The Winnipeg Folk Festival takes place at Birds Hill Provincial Park in Manitoba, Canada on Treaty 1 territory and the National Homeland of the Red River Métis. We honour and respect the Treaties that were made on this territory and are committed to deepening our relationship with Indigenous communities.
Through the decades, Indigenous folks have become a vital and celebrated part of the Winnipeg Folk Festival’s identity. In our second year, Indigenous programming made its debut in the lineup, marking a pivotal step toward greater representation. In 1976, acclaimed performer and advocate Tom Jackson was named the Co-Artistic Director for Indigenous Programming, setting the stage for a more inclusive vision for the years ahead.
Milestones along the way include the introduction of the Anishinaabe/New Nation Village in 1985, which featured a performance by Beatrice Culleton, and 1991’s First Peoples Village, where Inuit throat singers and stone carvers from Rankin Inlet shared their art and culture. The powerful 2016 workshop Native North America: A Selection of Musical Trailblazers brought together artists Willie Thrasher, Willy Mitchell, Duke Redbird, Eric Landry and Shingoose to share music, poetry and stories from their Grammy-nominated compilation.
Today, Indigenous programming is woven throughout the Festival experience, including an opening blessing from a Knowledge Keeper, artistic projects and more activities that invite learning and connection.
We are truly honoured for the guidance and support of Grandmother Chickadee Richard (Benais Quimiwin Ikwe) Thunder Rain Woman, the Indigenous Advisory Circle and many other Indigenous partners who continue to lead us forward in this work.
As we look to the next 50 years, we remain dedicated to amplifying Indigenous voices and further developing relationships on Festival weekend and throughout the year.
Grandmother Chickadee Richard
Grandmother Chickadee Richard is a member of Sandy Bay First Nation and was raised near the west side of Lake Manitoba.
Grandmother Chickadee is a mother of three biological children, two adopted sons, and grandmother of seven children. She is also a grandmother to many in the Indigenous communities across Turtle Island.
She is a proud Anishinaabe kwe who has dedicated her life to the betterment of the land, water, and Indigenous communities. For many years, she has been an advocate and educator for change and justice in Manitoba and across Canada, creating awareness of the strength and beauty of Indigenous culture and perspectives.
Grandmother Chickadee has collaborated with many exceptional grassroots leaders of Indigenous communities to help create safer places for Indigenous Peoples.
Grandmother Chickadee works with people who are open and willing to change the current ways that harm the land, lakes, and Indigenous Peoples’ ways of life.
Indigenous Initiatives
Smudge Available
Friday – Sunday at 4:30 -5:30 PM
Near Shady Grove Stage
Please come and visit! Remember it is an alcohol and drug free area.
Opening Blessing
Grandmother Chickadee will be offering a welcome and blessing each night of the Festival. On Thursday night at 5:45 PM, she will be joined by an Indigenous children’s choir. Giinawind Riverbend Community School Abinoojiiyag Nagamog is made up of students from the Ojibwe bilingual program at Riverbend School (Riverbend Gikinoo’amaagewigamig) in the Seven Oaks School Division.
