Canadians among winners at Indian Summer Festival

Page 3

There was certainly no shortage of Canadian representation at this year's Indian Summer Festival held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin Sept. 9 to 11.

Among the performers that took to the stage during the 19th annual festival were Canadian favorites Asani, Eagle and Hawk, C-Weed and Winston Wuttunee.

Canadians were also well represented at the Indian Summer Music Awards (ISMA) and at the Indian Summer Film & Video Image Awards. Both were held as part of the festival.

Eagle and Hawk won the ISMA in the alternative rock category for their album The Red, while Spirit of the Nations won in the contemporary instrumental category for its self-titled album.

Saskatchewan's Delia and the Waskewitch Boys took home an ISMA in the traditional drum category, while Randy Wood, originally from Alberta, won in the traditional vocal category for his recording There Are No Goodbyes.

At the film awards, two Canadian-made documentaries were among the works honored. Brion Whitford received the Award of Excellence for his documentary short The Gift of Diabetes, which chronicles his spiritual journey that saw him turning to Native traditions to deal with his diabetes, and his attempts to understand why the disease is so prevalent among Aboriginal people.

The Boy Who Visited Muini'skw, an animated short based on original artwork by artist Alan Siliboy, and the documentary that chronicled the making of the film, both by film-maker Mary Elizabeth Luka, received Awards of Distinction.