Young singer signed to Sony Music Canada performs on 2Rivers remix

Tia Wood of Saddle Lake Cree Nation is a Cree and Salish rhythm and blues singer signed to Sony Music Entertainment Canada and is the Canadian label’s first Indigenous woman.

“This whole experience, and especially Sony, was like a dream come true,” said Wood, “because I never thought it was actually achievable.”

She said there was a lack of representation during her childhood.

“It was difficult to turn on the television, open a magazine or turn on the radio and see or hear someone who looked like me or came from my hometown or experienced the same stories that I had to experience growing up,” Wood said.

“It was really surreal, exciting and nerve-wracking. But I’m just so proud and so grateful because as a little kid on the reservation, I’m just happy that I did it and that all of this is happening. Because one thing we say as indigenous people is, ‘If one of us wins, we all win.'”

Wood grew up dancing jingles and being surrounded by music and singers. Her father is Earl Wood, one of the founders of the Grammy-nominated and JUNO Award-winning drumming group Northern Cree. Her mother, Cynthia Jim, was in an all-female drumming group and her sister, Fawn Wood, is also a JUNO Award-winning singer.

Wood grew up in a culturally influenced home and participated in ceremonies and powwows.

“Honestly, it’s been a weird adjustment not going to powwows every summer. That’s all we did growing up. And now to go from there to music festivals, both of which are really, really fun, but it’s been an adjustment,” Wood said.

One of the festivals she will be performing at this summer is the 2Rivers Remix in T’Kemlups (Kamloops), BC on July 6. Wood’s performance on Saturday, July 6 at the 2Rivers Remix will be streamed online at https://virtualfeast.ca/events/feast24/#event_evorsvp

Knowledge keepers will be present at the event, including her mother, Cynthia Jim.

There are some similarities between music festivals and powwow tours, Wood said.

“When we do these shows, we always meet people we’ve done shows with before or are friends with. So in that respect, it’s similar to a powwow. You keep meeting people you haven’t seen in a long time.” But otherwise, these events are very different.

“I feel like at festivals like this (like the 2Rivers Remix) it’s a lot easier” to prepare for her performance with incense. “And honestly, I always open my performances with a traditional song, so I’m always a little less nervous doing that at an event where there are lore keepers and other indigenous people present.”

“We’ve only just begun to see the tip of the iceberg in terms of Indigenous representation,” Wood said, citing actress Lily Gladstone, musicians Snotty Nose Rez Kids and model Heather Strongarm as recent examples of Indigenous representation in the entertainment industry.

“We’re just starting to see ourselves in the media, and it’s crazy to be a part of it and to live in a time where we’re seeing that.”

“I feel a great responsibility, but it is also a great motivation. As the daughter of two boarding school survivors, I want nothing more than to be authentic and show who I am and where I come from.”

Her family is her support network and her parents and sisters appear in her video “Dirt Roads”.

“As indigenous people, our stories have always been pushed aside or swept under the rug and I just want to be as authentic as possible.”

Wood has learned to view authenticity as a strength, and she explained her learning curve.

“When I left the reservation and started making music, it was the first time I really went into the studio. I’d been in the studio before and watched my sister, my uncles, or all my other family members, but I was never really the one behind the mic. So it was my first time.”

“One mistake I made at the very beginning was that I wrote what I thought people wanted to hear, rather than things that were true to me. And it didn’t really feel good to sing things that didn’t really resonate or didn’t really come from the heart.”

Wood’s advice to young creatives is: “Just be authentic about your story and where you come from.”

“Because our stories are so beautiful and important – and they deserve to be noticed and told.”

Windspeaker.com

By Odette Auger, Local Journalism Initiative reporter, Windspeaker.com, Windspeaker.com