Indigenous festival coming to the coulees

By Lethbridge Herald on July 20, 2023.

Justin Sibbet
LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER

Some say music can bring people together like nothing else and one new Indigenous music festival at Fort Whoop-Up today aims to make that a reality.

Presented by The First Nations Arts Alliance, Come Together will be a music festival featuring various artists, performers and even several food trucks to keep bellies full while listening to the tunes.

Jack of all trades, Willy Big Bull, a singer-songwriter, promoter and food truck operator at the event, says community involvement is the primary focus of the festival.

“The real mission of this gathering is just to bring everybody together, spread some community connections, get people integrated with one another,” said Big Bull during an interview.  “…My job as a performer has always been to bring people into the circle.”

Big Bull says events like this can help people put aside their differences while coming together in a more meaningful way.

He says this can be especially important when there are major crises facing communities, which is exactly what he says is happening in Lethbridge right now.

“A lot of our mission is to help the homeless and to help these people who are dealing with this opioid crisis, which it seems like everybody is here in the city,” said Big Bull.

While there is no fundraiser linked to the Come Together Festival, Big Bull says he hopes the outcome of the event leads to greater connections with outreach programs in Lethbridge.

Another goal for Big Bull is to see people, whether Indigenous or not, mixing culture and accepting one another.

He grew up on a reserve, having an Indigenous father but a non-Indigenous mother, which he says created complications earlier in his life.

“I had to walk a bit of a racial tightrope,” said Big Bull. “Once upon a time they called us ‘half-breeds’, kind of a term people don’t use nowadays but that was something I grew used to when I was a kid.”

He says this caused him to struggle fitting in with either cultural group, but over the years he has found his way.

“I always felt that tension, but I’ve managed to balance it very well,” said Big Bull.

He says this balance has found its way into his music, with both cultures showing prominence.

“I do try to incorporate both aspects and I try to do it as subtly as I can,” said Big Bull. “I try to incorporate the non-Indigenous and Indigenous aspects of my life.”

Furthermore, he says the festival will touch on parts of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommendations.

Specifically, he pointed to TRC call-to-action number 83, which says “We call upon the Canada Council for the Arts to establish, as a funding priority, a strategy for Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists to undertake collaborative projects and produce works that contribute to the reconciliation process.”

Big Bull says this call-to-action fits directly with what the Come Together Festival is hoping to accomplish.

“What that initiative is, to my understanding, is to try and bridge that gap to cross culturalization and the overall message we’re trying to do is bring everyone together in a positive way,” said Big Bull.

He says the past few years have seen the divide between people growing ever larger, but music can slow and even reverse that trend.

“Music is a great way to always bring people together and that’s what we’re trying to do,” said Big Bull. “So, that’s why we named it ‘Come Together’ as well.”

The festival, which includes free admission, will take place from 2-9 p.m. at Fort Whoop-Up.