Manitoba Music
Buffy Sainte-Marie talks songwriting with MARIA
There are few songwriters who effect change and make history with their music and on December 7, folks in the MARIA office had the opportunity to learn about the process and thought employed by one such person- Buffy Sainte-Marie.
Sainte-Marie’s visit with MARIA included an afternoon songwriting workshop and a discussion about some of her most influential songs in the evening. The first session provided five Aboriginal songwriters with the opportunity to present songs for feedback from the Oscar winning writer. The songwriters were JC Campbell, Tracy Bone, Raine Morin, Rayne DeLaronde and Dominique Reynolds and the group spent three hours working on lyrics, song structure and composition.
The evening session featured a one-hour interview by NCI FM’s Rosanna Deerchild where Sainte-Marie answered questions about her process, the circumstances that informed songs like “Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee,” her experience in the music biz and the time she spent on Sesame Street. The later discussion offered great insight into Sainte-Marie’s approach to educating the world as she explained her reasons for being on the show and her hopes for future generations of North American youth.
Sainte-Marie gave praise to the work of MARIA, stating that such educational efforts for artists are very important and that more needs to be done.
Earlier in the week, Sainte-Marie spoke to youth at the Aboriginal Centre of Winnipeg, performed at the Winnipeg Folk Festival’s Winter Wasail and received the Folk Festival’s Artistic Achievement Award.
Please visit our Photo Gallery for pictures from both sessions.
Sainte-Marie’s visit with MARIA included an afternoon songwriting workshop and a discussion about some of her most influential songs in the evening. The first session provided five Aboriginal songwriters with the opportunity to present songs for feedback from the Oscar winning writer. The songwriters were JC Campbell, Tracy Bone, Raine Morin, Rayne DeLaronde and Dominique Reynolds and the group spent three hours working on lyrics, song structure and composition.
The evening session featured a one-hour interview by NCI FM’s Rosanna Deerchild where Sainte-Marie answered questions about her process, the circumstances that informed songs like “Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee,” her experience in the music biz and the time she spent on Sesame Street. The later discussion offered great insight into Sainte-Marie’s approach to educating the world as she explained her reasons for being on the show and her hopes for future generations of North American youth.
Sainte-Marie gave praise to the work of MARIA, stating that such educational efforts for artists are very important and that more needs to be done.
Earlier in the week, Sainte-Marie spoke to youth at the Aboriginal Centre of Winnipeg, performed at the Winnipeg Folk Festival’s Winter Wasail and received the Folk Festival’s Artistic Achievement Award.
Please visit our Photo Gallery for pictures from both sessions.