Elder Duke Redbird is an Indigenous intellectual, poet, painter, broadcaster, filmmaker and keynote speaker.  From 1994 to 2009 he was the Arts & Entertainment reporter for CITY -TV in Toronto.  He works as a multifaceted artist in a number of disciplines in Canada and abroad.  And, he pioneered bringing an Indigenous approach to art educations at OCADU. 

Duke Redbird (photo credit: dukeredbird.ca)

When we were trying to learn Silver River, to honour Curtis Jonnie last week, we had trouble hearing the words clearly from the recording.  When we realized that the lyrics were from a poem by Duke Redbird, we emailed him for help.  The next day, his assistant responded with a pdf of the poem and permission from him to use the words as we sang the song on our on-line weekly coffeehouse.

The more I explored on-line, the more I learned about this multi-talented artist.  I thought I would share some of what I found with you.  I feel so privileged to share the Earth with people like Duke Redbird

Here is a musical collaboration between Sultans of String, Duke Redbird and Twin Flames called The Power of the Land.

As I was looking at Elder Redbird’s art work, I came across this ingenious floating installation called Wigwam Chi-Chemung that tells the story of the presence of Indigenous people on the shore of Lake Ontario in what we now call Toronto.

And finally (but not the end – check out his website for yourself) here is a posting that Duke Redbird made last year at the beginning of the pandemic.  He shares an uplifting message and a poem called “The Waterfall”.

During this time when we have more time at home, we have an opportunity to learn and to listen to artists, poets and musicians who are busy imagining and creating a new world.  We are all creators and we are creating this new world together.  Let Duke Redbird inspire you and spark your own creative energy as we co-create our future, our new story.