw your creativity from? Does it come easily for you as a group?

Just the love of music and inspirations that life brings us. We have been working together since the start of our careers so that makes working together a lot easier.

What is some good news you would like to share with your fans?

Keep on the lookout for a full Charlie

Winnipeg BoyzBy: Christine Smith (McFarlane)


COMMUNITYFettah album coming soon, and a full length JON-C album coming soon with brand new videos from the Heatbag family, a few more Winnipeg Boyz videos, some new songs. We’re always working. We don’t stop!

What challenges have you faced in your career, your personal life if any?

Jon-C-It’s been a challenge my entire career being an independent artist and always will be. Personally I’ve done a lot of things I wish I hadn’t but you live and you learn. I’ve faced a lot of profiling and police harassment because of my past. I understand it but don’t see why after all these years they would still assume I’m up to no good.

My music career consists of being independent, so we do everything ourselves. That means merchandise, cd’s, recording, cd artwork, online accounts and promotions, which makes up for a 24/7 challenge. But I’m down for it. Life is good. I have been busy building Canadian Urban Television CUTtv with my business partner. We are building a brand new Canadian outlet for the urban society we all live in today.

Would you consider yourself role models for youth? If so, how and what was it that made you want to

be a role model to others?

We get asked this question a lot…ha ha. It’s a tough question to answer because we feel like nobody should live the life we used to live or the life we speak about in some of our music. We speak about things that aren’t always positive or happy but its true

and we don’t believe in sugarcoating anything. We understand that many youth look up to us and we make an effort to try and provide them with information and share our experiences in hopes that they don’t repeat our mistakes or theirs.

But really at the end of the day, every human being is responsible for their own actions and all we can do as artists is stay true to who we are and hope that fans take something away from the music. Positive or negative people have to learn from every victory and every mistake, that’s just life.

What message can you give youth to encourage them, especially if they

aspire to be in the field you are in.

Fettah-The only thing I can say to aspiring artists is to never give up. I know that sounds cliché but it’s so true. Whether you’re signed or not, you have to push your product because no one will do it for you. We did it all ourselves, well Jon-C did most

of the footwork as far as videos and graphics to mixing and mastering. He held Heatbag down for many years so he is probably more suited to answer this question.Jon-C- BE YOU, is the first thing. To be in the music business, you got to learn to have tough skin, because it’s a real life struggle

to put projects together. Dedication is needed. It can go quickly from a hobby to a job. Graphic designing , cd artwork, mixing and mastering., but all of our youth have an opportunity to become exactly what they aspire to be. It all begins with learning and practicing.. So if you’re a youth, and want to start learning the music industry now, DO IT. No matter the genre. Perfect your art and always believe in yourself.

For more information on the Winnipeg Boyz and to listen to their music, please visit www.winnipegboyz.net

Community

COMMUNITY



From the beginning of time, Aboriginal people have used music, song, and dance in their everyday lives. Aboriginal people use songs to acknowledge significant moments and to guide them through moments of existence; be it sacred healing ceremonies, war and hardship, love and loss, in good times and in bad times. Aboriginal people have always been able to adapt their music to the cultural and social context that we find ourselves in. This article will take a look at what has evolved in the past 13 years, and how the drum beat in rhythm with the heart has always influenced Aboriginal musicians who have contributed to the Aboriginal Music Industry.

Thirteen years does not seem like such a long time, but for the Aboriginal music scene an entire decade has passed where we have seen great musicians from every genre take chances, sometimes fail, but also enjoy enormous success. We have also been witness to the expansion of a mainstream music industry to include Aboriginal people’s music, which is a huge accomplishment for the individuals who were able to break into the main stream. Like all things Aboriginal it always takes a little time to acquire the knowledge and understanding to appreciate the beauty of the music and concepts to catch on with the general population. This

has always been an issue, but with current contemporary music styles this is becoming easier with time. Beauty is usually within the eye, or in this case ear, of the beholder, and makes the experience of the music even greater as all Aboriginal fans know the references. It is this fact that makes Aboriginal music unique in the sense that it connects with the audience.

But first let us take a look at what it means to be an Aboriginal musician. Traditional teachings in Aboriginal Culture believe that a person’s words carry a lot of power. Words you speak or sing connect you to the Creator and to the person you are singing /speaking about. In most cases a common denominator of Aboriginal music is the fact that all artists are vivid in their lyricism relying on the use of the drumbeat or the heartbeat. This gesture pays homage to the fact that we are acknowledging our ancestors and respecting our connections through the most basic of human functions, the drum beat as our heart beat. Sometimes intentional, other times by mere chance and when it works as a listener you are blessed to be hearing the most amazing music. When mixed with blues, in Derek Millars song Lovesick blues, or mixed with rock in CerAmonys Look like change (to me), to Wab Kinews rap song Live by the drum, the heartbeat is an especially great example

of what can be accomplished musically when incorporating the sounds of the drum. When mixed with contemporary music in the song Starwalker by Buffy St Marie and in the song O Siem by Susan Aglukark hints of that old knowledge that speaks to a willing audience ready to delve deeper into the experience and make the connection works on so many levels. This is the diversity of the heart beat and of Aboriginal musicality. All songs mentioned have been recipients of Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards, have either been nominated and or won Juno awards for Aboriginal Recording of the year and hold a lot of merit for being able to achieve recognition amongst their peers. These songs are just a taste of what is going on in Aboriginal music, there is a slow manipulation beginning to transform into sounds creating a new genre of music that is exciting to witness and certainly to inspire others. This fact, this ability to have a genre that allows you to express yourself creatively using our own culture is the best thing about Aboriginal music.

A long way to go for sure, but these artists and others started from simple beginnings with big dreams of making it and they have. The respect shown to them, has contributed to the scene of

by Katty Jo RabbitOriginal artwork by Kristy North Peigan

Evolution of Aboriginal Music

COMMUNITY


Aboriginal music in more ways than one. They paved the way for Aboriginal music; they helped carve out a small niche. They have also provided supports to others so that they too can become a member of this group. They not only have brought light to the Aboriginal community and the issues surrounding us as a people, they have inspired a plethora of other musicians who have song in their spirits to come fourth and represent in creative and artistic ways.

When you think of Aboriginal music, you often assume or think immediately of the drum, some forget that other instruments that have evolved with Aboriginal music are the rattle, the flute, the fiddle and most musicians wouldn’t consider themselves musicians because some have grown up with a drum and know song and dance to be a part of everyday life; but all of these instruments have become the tool for Aboriginal musicians to express themselves. Now as time moves on we see another side of Aboriginal music that includes the electric guitar, turntables and beat boxing, instruments never used before in Aboriginal music.

In the same way that Aboriginal people are slowly losing the essence of our craft and native tongue; the oral traditional songs remain strong in the sweat lodges and in the throats of our grandmothers and grandfathers. Are now popping up in various songs and we have to ask

ourselves how far do we take it? Should we be sharing sacred songs? Is there a way to combine this without being disrespectful? Others would consider it another way of passing these songs on to the next generation. Either way you look at it, the result is amazing and powerful at the same time. In The Prayer Loop Song, performed by Supaman a rapper from Saskatchewan. Who not only uses prayer as an element in his music; but also combines both urban and rural techniques creates a sound that is a true reflection of what it means to evolve with the society around us.

With the age of technology this should bring us into the future where we can begin to expand the awareness of our music, our concepts and how we share our music. We now have the internet to assist us in taking our music to another level. We witnessed celebrity Joey Styles use ‘YouTube’ to create his success, which then bent the grass for a tribal trail into the unknown for up and coming artists who are yet to reach the masses.

Aboriginal music has also been able to call back to the drum the lost children, empowering those individuals, who haven’t had a chance to explore their own culture a way back into the circle. As it offers a platform for exploring what it means to be an Aboriginal person. Aboriginal music isn’t just what you hear produced in the studio’s, it is

also the pow wow drum songs, the peyote songs, the hand drum songs, the rattle songs and songs of the flute, most importantly it is the songs of our hearts. All these songs and musicians that provided the foundation of how to use music and these instruments should also be acknowledged as they too have their place amongst makers of the evolution of Aboriginal music. Most impressive is the example found in the music of A Tribe Called Red; specifically the song Electric pow wow drum. They are leading the Aboriginal music scene into the future and exposing the sounds to a broader audience who wouldn’t normally seek out Aboriginal music, a difficult feat in itself.

As time become history, the grassroot and humble yet passionate songs from the past thirteen years, are emerging. The sounds highly polished are able to successfully translate what it means to be an Aboriginal person. One thing for sure is that this kind of music is definitely more about the spinoff and what it manifests itself to be for the listener. It is also a reminder to the world that we are alive and well and creating our own musical realities. For Aboriginal people it has always been about moving forward and reclaiming our voices. Our ancestors started it all and we will continue with the message using whatever sound or instrument we choose to use. We are resilient, we are thriving.


Community


BEATS

Turn up the VolumeBy Katty Jo Rabbit

Various Artists I saved Latin! A tribute to Wes Anderson

Finally, someone has done what others should have a long time ago!! If you’re a movie buff then you already know who Wes Anderson is and how cool he is, well how cool his perspective is in movies. If you don’t know him then you need to get out more or pay attention to the little details, like who is directing the movie you’re watching. So Wes Anderson, made nine movies, all of them stylistically directed with great taste and even better awareness of little details; that make the movie-going experience that much more special. Before I forget, here is a listing of movies that Wes Anderson directed in order of my favorite to the least.

Moonrise Kingdom , The Royal Tenenbaums, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Squid and the Whale, Bottle Rocket, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Darjeeling Limited, and Rushmore. If you have nothing to do for a few days definitely watch the first five films, you won’t be disappointed and you will understand the fanatics.

Two discs, 23 cover songs, indie rock covers by the way, what more could you ask for, well for one thing, it would be nice to have some of the people covering the songs be somewhat known by the mainstream. But this works in two ways, one: you get introduced into new music scenes as you normally wouldn’t be able to do with well known musicians and two: the old songs seem new again. This is a constant theme in these movies and it works well with the musical set up. From bands such as Tea Cozies rendition of Here comes my baby, to Tele Novella’s take on the Velvet Undergrounds, Stephanie Says to the absolutely amazing cover of Needle in the hay it’s like seeing the suicide attempt in the Royal Tenenbaums all over again. But this time Margot would be in the back ground singing the Elliot Smith song instead. It is really all about hope and discovery and I hope this makes you want to see the movies and that it helps you be open to exploring what is out there and how wonderful the world of music can be if you just listen.


COMMUNITY

BEATS

Music You Can Feel In Your Toes

Neighbors Original Motion picture Soundtrack

Anything that Seth Rogen is involved in, you can be guaranteed that the soundtrack is going to have some great long forgotten tracks that make the scenes of raunchy comedy and hilarious hi-jinx memorable. With this movie soundtrack you get the same formula, and it works. As for the movie, if you’re into the whole frat- party life style, hazing and not being able to give up on the whole party life scene then you will enjoy it even more.

Definitely one of those movies that you don’t have to think about or be aware of back story to understand, instead as an audience member you get to be just that, in the audience. Waiting

for the jokes and laughing along to the awkward sometimes gross moments. At the same time, it will also speak to the old school party freaks who would jam out to Here comes the hotstepper and to Missy Elliots, Get ur freak on. For the most part this album only lasts as long as the party does and in most cases it is not that long.

Not sure who complied this music, not sure if it works in any other way except to remind people of the crazy movie scenes that involved drinking, smoking weed and being overall selfish. Other than being slightly over-rated, boring in the sense that most of the songs were in all the same tempo, and not really giving to the audience in the fact that there should be some sort of break between the party music, I mean you have to pass out sooner or later and too pass out to K’naan Hurt me tomorrow doesn’t quite do it.


MOVIES

See Youat the Movies

Starring Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Nat Wolff

The movie Fault in Our Stars is based off an award selling novel by John Green. The advanced story line is about a young cancer facing teen girl that falls deeply in love with a current cancer surviving teen boy. The inching pace love story will have you wanting to jump through the screen. The two teens fall in love together and travel across the Atlantic Ocean to the other side of the world to fulfill Gus ’(the teen boy) final wish. This is an absolutely amazing love story that is heart-wrenching throughout and it will have you on the edge of your seat wanting more.. The movie stayed so very true to the best-selling novel, and author and movie creator John Green did an excellent job of making this a very sweet and romantic love story from the beginning, all the way to the end.

The two actors selected as main characters could not have been any more perfect to fulfill these roles. Even though they are only actors, the story portrayed on screen made you feel like their life and love story was unraveling right in front of you. The comedy portrayed was spot on, from the goofy faces they make of one another to the comical jokes between the two of them.

These actions written into the movie made the movie very relatable to everyday life. The romance that built up throughout the movie put you on the edge of your seat and made you smile, the comedy made you laugh, and the devastating tragedy will make you cry. The movie was very well written and put together; although some parts were completely predictable for what would occur next. Predictability is not uncommon, However, just certain parts were overly predictable which did take away from the expected suspense. For the overly indulged avid book readers, there were hardly any noticeable differences at all between the two.

This only makes the movie that much better to watch on the big screen, and in certainly reaches much more audiences. Overall, don’t expect to have any bit of dry eyes upon the start of the credit roll, because the tragic love story portrayed is really just that good. So, if you are skeptical as to the believability or the closeness in relevance to the book; do not be! Get your tickets now, because you certainly will not be disappointed.

COMMUNITY


LITERALLY

Book ReviewsFor the restless mind

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie is one of the most interesting novels that I have read in a long time. The book is really funny but is also has a dark side to it. The book is actually a bunch of short stories and they are all interesting. They are all really warm and heartfelt and always very funny. Some of the stories have sad elements to them. Much of the book takes place on an Indian Reservation and a lot of the residents are really suffering from extreme poverty and alcoholism. However, the book doesn’t dwell on those topics. It depicts how people deal with them and rise above.

I really appreciated how the short stories of the book were format. Alexis wrotes about a lot of serious matters and I felt that the format of the book allowed for a break in between the intensity of the plotlines. One of biggest problems that current

Native American populations face is struggling with high rates of alcoholism. There are a lot of stories in The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight that confront this issue and I really appreciated the thoughtful and nuanced take the author used.

I liked the way the author really confronted a lot of serious issues with love towards the people depicted in his book. I always felt like I was reading about real people with all their ups and downs. I think it takes a really talented writer to depict a character’s negative traits and still make up feel a lot of sympathy for them. You really do feel for these characters. They seem to jump off the page and are so realistic.

Sherman Alexie writes in a very simple, straightforward style. He doesn’t’ use flowery language but his writing is beautiful and rich. You feel as if you are on the reservation where all these things are happening. So much of life is full of triumph and sorrow and Sherman Alexie’s world shows that. The characters in his book experience so much joy and sorrow.


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