The troubadour of Treaty 4
- Campbell Stevenson | May 29, 2023
More than a year since the release of his debut album, Aren Okemaysim has continuously tied tradition to art.
Okemaysim, also known by his stage name okimawᐅᑭᒪᐤ. is a nehiyawak country/folk musician, actor and sound technician originally from Beardy’s Okemasis Cree Nation.
His upbringing was a mix of the urban setting of Saskatoon, and the rural landscape of his home reserve.
“I went to school in Saskatoon.” Said Okemaysim. “I grew up in the west end there and spent a lot of time on the reserve too. I like to tell people that I’ve grown up in both places, a bit of both worlds.”
Both places had an impact on him.
“I spent a lot of time with family and other extended family doing ceremonial practices. So that was where my land-based learning came from.”
Upon discovering music and acting, he felt a strong connection to the arts.
“Music was just kind of like one of those things that just kind of happened because other people around me were doing it.” said Okemaysim.
Since he released his album, Okemaysim has only played a handful of shows.
When not working on music, he works on his other passion acting.
“Theater is a big inspiration,” said Okemaysim. “A lot of the times we’re lifting up images and creating something out of a script. Since I have a lot of experience with that, it just kind of comes naturally to do that with music.”
Okemaysim has been a theatre actor for many years.
He’s Currently featured in a play that’ll run from April 12-30 in Toronto. The play, Niizh is directed by Desirée Leverenz and written by Joelle Peters.
“It’s a coming-of-age comedy about a young woman who’s going to go to school for the first time, and she’s leaving the reserve.” Said Okemaysim, “I play the character Jay, which is her older brother, who’s stuck on the reserve. But he’s really supportive and he’s encouraging and kind of a goofball.”
For years, he’s been a sound technician and, the last couple seasons, the head of sound at the Globe Theatre.
During the pandemic, he took the opportunity to focus on his music.
“When I recorded the demo, I did everything myself in my mom’s garage.” Said Okemaysim.
Working in solitude influenced the music he created.
“As far as debut albums go, a lot of artists tend to write the things that they’re most comfortable with and topics that they’re more familiar with.” Said Okemaysim.
His sound can be described as country-folk; He sings passionately about Indigenous culture, race related issues and the prairie landscape he calls home.
During his performance at the 2023 Winterruption festival, Okemaysim often spoke in Cree because language revitalization is another one of his passions.
“When rebuilding a language that was lost, it’s really important to let go of judgment and academic thought on it,” Okemaysim said, adding, “to let go of that and just let yourself make mistakes and know that rebuilding a language is going to take more than a lifetime.”
Although he’s been working hard on writing new material, he’s in no rush to release music any time soon because he’s focused on building listeners.
“Right now, the writing is still kind of continuous, but I haven’t quite decided when I want to record again. I just got to wait for the right window of time and just do it.” said Okemaysim.