Montreal’s Belgo Building is always a big draw during Nuit Blanche festivities each February, when the city’s cultural centres open their doors all night for mostly free attractions. The Belgo’s art galleries were buzzing about Lido Pimienta’s hourly performances at her exhibition of textiles, drawings and soft sculptures.
Bingo has been a Cree tradition since the 1950s, completing its conquest of Eeyou Istchee only 30-odd years after its invention in the US, where churches and charity groups would play for low stakes.
Cree fashion designer Scott Wabano took his collection to one of the world’s most prestigious runways at this year’s New York Fashion Week (NYFW) February 10. The semi-annual series in Manhattan is one of the world’s four major fashion events along with Paris, London and Milan.
For the second time in three years, 56 First Nations riders and allies traversed a daunting, 4,200km snowmobile route across 16 communities and camps in northern Quebec over 18 days. The First Nations Expedition began February 16 in Manawan, and finished March 4 in Uashat mak Mani-Utenam, passing through the Cree communities of Waskaganish and Chisasibi along the way.
Cree musicians took centre stage in Montreal February 12 when Steve Einish opened for G-Unit rap star Tony Yayo at the Belmont nightclub in a show co-promoted by his event-planning company Nomad Entertainment.
Mags Brien and her mother Elizabeth cut the ribbon December 9 to celebrate the grand opening of two “modern teepees” in Kahnawake. The cross-cultural project called the Mohawk-Cree Teepee has grown rapidly since Philip Matoush and his wife Sharon Pepabano began hosting humble campfires in 2020.
It starts with a simple, pensive guitar riff, before the baseline kicks in like thunder. Then the vocals jump in: “I need you more than ever / baby don’t you ever go, don’t go.”
With the new single “YOY” steadily climbing the charts, Cree singer-songwriter Siibii is not only launching the exciting next phase of an already impressive music career but also introducing their first music under their chosen Eenou name.
Dianne Ottereyes Reid had a powerful reason to join a fledgling CBC unit created to broadcast in Indigenous languages across Quebec a half century ago.
With a resurgence in traditional arts and craftwork, Cree artisans are finding exciting new avenues to showcase their talents. The Cree Native Arts and Crafts Association (CNACA) is expanding its inventory as it prepares to open new stores both online and in Montreal in 2023.
