b'ART MEETS COMMERCECHAMPIONING INDIGENOUS MUSICA m a n d a R h e a u m e ch a n n e l s h e r p a s s i o n i n t o b u i l d i n g a s u c c e s s f u l a n d h i g h l y d i v e r s e m u s i c c a r e e r t h a t p u t s I n d i g e n o u s m u s i c i n t h e s p o t l i g h tBy James PetersP lato once said, Music givesAlthough commercially successful inothers. She writes and sings without the soul to the universe, wings tothe Canadian music scene, Rheaumeneed to compromise or adjust to the the mind, flight to the imagi- considers herself first a citizen of thewhims of the marketplace. A chronicler nation and life to everythingMtisNationofOntario.HerMtisof people and their storiesand the else."Thosewhoinvestancestors and relatives trace their rootsindividuals behind themRheaumes deeply in their art know this better thanto the Red River area of Manitoba, withmusiccontainssongsofresistance mostMtis singer Amanda Rheaumeadditional Anishinaabe heritage fromand resilience. is one of them.Lac Seul in northwestern Ontario, along NotonlyhasRheaumebuiltawith mixed settler ancestry. My MtisMusically inclined as a kid, Rheaume successful career as one of Canadasgrandfather was a politician, and hesays that music in one form or another leading Indigenous singer-songwriters,moved to Ottawa to pursue his politicalhasalwaysebbedandflowed shes also put her talent to good use incareer.Thatswheremyimmediatethroughout her life. I was about nine a myriad of other ways: co-launchingfamily grew up, she says. years old when my mom and dad put an Indigenous record label, a globalme in piano lessons through the Royal music festival, and, more recently, aRheaumes sixth album, titled The TruthConservatory, but I didn\'t make it past special office committed to supportingWeHold,offers10newsongsthatGrade 1, she says. I just wanted to Indigenous musicians. Her dedicationchronicle the Mtis spirit. Her voicelearn pop music. So instead of studying to Indigenous music is not just heartfelt,and her music resist the temptationthe classics, I started learning Bryan its also far-reaching. to be pigeonholed or compared toAdams songs on the piano. I continued 70A CCIB PUBLICATIONSpecial Edition 2025'