“I volunteered at a Residential School until 1983. Lots of good times!” - a lady at the show tonight. Proudly. Thinking she was bonding with me after I spoke about Red Shirt Day during my show.
“Well, I’m glad it was good for the staff.”
She was speechless in her realization.
#ChanieWenjack
was a First Nations boy who ran away from Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School where he boarded for three years. He died of hunger and exposure at Farlane, Ontario while trying to escape.
Imagine your child trying to find you.
This is why
#WeWearOrange
.
Good morning. October 4th is a day where we honour the lives of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG). The violence experienced by Indigenous women and girls in Canada is a national tragedy. 1200+ cases and still rising.
No more stolen sisters.
#MMIWG
This weekend I happened upon a busker singing Breathless. I tipped him $10 and said thank you for the performance. He had no clue who I was but he sure loved the song. Literally, my dream come true.
Good morning. Today is Orange Shirt Day, a national day of recognition to commemorate the residential school experience, acknowledge the healing journey of survivors and their families, and commit to taking action towards reconciliation.
#OrangeShirtSociety
#WeWearOrange
Let’s also remember this today: Many status Indian soldiers had to become enfranchised before they could sign up to fight in the Second World War, which meant that when they returned to their home communities, they no longer had Indian status.
#AboriginalVeteransDay
Sipekne’katik First Nation has seven licenses and only three are being used at the moment. Each license has 50 traps for a total of 150 traps. The commercial fishery in that zone, which is much bigger than just St. Mary’s Bay, allows for up to 390,000 traps.
@APTNNews
My new album, "Stand in the Joy," will be released on April 14, 2023. These aren’t the first songs I have written while in love with someone. These are the first songs I’ve written while loving someone. ”When You Miss Someone” and “Tanqueray” are out now via link in bio.
Thank you
@TheJUNOAwards
and
@CBCMusic
. So incredibly honoured to be introduced by the one and only Buffy Sainte-Marie and sing with my friend
@serenaryder
. A night I won’t forget. 💛
Another 182, today.
This will not be an easy season for Canada to live through. Unmarked graves. Don’t get comfortable with that term. Unmarked means it was never meant to be found. 1500+ graves found during Indigenous History Month.
#EveryChildMatters
🧡
Thank you,
@SOCANmusic
! Thank you to everyone who voted for “The Spark”. Congratulations to all the nominees.
Art is not a competition. Art is a way of life and I’m so thankful I get to share mine with you. Thank you.
What better place to stand in the joy than on such a hallowed stage. Thank you
@Opry
for having me, and thank you to everyone who has listened to the new songs so far.
Thank you Canada for all the love from last night’s
#StrongerTogether
show. A historical night for the country and
@foodbankscanada
. Can’t wait to see you all out there and play some music in the same space again. Stay healthy and stay home til then. ♥️🇨🇦
Such an honour to be invited to perform on the legendary Grand Ole
@Opry
stage, where so many of my heroes have played, this February 18. Can’t wait to see you in Nashville — tickets are on sale now via .
Good morning. Honouring Louis Riel, today. An advocate of justice for the Métis people. He helped lay the framework for minority rights and cultural co-operation, and is the founder of Manitoba. He was executed for being a persistent advocate for the rights of his people.
Turned 37 years young over the weekend. Thankful for another year. Had a great time playing with the band and celebrating with family.
How are you enjoying "When You Miss Someone" and "Tanqueray"? The love and kind words I've been receiving are much appreciated, thank you all.
I was mentally preparing to stay home until at least the end of May. Monday feels too soon. I understand that staying home is a privilege some are not afforded. Please keep practicing responsible distance and hygiene. I’m concerned this may have have been for nothing.
You cannot remember what you do not know. The lives of numerous Indigenous veterans ended in despair and poverty.
This is why we remember.
#AboriginalVeteransDay
Credit:
“Some were as young as three years old.”
My heart breaks for these families. My son is 4 years old. Back then, if they wanted him, I couldn’t do a thing about it. What if they were yours?
This is the type of pain First Nations are forced to internalize and live through in 🇨🇦.
It’s painful to hear that 215 bodies were found at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. While it is not new to find graves at former Residential Schools in 🇨🇦, it’s always crushing to have that chapter’s wounds exposed.
Let us not forget them.
Honoured to be opening for
@WillieNelson
in support of
@FarmAid
on March 15 at "Three Sisters Potluck," with a family-style seated dinner prepared by a diverse slate of esteemed chefs under the hill country stars at Willie Nelson's ranch in Luck, Texas.
I cannot thank AMA enough for seeing me and my music. This is beyond huge for me and I am so moved and grateful. Congratulations to this outstanding list of nominees, all of who I am a big fan of and all of who I am honoured to be in the company of. Thank you.
I should have established some personality on here before losing my blue checkmark. If it isn’t positive, helpful, or musical in some way, it’s probably not me or my label. Buy your tickets from registered outlets. I will never DM you for anything. Take care out there. Be kind.
Thank you
@Spotify
for the billboard and playlist support and everyone for the kind words — I’m thrilled you’re all enjoying the new songs. (See below for exactly how I’ve been feeling all week.)
Thanks to
@WilliamPrince
for performing “Wasted” as part of CBC Toronto’s Community Cares, a day dedicated to supporting food banks across the GTA. “We need to care more about our communities," he says. For information on how to donate visit:
Thinking of Tommy Prince, today. Serving as a reconnaissance expert in the Devil's Brigade, Tommy Prince posed as a local farmer to repair a severed communications wire in full view of enemy troops. He is one of Canada's most decorated Indigenous soldiers.
#AboriginalVeteransDay
38 years, today! Feeling the birthday love. It's all leading to this incredible few weeks we have coming up. Thankful for the friends who have turned into family and all those who are with me on this journey. Thank you for being so kind and supportive of my music.
Still thinking fondly on my time in Ottawa last month and playing with
@thehipofficial
and
@BuffySteMarie
, all of whom are such icons to me and so many. Thank you to
@downiewenjack
for having me. Tour starts in just a few weeks —
Today is National Indigenous Peoples Day. Sending love to all my relations across Turtle Island. Let’s take care of the planet we live on. Let’s be good to each other. We are not just pain and struggle. We are songs, art, dance, laughter and love. We are still here.
🧡🌎🌈
“It’s one of those moments that stands alone.” Thank you
@Opry
for having me and filming what was such a special day. What an honour to have stood on that stage — I hope to be back soon.
This next story has been a hundred years in the making. Follow me back to the Prince Memorial Chapel in Peguis, Manitoba and share in the songs of my family’s past.
Stream the title track and pre-order the new album
#GospelFirstNation
today. Out Oct 23.
A number of Métis, Inuit and non-Status Indians also served. However, it was not until 1995, fifty years after the Second World War that Indigenous Peoples were allowed to lay Remembrance Day wreaths at the National War Memorial to remember and honour their dead comrades.
An enormous thank you to
@BBCRadio2
for naming Stand in the Joy as your Album of the Week. Quite the news to receive while on the road. It means so much to hear the response to these new songs, thank you all.
Photo by Magdalena Wosinska
Very excited to be returning to the UK for
@TheAMAUK
and
@ccfest
next week. Friends in London and Glasglow, it would be a thrill to see you all again — this is the perfect way to start what I'm sure will be a great 2023.
Good morning. Chanie Wenjack would have been 67 years old today. A name I shared earlier this year on Orange Shirt Day. His legacy connects us to the real history of Canada and the impact of the Residential School System. Commit to
#reconciliACTION
by donating to
@downiewenjack
.
This also happens to be the 8th day I’ve thought about setting up a small studio downstairs and continuing my “podcast” and new song demos from home. Usually I’d take a dozen trips to the music store to convince myself. Sunday online concerts?
Thank you for all the birthday love. My dad would’ve been 71 today. He would’ve loved to see all of this!
Eddy Boy, you’ve earned your rest, let me take the wheel.
Happy birthday to Gord Downie as well. Consider donating to
@downiewenjack
today.
Have a great day!
🏆 Congratulations
#CFMA2021
Contemporary Album of the Year /
#PMFC2021
Album contemporain de l’année Reliever by/par
@WilliamPrince
(MB)!
The CFMAs congratulate all of the 2021 nominees & recipients ~ Les PMFC félicitent tous les finalistes et les récipiendaires!
My friend
@SerenaRyder
and I played a special show at
@MasseyHall
a few months ago, and you can now watch a video of us playing our duet "Sing Me A Song" from that evening. Always such a joy to share the stage with someone as close to my heart as Serena.
Indigenous Peoples in Canada have fought on the front line of every major battle Canada has been involved in, and have done so with valour and distinction. It is estimated that 7,000 First Nations People served in the First and Second World Wars, and the Korean War.
Today,
@CBC
will be broadcasting "Starwalker," a commemorative concert for
@BuffySteMarie
that I performed in this past week. It was an unbelievably special experience for me and I can't wait to share it with you all.
Congratulations to everyone on the
@PolarisPrize
Short List! Thank you for your consideration of Reliever on the Long List. Really enjoyed the show on
@CBCMusic
today.
Eating healthy and going to the gym. Going to bed early. Waking up early. Then being a total sloth who writes and watches The Office. Still feeling all the love over the record. These are really good days. Thank you all.
Got emotional donating a bag of Wyatt’s toys and clothes to the thrift shop today. The first of his stuff that he’s outgrown. It’s his birthday soon and he’s gonna love his new Spider-Man scooter. We’re teaching him to love what he can do for someone else. Kept the dinosaurs. 🦖
Honoured to learn I received three awards from the
@FolkAwards
this past weekend. I wish I could have been there to accept them in person, but thank you to everyone involved in this decision. Thank you to all the nominees that make up this beautiful community. Thank you!
I hope you’re doing well.
If not so much, I hope you will be soon.
I cannot control what others do.
I can only control what I do.
Stay diligent in your responsibility.
One day at a time.
I’m doing the same.
“I’m gonna get a cocktail, vodka and ginger ale, yeah, I’m gonna smoke a cigarette that’s 9 miles long, gonna kiss that pretty girl, on the tilt-a-whirl, ‘cause this old man’s going to town”.
#JohnPrine
♥️ Thank you,
@JohnPrineMusic
.
Many Second World War veterans, including Tommy Prince, the most decorated Indigenous war veteran whose medals included the American Silver Star and six service medals, re-enlisted for the Korean War simply because they were unable to re-enter their previous lives.
The Stand in the Joy Canadian Tour 2024. 18 shows, nine provinces, and countless reasons to be excited for what next year will bring. This is my biggest tour yet and it is such an honour to be performing in so many iconic spaces and venues.
Congratulations,
@JoeBiden
and
@KamalaHarris
. 🇺🇸
Breathing a sigh of relief for my American friends who have been misrepresented for the past few years. Thank you for voting.
I'm co-hosting the "A Day To Listen" program, broadcasting across Canada along with the wonderful
@CeleighCardinal
. Hosted by the
@DownieWenjack
Fund, the 12-hour program celebrates and honours Indigenous Peoples' voices and stories all around the theme of "Messages of Hope."
It’s a beautiful rainy night in Rockland, Maine. Excited to play this beautiful theatre with The
@WarAndTreaty
this evening! See you soon!
Sincerely,
WM
They also did not have the right to obtain other benefits available to non-Indigenous veterans due to Indian Act restrictions. Between 1932 and 1936, Indigenous veterans on reserves in need of help, were to be treated like everyone else on reserves rather than as veterans.
Stand in the Joy, my fourth record, is now available everywhere! Thank you to everyone who made this album possible. Thank you for listening.
📷
@ZachErvie
#BellLetsTalk
- every hashtag will see donations go to Canadian mental health programs. Please don’t feel alone in discussing what affects your mental health. You never know who you’re comforting in doing so. Have a great day!
So grateful to have been asked to contribute to the Spotify Singles series, and it was a pleasure performing “I Want It That Way” and re-recording a brand-new version of “Young” with my terrific band and with the phenomenally talented Boy Golden and William Garrett producing.