Just Us Folk

Walking Through The Fire-Visual Album is a documentary that has, at its genesis a challenge from Dr. Duke Redbird to Sultans Of String co-founder Chris McKhool, to collaborate with Indigenous artists in the spirit of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action and Final Report. What initially started as just an album project quickly became a tour and now a powerful documentary.

“We had worked on the album The Refuge Project a few years ago where we honoured new immigrants and refugees to Canada,” Chris explained recently. “But we opened the album with Duke Redbird and his poem ‘The Power Of The Land’, which Sultans Of String set to music. When the project was wrapping up, Duke said, ‘So Chris, when are you going to do for awareness of Indigenous issues what you’ve done for new immigrants and refugees?.’”

Taking the Ojibway elder’s words to heart, a committee was formed with Indigenous artists such as Shannon V. Thunderbird and Marc Meriläinen to figure out how to create an album featuring artists from across Turtle Island and decide who to invite to participate.

“I’m always looking into collaborating with other musicians, whether Indigenous or non-Indigenous,” said Marc. “So when Chris reached out, I thought it was a great opportunity to get Indigenous music in front of different audiences.”

What appealed to Shannon was the chance to do something that had never been done before in Canada.

“Christopher and I go back 25 years, and we’ve done a lot of things together over the years, so it never occurred to me to say ‘no,’ she said. “But we’ve never done anything on this mammoth scale, going from an album to a stage show and now a movie.”

What the album and documentary present is but a small glimpse into the Indigenous experience in Canada, told in Indigenous people’s words and music and often sung in their Indigenous languages while performing with Sultans Of String and, for some songs, with the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.

In the beginning, putting the album together was to be the extent of the collaboration. But soon enough there was interest in presenting a stage show from a number of performing arts centres. Chris was at first hesitant but eventually 50 shows with a number of the artists from the album were held. Those not able to be part of the concerts were represented in video displays as their songs were performed live. And it was then that the seeds of a documentary were sown. Concert performances were filmed during the tour and artists like the Métis Fiddler Quartet, Leela Gilday and Forrest Eaglespeaker of The North Sound talked about their history and where their songs come from. All of this footage was then used as an introduction to the presentation of their songs in the documentary which features a variety of video styles.

“In some ways I prefer the film to the album,” Chris admitted. “It goes so much more into depth on their background and their truths. It’s really important for us as Sultans Of String to share the mic with these incredible artists.”

Marc Meriläinen is also a filmmaker, so he was helpful in the creation of some of the videos, such as the one for his song “A Beautiful Darkness” which sees him and Sultans Of String flying through space in a rocketship.

“What? You’ve got a problem with that?” joked Shannon. “Marc’s always a bit spacey so it kind of works.”

“Just prior to us doing that video I had just finished recording an album that was basically a space rock opera. We had shot a bunch of sci-fi related videos and had to learn how to use a green screen, so we were already in a space frame of mind.”

During the time of filming segments for the documentary, Chris was able to spend time with former Senator Murray Sinclair, Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

“We were able to meet Murray very early on in the project,” he said. “Like Duke Redbird, he explained to us that before reconciliation can take place, we need to understand the true history of residential schools, genocide and inter-generational impacts of colonization.”

One point Murray impressed on the members of Sultans Of String was the importance of using Indigenous languages in the recording. So on the album and in the documentary you’ll hear Sm’algyax, Dene, Cree, Inuktitut and Michif. What was important for Shannon was that the liner notes for the album show what the lyrics look like in each language, accompanied by the English translation.

“And what I really like about the film is that there are no English subtitles,” she said. “It’s just the language. The songs are explained ahead of time by the artist.”

After the initial run of screenings in Toronto, New Hamburg, Hamilton and St. Catherines, the next scheduled presentation of the film will be at the Folk Alliance International conference being held in Montreal in February. The hope is to garner wider interest in the documentary and the project as a whole.

Chris has also started applying for the film to be shown at various film festivals and on media outlets.

The success of this collaboration between Sultans Of String and the Indigenous artists involved with the album has resulted in increased interest in their music by non-Indigenous audiences.

“Just recently I’ve noticed a lot of activity on Spotify and on social media,” said Marc. “I have to assume some of it’s from the album and the tour we did.”

“And I’m getting emails and getting copied on Facebook, particularly from Ireland,” added Shannon. “It’s because my song “Lost And Found”, which is about finding the bones of Indigenous children, is not unlike what happened in Ireland with women who lost their babies and couldn’t have them back.”

Shannon found it difficult at times to read their stories on Facebook but she did reply to them because it was healing for those who wrote to her.

From Chris’ point of view, ‘Lost And Found’ is the keystone of the album.

“It’s one of the most beautiful and important songs in the project,” he said. “It always makes me cry on stage every night.”

For more on Walking Through The Fire-Visual Album, go to https://sultansofstring.com/