Shingoose

Shingoose was the stage name of Curtis Jonnie,[1] an Ojibwa singer and songwriter from Canada.

Born October 26, 1946 in Winnipeg, Manitoba,[1] he was a member of the Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation.[1] At the age of four he was adopted by a Mennonite family in Steinbach.[1] He began singing in church choirs,[1] and joined the Nebraska-based Boystown Concert Choir after moving to the United States at age 15.[1] In the late 1960s and 1970s, he performed with several rock and rhythm and blues bands in Washington, DC and New York City, including a stint in Roy Buchanan's band.[2]

He returned to Winnipeg in 1973.[1] Inspired by the contemporaneous American Indian Movement,[1] he began performing as a singer-songwriter, adopting his great-grandfather's name.[1] His first recording, Native Country in 1975, featured contributions from Bruce Cockburn.[3] He toured extensively across Canada, performing shows in clubs and university campuses and on the folk festival circuit.[1]

In the early 1980s, he collaborated with Don Marks and Bill Britain on the First Nations musical play InDEO, in which he starred.[1] He and Marks later cofounded Native Multimedia Productions, a television production company which created the First Nations current affairs program Full Circle, later retitled First Nations Magazine, for CKND-TV, and the 1989 television special Indian Time for CTV.[1] He was the host of the former program, and was one of the performers in the latter.[4] He was also a correspondent on First Nations issues for CTV's Canada AM.[5]

In 1991, he hosted a three-part documentary series for CBC Radio on First Nations music.[6] He has also worked in aboriginal programming and policy development for TVOntario,[5] and as director of education for the Canada Arts Foundation.[7]

He later served as chair of the Juno Awards committee administering the Juno Award for Aboriginal Album of the Year,[2] and raised funds for an aboriginal cultural centre in Winnipeg.[2] His song "Treaty Rights" was adopted as an anthem of the 2007 Aboriginal Day of Action.[8]

In 2012, he suffered a stroke which left him with partial paralysis.[3] Marks organized a fundraising concert to assist him with medical and living expenses, which featured Eagle & Hawk, Ray St. Germain, Mark Nabess, Dustin Harder, Jesse Green and Don Amero.[3]

"Silver River", a track he recorded in collaboration with poet Duke Redbird for his 1975 release Native Country,[9] is featured on the 2014 compilation album Native North America, Vol. 1.[10]

Albums

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Shingoose at The Canadian Encyclopedia.
  2. 1 2 3 Shingoose at canoe.ca's Pop Music Encyclopedia.
  3. 1 2 3 "Musicians pull together for pioneer Shingoose after stroke". CBC Music, May 14, 2012.
  4. ↑ Antonia Zerbisias, "Native People entertain and educate". Toronto Star, March 26, 1989.
  5. 1 2 "TVO appoints first manager of native policy". The Globe and Mail, February 27, 1992.
  6. ↑ "The voice of native performers grows louder". The Globe and Mail, March 8, 1991.
  7. ↑ "Powwow showcase for native talent". The Province, July 12, 1991.
  8. ↑ "Singer's protest song rallying cry for natives". Winnipeg Free Press, June 18, 2007.
  9. ↑ "Native Country: Record launches Indian artistic project". Ottawa Journal, January 23, 1976.
  10. ↑ "Light in the Attic Unearths the Forgotten History of First Nations Music with 'Native North America' Compilation". Exclaim!, October 8, 2014.
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