Haudenosaunee-Anishinaabe supergroup to perform at Junos Honouring Ceremony

A new supergroup of musicians from Six Nations of the Grand River and Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation have collaborated on a Robbie Robertson-inspired song they will perform at the Junos Honouring Ceremony later this month in Hamilton.

The group, Allied Nations, aligns Anishinaabe values with the Haudenosaunee guiding principles of Peace, Power, Righteousness in their song of the same name.

"Music, dance and speaking are ways of expression for Haudenosaunee people," said Sadie Buck, lead singer for the Six Nations Women Singers.

"A long time ago when I was little, the speakers sounded like they were singing instead of just reciting a speech."

Each member of Allied Nations brings with them their own unique sound to celebrate the diversity of Indigenous music and art at the Junos this year in Hamilton, the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee and Mississaugas.

Buck, who is Seneca from Tonawanda Reservation in New York state and Six Nations of the Grand River, said collaborations such as the Allied Nations, "really opens doors for our kids."

"They have a path that can get them back, whether they know it or not, to the traditionalness of being an Indigenous person,” because music is so much a part of Haudenosaunee culture, she said.

Her singing career is the culmination of all her ancestors’ talent as performers, she said.

Robbie Robertson, a Six Nations musician best known for being a singer/songwriter for The Band, died two years ago.

Buck said some musicians like Robertson can naturally integrate different genres of music like traditional with rock but they can’t always articulate how they do it. 

“So Robbie was doing that very same thing, trying to realize this,” Buck said.