Arkells took home a slew of Junos over the weekend, but they graciously ceded their acceptance speech time to Jeremy Dutcher, who was cut off in the midst of his powerful message about reconciliation.
During the Juno gala ceremony on Saturday night (March 16), Dutcher won for Indigenous Album of the Year for Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa, but he was ushered offstage before he completed his speech.
"Mr. Trudeau. A nation-to-nation relationship does not look like pipelines. A nation-to-nation relationship does not look like sending militarized police force into unceded territory," Dutcher started.
"And a nation-to-nation relationship does not look like, in 2019, our communities still under boiled-water advisory. So, this means so much to me. I hope to continue to share and use this platform to tell truth. We can all do better."
Dutcher was about to say more, but the get-off-the-stage music started to play.
Arkells, after winning the trophy for Rock Album of the Year for Rally Cry, opted to give their time to Dutcher to allow him to finish his speech.
Dutcher started up again, joking that he had joined the band as their sixth member, before returning to his message to the prime minister.
"Reconciliation. It's a lofty goal. It's a dream. It doesn't happen in a year. It takes time. It takes stories. It takes shared experience. It takes music. I have hope, I have to, that we can come to right relationships with each other, you know?" he said. "At least if we're not on the same page, we're in the same book."
He closed out his speech with a message in his traditional Wolastoq language.
Watch the complete acceptance speech below via CBC.
During the Juno gala ceremony on Saturday night (March 16), Dutcher won for Indigenous Album of the Year for Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa, but he was ushered offstage before he completed his speech.
"Mr. Trudeau. A nation-to-nation relationship does not look like pipelines. A nation-to-nation relationship does not look like sending militarized police force into unceded territory," Dutcher started.
"And a nation-to-nation relationship does not look like, in 2019, our communities still under boiled-water advisory. So, this means so much to me. I hope to continue to share and use this platform to tell truth. We can all do better."
Dutcher was about to say more, but the get-off-the-stage music started to play.
Arkells, after winning the trophy for Rock Album of the Year for Rally Cry, opted to give their time to Dutcher to allow him to finish his speech.
Dutcher started up again, joking that he had joined the band as their sixth member, before returning to his message to the prime minister.
"Reconciliation. It's a lofty goal. It's a dream. It doesn't happen in a year. It takes time. It takes stories. It takes shared experience. It takes music. I have hope, I have to, that we can come to right relationships with each other, you know?" he said. "At least if we're not on the same page, we're in the same book."
He closed out his speech with a message in his traditional Wolastoq language.
Watch the complete acceptance speech below via CBC.