The Sturgis Station House Museum hosted a cultural day on September 12 featuring Joseph Naytowhow.
"I live in Saskatoon and have been traveling North America in a quest to find myself," said Naytowhow. "As a child I was taken away from my parents and my culture as I was put into residential school with many other children.
“Through the art of storytelling, flute and drum playing, I share my experiences,” he said. “I had to re-learn everything and through music I found myself."
He played to a full hall and made another presentation to the students at the Sturgis Elementary and high school.
Naytowhow is a gifted Plains/Woodland Cree (Nēhiyaw) singer/songwriter, storyteller and voice, stage and film actor from the Sturgeon Lake First Nation, according to the Joseph Naytowhow website.
He is renowned for his unique style of Cree and English storytelling, combined with original hybrid and traditional First Nation drum, flute and rattle songs.
Naytowhow is the recipient of the 2006 Canadian Aboriginal Music Award’s Keeper of the Tradition Award and the 2005 Commemorative Medal for Saskatchewan’s Centennial.
In 2009 Naytowhow also received a Gemini Award for Best Individual or Ensemble Performance in an Animated Program or Series for his role in the Wapos Bay series. That same year he was also awarded Best Emerging Male Actor at the Winnipeg Aboriginal Film Festival for his role in Run and won Best Traditional Male Dancer at John Arcand’s Fiddlefest in Saskatchewan.
Naytowhow’s generosity and compassion for sharing cultural knowledge makes him a much sought-after speaker, performer and educator for children and adults alike, it said. As a child he was influenced by his grandfather’s traditional and ceremonial chants as well as the sounds of the fiddle and guitar. From 1995 to 2000 he served as the storyteller-in-residence for Meadow Lake Tribal Council.
He has performed for the Prince of Wales, the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan and many other notables. His demanding schedule continues to take him to conferences, symposia, forums, festivals and film sets across Canada, North America and around the world.
He holds a bachelor of education degree from the University of Saskatchewan.
