Last month, Buffy Sainte-Marie announced that she would be retiring from live performances, calling it a "difficult decision" made in response to growing health problems, including arthritic hands and a recent shoulder injury. Now, Daniel Monkman and Adam Sturgeon of OMBIIGIZI are paying tribute to the 82-year-old icon's musical legacy by sharing a cover of her song "Eagle Man/Changing Woman."
"OMBIIGIZI started as a desire to create a stronger cultural connection that Daniel and myself had felt was missing from our lives as indie rock kids [performing as Zoon and Status/Non-Status, respectively] prior to forming. In many ways we both felt isolated from our communities and were using music as a part of our guide forward," Sturgeon shared in a release.
He continued:
Now, our time together as a band to this point has been a whole new experience of ourselves as Anishinaabe people and truly powerful and uplifting to share as collaborators. So, when it comes to the legacy of Indigenous art, we could not think of any other artist to cover than Buffy. Her song "Eagle Man/Changing Woman" is a curiosity to us and a place of origins to the individual growth we have both come to as artists, as sober beings and as collaborators. We seek to consistently evaluate and make positive change in our relationships; with our identities, with our people and connections, and especially those closest to us. Buffy has been part of that guidance to us and oh so many others. We just heard she is retiring from live performance and wish her well and share this in honour of her positive influence and legacy.
Check out the track below, courtesy of Arts & Crafts.
"OMBIIGIZI started as a desire to create a stronger cultural connection that Daniel and myself had felt was missing from our lives as indie rock kids [performing as Zoon and Status/Non-Status, respectively] prior to forming. In many ways we both felt isolated from our communities and were using music as a part of our guide forward," Sturgeon shared in a release.
He continued:
Now, our time together as a band to this point has been a whole new experience of ourselves as Anishinaabe people and truly powerful and uplifting to share as collaborators. So, when it comes to the legacy of Indigenous art, we could not think of any other artist to cover than Buffy. Her song "Eagle Man/Changing Woman" is a curiosity to us and a place of origins to the individual growth we have both come to as artists, as sober beings and as collaborators. We seek to consistently evaluate and make positive change in our relationships; with our identities, with our people and connections, and especially those closest to us. Buffy has been part of that guidance to us and oh so many others. We just heard she is retiring from live performance and wish her well and share this in honour of her positive influence and legacy.
Check out the track below, courtesy of Arts & Crafts.