March 4, 2005
Province To Help Develop Aboriginal Hall Of Fame
Province To Help Develop Aboriginal Hall Of Fame- - -
Virtual Hall to Acknowledge Manitoba's Rich Music Heritage: Robinson
Culture Heritage and Tourism Minister Eric Robinson today announced a unique partnership with Native Communications Inc. (NCI-FM Radio) to help develop the province's first virtual Manitoba Aboriginal Music Hall of Fame.
The virtual hall of fame will be housed on NCI's website and will honour Manitoba's First Nations, Inuit and Métis music industry legends. It will be designed to serve as a promotional and educational tool to honour the accomplishments of the inducted artists annually. There will also be a local display at NCI's Winnipeg head office that will include photos and memorabilia from inducted artists.
"It is fitting that while we prepare to celebrate all musical artists from across Canada during the upcoming Juno Awards here in Winnipeg, we also have another important vehicle to further raise the profile of Manitoba's diverse Aboriginal music community," said Robinson. "As the first virtual hall of fame of its kind in Canada dedicated to appreciating First Nations, Inuit and Métis music, I hope all Aboriginal artists throughout the country will continue to inspire and pass their cultural pride onto the next generation of musicians."
Robinson noted that NCI has committed to developing, designing and maintaining the website as well as conducting the necessary research to complete the annual induction process. More information about the broadcaster can be found at http://www.ncifm.com.
"The province is pleased to partner with this non-profit organization which has been broadcasting in northern Manitoba since September of 1971, providing Aboriginal language and cultural programming 24 hours a day, seven days a week, reaching over 70 communities and 95 per cent of the province from Winnipeg to Churchill. The station has 55 FM radio transmitters and has recently expanded to include broadcast over the World Wide Web," Robinson said.
"There have been several "music stars" within the Aboriginal community in Manitoba over the last 50 years. They are the trailblazers, the originators, who found ways to break through any challenge that was before them and succeed in the music industry. Some have succeeded in the mainstream music scene while others offered a recorded voice or performance that was as unique as the community they came from," said NCI's general manager David McLeod. "The NCI board recognized that the individual talents and contributions of these individuals must be acknowledged, celebrated and honoured. This upcoming Juno weekend offers a perfect opportunity for this to take place."
The first round of inductees include:
Errol Ranville—founded the C-Weed Band in 1975 and received Juno award nominations in 1985 and 1986;
Lucille Starr—born in St. Boniface and received international acclaim for her first solo album titled The French Song;
Ernest Monias—born and raised in Cross Lake, toured across Canada and the United States for the past 36 years and opened for artists such as George Jones and Credence Clearwater Revival;
Ray St. Germain—started in show business at age 14 and sang, hosted and produced for a variety of network television shows including the series Rhythms of the Métis shown on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network; and
the late Len Fairchuk (White Buffalo)—a talented fiddle player and artist who hosted and produced The Western Hour television series which ran from 1977 to 1996 and is also remembered for his sketchings, artwork and unique soapstone carvings.
These inductees will be formally acknowledged during the Aboriginal Music Night celebrations on the opening night of the 2005 Winnipeg Juno Awards at the Burton Cummings Theatre April 1. Subsequently, there will be one inductee annually. The Aboriginal Music Night event will be broadcast live on NCI-FM (105.5 in Winnipeg) and will also be available on its website at http://www.ncifm.com.
The virtual hall of fame is expected to be launched on April 22 and will include photos from the Aboriginal Music Night presentations. The hall of fame display room at NCI's head office is anticipated to be completed by the middle of May.
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