Musicians use their work to carry a message of respect
- Angela Hill | April 17, 2015
With a flute and a drum, Robert Gladue and Jason Chamakese are using music to carry a message.
“Overall the message is to establish mutual respect between all peoples,” said Chamakese, who is the man on the flute.
“You see a lot of negativity out there and you think to yourself what can I do individually to do my part to create understanding, to help bridge these gaps that exist.”
The pair is planning the release of their first album together within the next month. Called The Flute Player and The Singer, they want it to be something that helps take the impact of their music to the next level.
Both were solo artists before Chamakese saw a You Tube video of one of Gladue’s songs.
“I happened to have my flute with me at the time and I sat and listened to the melody and I was able to play it on the flute. I found it pretty cool, taking a unique spin with modern day round-dance singing and the traditional flute combined,” Chamakese said.
He reached out to Gladue and they have been performing together ever since.
Gladue started singing early, and when he was 16 he joined the Waterhen Lake Juniors drum group and discovered the kind of singing he does now.
“I would be nowhere close to where I am today without the encouragement I’ve received,” he said.
Chamakese, who still lives in his home community of Pelican Lake, came from a family of music: his mom and dad sang at ceremonies and all of his brothers sing.
The flute came later when he learned the Lakota origin story. The flute was used as an instrument to play love songs. Using a hollow branch from a cedar tree that had been carved out by a woodpecker, a young man was able to woo a girl he loves.
Their first performance together was at the Banff Centre for the Arts, but the music has taken them across Canada and the United States and as far away as Scotland.
On a trip to Northern Ontario, back in 2012, they were on a tour of three fly-in First Nations. They had left their luggage at community number two because of weight restrictions, so when the snowstorm came up and planes couldn’t fly, they were stranded without a majority of their belongings. It turned into quite the adventure and one Gladue and Chamakese both mention first when asked about touring experiences.
“We had a lot of time to connect with the community and to learn about their stories and we realized that a lot of their stories are very similar to the ones we have back home in Saskatchewan,” Gladue said.
Chamakese said it helped him to see a discrepancy with how many of our First Nations community are treated, but also showed him the resiliency of people.
“Another thing is it helped me to appreciate what we have here,” he said.
Along with a love of music and enriched lives because of the people they meet through performing, Chamakese said they tour and play because they want to reach out, especially to youth.
“The most important is that we are proud of who we are and of where we come from. Being nêhiyaw [a cree man] is not a hindrance. If anything, it's the most uplifting influence we have in our lives. That's what I want First Nations youth to see,” he said.
“We want to show our young people that culture and language are key towards having success.”
“Above
all, we hope to inspire our youth to pick up on something that will lead them
down a positive path,” Gladue said.
“I really feel quite lucky to be able to do this kind of work. It
isn't really work at all, to travel and sing and talk to young people.”
Their album will be traditional music, with some contemporizing of it.
“With this album, I hope we can expand our opportunities to travel and perform and most importantly, to share a good message with people through the music we do,” Chamakese said.
“It’s a big world and I hope to see all of it; and my flute is going to take me there.”
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