Page 39 - 07_Sept-2025

Tia Wood’s alblum
Pretty Red Bird
how music embodies cultural iden-
tity. The non-grid musical structure
of Métis fiddle tunes, learned orally
through community, gave them the
freedom to experiment with song
structures and phrasing.
“That’s where my interest in
folk music began,” says Coyes, who
moved to Toronto in 2020 to record
their debut record Communion, released by Royal Mountain
Records. “It felt like I knew it in another life, like it was in my
DNA. People before me, who I’m from, were raised listening to
this music and dancing this way. I think I’ve always had a hard
time being in my body, and that music really put me firmly in
my body for the first time.”
These experiences fostered a deep appreciation for the
power of folk music to preserve moments and feelings across
generations — something Coyes now channels through their
own songwriting. Their music is a conversational brand of
confessional indie rock that recalls the stream-of-consciousness
lyrical style of Big Thief’s Adrianne Lenker, weaving
together personal memories and introspective reflection.
Both their debut and sophomore albums, Communion and
Believer, were longlisted for the Polaris Music Prize in 2022 and
2025, but Believer is a more confident and accomplished album.
Recorded in a short span of time, it features an off-the-cuff,
first-take-best-take quality that reflects the vulnerability
Coyes displays in their songwriting, which is brighter and more
uplifting than that found in their debut. Coyes prioritizes
emotional authenticity over technical precision on Believer,
creating organic and true-to-roots folk songs. And folk music,
to Coyes, is a form of storytelling that connects them to the past.
For their ancestors, music was a vital way to share knowledge
and preserve memory, using only their voices and instruments to
carry stories across generations.
“When we take contemporary stages in front of non-
Indigenous audiences, we introduce people to the richness of
our teachings, philosophy and culture,” says Alan Greyeyes,
who chairs the Indigenous Music Office, which was formed
in 2023 with the goal of supporting and developing Indigenous
musicians. The new generation of Indigenous musicians, he
says, have found a way to use contemporary music as a
platform to showcase their identity, bridge traditional elements
with modern expression and, in doing so, present their
cultures as dynamic and multifaceted.
One of the most prominent voices to have emerged from this
movement belongs to Plains Cree and Coast Salish singer-
songwriter Tia Wood. Raised on the Saddle Lake Cree Nation
reserve, a community of 6,000 people about two hours north-
east of Edmonton, she comes from a musical dynasty. Wood’s
mother, Cynthia Jim, played in the all-women drum group
Fraser Valley. Her father, Earl Wood, is a co-founder of the
legendary powwow drum group Northern Cree and a Juno
Award winner — as is her sister, Fawn Wood.
That deep musical lineage informs not only her sound but
the stories Wood tells. Her songs reflect the tension between
where she comes from and the world she moves through, a
balancing act between cultural pride and the pressure to
conform. “Should I take out my braids or leave ’em in? They
look at me like I’m a Martian,” she sings on her 2024 debut
single “Dirt Roads,” a song about longing for home and the
struggle of staying true to her Indigenous roots in a Western
world that’s often hostile to them.
Wood first found her voice performing at ceremonies and
powwows as a child, but she also grew up listening to artists
from all genres, including Amy Winehouse, Dolly Parton and
Avril Lavigne. In 2020, she began posting TikTok videos in
which she layered Indigenous-style vocals over contemporary
beats, which went viral, helping her amass over 2.2 million
followers on the app and, more critically, gain the attention
of major music label executives. She then decided to focus on
a more contemporary sound once labels started reaching out
with interest, feeling her family already had the traditional
sound covered. For Wood, she relished the challenge of making
Ella Coyes aka
Sister Ray
modern pop music heavily indebted to the R&B she grew up
listening to while still honouring her heritage.
Her debut EP, Pretty Red Bird, released by Sony Music last
September, is a tight collection of spacious R&B jams. It
showcases Wood’s rich and sultry vocals and a songwriting
style that feels both uniquely hers and universal, referencing
her Indigenous roots while also touching on topics that people
who have never heard of Saddle Lake can still relate to, like
on “Sky High,” an ode to overcoming obstacles in pursuit of
your dreams.
What unites Tyler, Coyes and Wood is a commitment to
making space for Indigenous identity in a world that has
long tried to suppress it. Their work underlines the fact that
reclamation isn’t static or nostalgic but forward-looking and
deeplypersonal. And from basements at home to stages across
the country, this new generation is not only preserving Indige-
nous culture but reshaping it, on their own terms, for genera-
tions to come. “When I close my eyes on stage now, I don’t see
the audience anymore,” says Tyler. “I see my family.” ED.
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