They gave no interviews, but got up close and personal with local youth and their families.
A Tribe Called Red was billed as one of the Canada Winter Games music headliners, and they did draw the largest crowd so far at the downtown plaza where the nightly entertainment is being held, but an unadvertised visit next door at the Two Rivers Gallery won a different kind of fan appreciation. The four members of the group - three deejays and a traditional dancer, all of them aboriginal - spent some time hanging out with young people from the local area.
The youth were gathered in the upstairs common area of the gallery after discussions held earlier in the week between the Games host First Nation, the Lheidli T'enneh, and Integris Credit Union, which took out sponsorship of the upstairs space overlooking the plaza.
The famous entertainers circulated through the small crowd, had photos taken with young people, chatted with their families and the organizers, and took part in a prayer circle led by Lheidli T'enneh elder Violet Bozoki. Local Cree dancer Donnie Mac and his young daughters dressed in cultural regalia and danced to one of A Tribe Called Red's songs.
Crystal Reierson is a young mom who had her kids there to meet the group. She said there was a sense of change in aboriginal culture - a generational shift that entertainers like A Tribe Called Red were leading.
"We aboriginals are known for country music, our traditional music, powwow music, guitars, and these guys are changing that in a big way," said Reierson. "They are putting us on the map for contemporary music, cutting edge modern music, and not afraid to tell the world about their roots. The youth over at the (Lheidli T'enneh First Nation) pavilion came running when they heard A Tribe Called Red would be available to meet. This is their stuff, they know it, they know who these guys are, and it makes you feel like you live in a bigger town when entertainers of this calibre show up."
It was a different kind of entertainer that inspired Reierson. She is an artist as is her sister Jennifer Pighin, who designed the Canada Winter Games medals and some of Team BC's uniform gear. Reierson said it was a meeting with painter Roy Henry Vickers that set her on her artistic path.
"He was such a personable guy, and I know he motivated Jen as well," she said. "He told us that he got into art because of racism. He heard people calling him down because he was an Indian, and he didn't understand what the insults meant because it was so untrue to his way of life, he just didn't recognize himself in those insults, and he tried to understand them better. He used art to express himself. He wanted to show his feelings and show people what he understood being aboriginal to be, so he got into being an artist and also an author."
As she spoke, one of her kids was thumbing through a Roy Henry Vickers book from the Two Rivers Gallery library shelf.
Such is the power of art and the personalities of art, said Dan Wingham of Integris. He led the organizational campaign to put the music stars together with the local youth.
"We've been holding business development meetings here at the Two Rivers Gallery every night throughout the Games. We themed each night for a different province and territory, and we wanted to include the Lheidli T'enneh in that plan," said Wingham. He said it took the combined efforts of Sue Judge and the Coldsnap Music Festival; Canada Winter Games festival staffer Devin Casario; a number of people from the Lheidli T'enneh; and contacts within A Tribe Called Red's organization.
"We wanted to bring Lheidli youth into this great place, and meet some people they look up to," Wingham said. "It wasn't meant to stimulate business, it was meant to stimulate great memories and experiences for these kids, and make sure this generation had something special just for themselves to take away from the Games."
Wingham said businesses that operate in the traditional territory of a First Nation are well advised to deliberately reach out to meet that community and open respectful dialogue. "That means behaving respectfully, which means educating yourselves," said Wingham. "Have the courage to ask questions seeking to actually understand. Make that call saying 'We want to be part of a better future, whatever that looks like to you. What do we need to know?
"How can we do what we do in a better way for you?'"
After the meet-and-greet, A Tribe Called Red took the stage only a few feet away from the gallery and pumped out an uproarious set, followed by the nightly fireworks display. The youths and their family were invited to mingle with the crowd or stay upstairs and watch the show from the private patio overlooking the plaza.
