and feature traditional throat singing alongside alt-country and folk , with songs for the most part in Inuktitut . With both Inuk and English members , the group considers it their job to tell people about life in the Far North , and that ’ s led them very far south at times , most recently on a tour of Australia and New Zealand .
“ We feel like ambassadors for Northern Canada for sure ,” says Nancy Mike , vocalist , throat singer , and accordion player . “ They often won ’ t know where Nunavut is , so we say , ‘ We ’ re from the Arctic in Canada .’”
One thing they did understand in Australia was the plight of Aboriginal people . “ There are so many similarities that we could easily connect that way ,” says Mike . “ That ’ s something we see here in Canada as well but their issues in Australia are so raw still . I would feel they are about 10 years behind Canada in terms of Indigenous issues .”
Mike feels that , in Canada , there ’ s definitely an increased awareness of those issues since the Truth and Reconciliation report . “ If we play a show , we sing in Inuktitut , in my first language . But in between songs , we do a lot of storytelling or explanations about where we come from and what we do , and what issues we have , and what celebrations we have . We love to talk about the North , and I personally absolutely love talking about my culture and where I come from , mostly for the passion of the issues that young people now face in the North . So when we tell those stories to a southern audience , after our show they ’ ll come to us and say , ‘ I ’ ve never seen a show so educational , what you did just now . ‘ They absolutely love learning about it , and a lot of them come to us and say , ‘ Oh my gosh , I never knew this happened in the place where you live .’ They become a bit emotional or they become very thankful they were able to attend our show .”
There ’ s still much more that Canadians can do , she adds . “ You need to take the time to learn the history of where you are living . Talk to Indigenous people or even non-Indigenous people , just to educate yourself about what really happened , and use that as a tool for how you can help out in your community , or your interactions with Indigenous people . I think change is happening now , and that ’ s great , but a lot more should be done as well .”
The group is doing what it can for other musicians from the North as well . They have set up a label called Aakuluk Music , to work with Inuit and Indigenous artists .
“ We ’ ve always known that there is such amazing talent in Nunavut ,” says vocalist and guitarist Andrew Morrison , also the group ’ s manager . “ As we became more active in the south , we always wondered why there wasn ’ t more Nunavut talent on stages and festivals across the country , because we knew that any of those bands would be right up there with all the other ones . So we started to realize that it was important from The Jerry Cans experience to build a team of management and booking agents , publicity , marketing , and all these other sides of the music world that we didn ’ t know anything about when we first started . So we wanted to try and create some sort of organization to build up those things in Nunavut .”
Morrison has watched audiences embrace his group in Canada and abroad . “ Every time we ’ d play in a new place , there would be one or two Inuktitut speakers in a crowd of a thousand ,” he says . “ We were nervous , like , ‘ What were we thinking coming down here ?’ And by the end of the show , everybody is singing along in Inuktitut . So there ’ s lots of potential , and I think that ’ s just one lesson ; we knew the audience would respond .”
Like Howes , Morrison wants agents and bookers to take notice of the crowds coming out to these shows .
“ I think in the music world , but also in Canada on a kind of bigger scale , there ’ s some amazing things going on right now in terms of
Kevin Howes
The Jerry Cans
whatever reconciliation means , but there ’ s lots of interest ,” he asserts . “ People are trying to reflect on what all this stuff means in the history of Canada , and everything , all of the good , and lots of the bad that ’ s gone on . And I think that people are just very interested in hearing those stories , and something new and something they haven ’ t been exposed to before .”
No one is calling the Canadian music world of 2017 problem-free , but there ’ s a surprising amount of optimism for the future , from artists and the industry alike . Companies are adapting , finding new ways to do business that will hopefully keep people employed and make a few more stars , both at home and abroad . Artists are finding ways to keep creating and performing . Internationally , Canada ’ s reputation is stronger than ever , with the world showing an appreciation of the talent , and the people making the music . Even the country ’ s deep wound with its Indigenous people is starting to heal , in no small way through music .
After a worrisome two decades or so , it seems music makers might be able to celebrate just a little for Canada 150 .
Bob Mersereau is a music writer and broadcaster living in Fredericton , NB . He ’ s the author of several books on Canadian music , including The Top 100 Canadian Albums , and is currently working on a biography of the late songwriter Gene MacLellan .
Photo : Amanda Leigh Smith
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