Ontario is represented by several Indigenous groups that spread across Canada’s largest province, namely: Ojibway, Cree Delware, Potawatomi, Oneida, Mohawk, Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga and Tuscarora(1). Métis and diverse Indigenous nations from across Canada will also be represented in Ontario, often due to the large variety of college and university options to study.
Among the Iroquois communities there is a deep appreciation for traditional songs and dances handed down through the generations and also contemporary singing societies carry on the tradition to compose new songs and present them annually at Community Sings(20). Over the past couple of decades there are more and more Iroquois women engaged in composing songs for the New Women’s Shuffle Dance.
An Indigenous music icon is Mohawk Robbie Robertson from Six Nations. Having toured worldwide beginning in the mid-sixties with the late Bob Dylan as backup, Robbie became part of a folk-rock music revolution and set the stage for a highly successful music career. In the mid-seventies The Band’s farewell concert was also a partnership Robbie nurtured with Director Martin Scorsese to produce The Last Waltz which turned into one for the greatest rock movies of all time. His career as a solo artist is when Robbie began to discover his Indigenous Mohawk roots. With his fame established, Robbie was instrumental in showcasing a line-up of Indigenous talent at the opening ceremonies in Salt Lake City for the 2002 Olympic Games with the Unity Song-Stomp Dance performed for three billion people from around the world. More closely to home, Robbie was honoured with peer recognition with the 2003 Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation(21).
This article is a non-comprehensive and living document that provides an overview of artistic activities in the region. It will be revised as necessary as part of our ongoing process of continuous updates.
1) http://www.aboriginalcanada.com/firstnation/dirfnont.htm
20) http://nativedance.ca/index.php/Haudenosaunee/Our_Dances_Today?tp=p&bg=0&ln=e&gfx=h&wd=2
21) http://www.naaf.ca/html/r_robertson_e.html