When Qattuu performs, her audience is captivated by the stories she tells through her music.
The Ontario-based Inuk vocalist and throat singer, who is originally from Pangnirtung, Nunavut, has been mixing traditional vocal techniques with English folk and French avant-garde elements for years.
She also incorporates ayayas — traditional Inuit songs used for storytelling between families and generations — into her music. One of her songs, called “The Ones Forgotten” is based off the Inuit mythical creature Qallupilluit that lures children with a chant, grabs them and stuffs them into its amautik (a traditional parka with a large hood).
She is also self-taught.
“I started out in music when I was in Grade One, and that was what I was doing for about maybe 15 years. Then I started to dabble in including throat singing sounds into my music, and everything just blew up from there,” Qattuu told the Ottawa Citizen.
“I try to incorporate as much of my culture as I can into my music.”
Qattuu will be performing at the second annual Minoshkite Indigenous Music & Arts Festival, a two-day festival that will be held in the Bronson Centre downtown on Nov. 13 and Nov. 14.
The festival will also feature dozens of other Indigenous artists like Amanda Rheaume, Mimi O’Bonsawin, Aspects, Rueben and The Bullhorn Singers, Sebastian Gaskin, Drives The Common Man, and Siibii.
For Qattuu, it’s an opportunity to showcase Inuit culture to a non-Indigenous audience.
When she performed “The Ones Forgotten” at the festival last year, she dressed up as a Qallupilluit. The performance was so scary that it even made a child cry.
“The lights were so dim, and it was so cool, but I made (a girl) cry,” Qattuu recounted.
“I don’t love that I made her cry, but I also do love that I made her cry. In our culture, we have these legends to put fear into children, to basically keep them alive up north, and if you are instilling fear in a child, you’re doing the right thing.”
The stage is also a place for her to show a more vulnerable side of herself to the audience.
“I feel very lucky and very honoured to even show people what (throat singing) is and to be proud. For the most part, people feel my emotions when I’m singing, because what I do is very emotional. Every word, every sound, has a meaning, and it’s very personal to me,” Qattuu said.
“I really try to portray that. Sometimes I’ll straight up be crying on stage because this song is very important to me.”
The Minoshkite Indigenous Music & Arts Festival also aims to highlight local talent.
Rheaume, a folk singer-songwriter from Ottawa who now lives in Toronto, said she is excited to perform in a city that holds a special place in her heart. She is a member of the Métis Nation of Ontario with roots from Red River and Anishinaabe ancestors from Lac Seul, Ont., with mixed settler relations.
In Rheaume’s music, themes of resilience and resistance, along with Métis stories are interwoven in the lyrics and notes. Her newest album, The Truth We Told, includes stories from Métis community members across Canada that highlights joy, sadness and strength.
She also features instruments like the Métis fiddle a lot in her music.
“I want to remind people that we’re all here together, and it’s not by some random chance. One of my goals is to remind people that they matter, and that even just showing up to a concert…. Their presence matters,” she said.
“I like to put on a really great show.”
Festival a ‘rare time’ for Indigenous artists, community to get together
Rheaume said it is equally important to have spaces and events dedicated to Indigenous artists and performances.
For a long time, Indigenous artists were often seen as an afterthought and put on the program because an organizer felt obligated to, she said.
The Minoshkite Indigenous Music & Arts Festival flips that script.
“It’s always beautiful. It’s very rare for Indigenous artists to get together and be together…. To have these spaces where we can all be together definitely feels different than an event where it’s a mostly non-Indigenous lineup. There’s a feeling of family and everyone just feels connected,” Rheaume said.
Qattuu said she is excited to see some of her friends, who will also be performing at the festival, and meet other Indigenous artists.
“It feels so empowering. I’m so excited. I’ve been in places with non-Indigenous artists and there’s still hype, but with Indigenous artists, it’s like we relate to each other,” she said.
“It feels very comfortable to be with other Inuit or other First Nation people or other Métis. It just feels like family. I love being with other Indigenous artists, even if I don’t know them. It feels like we know each other on a deep spiritual level.”
Both Qattuu and Rheaume hope the festival will not only be an inspiration for aspiring Indigenous artists, but also for Indigenous youth who may be reconnecting with their culture and communities.
“Come on down. Come and be together,” Rheaume said.
“I just think the ability for folks to find each other and connect is so, so important right now. So if anyone you know out there either just got to Ottawa from up north or another rural community, I hope they can find a way to the Bronson Centre so they can meet other people. I hope it will give you a sense of home.”
Qattuu recounted a time when a young Indigenous woman came up after her performance last year with tears in her eyes. The woman was adopted by a white family and never got to explore Indigenous culture and community growing up. The Minoshkite Indigenous Music & Arts Festival provided a safe place for her to do so.
“I’m almost tearing up, because there’s so many stories like that, and it’s events like these where we have our arms open and we love you,” she said.
“I still remember her in my head. It was very touching. It’s one of those stories that will stick with you.”
