Duke Redbird

Duke Redbird (born 1939) is an Aboriginal Canadian poet, journalist, activist, businessman, actor and administrator, best known as a key figure in the development of First Nations literature in Canada.[1]

Duke Redbird
Born1939
Saugeen First Nation, Ontario
NationalityCanadian
Occupationpoet, journalist, academic, actor
Years active1960s-present
Notable work
I Am Canadian, Loveshine and Red Wine, We Are Métis
ChildrenJay Bell Redbird

An Ojibwe from the Saugeen First Nation in Southwestern Ontario,[2] he became a ward of the Children's Aid Society at nine months of age after his mother died in a house fire.[3] Raised predominantly by Caucasian foster families, he began writing as a way to deal with the anti-aboriginal racism he faced in schools.[3]

Early career

During the mid-1960s, he started his career as a spoken word artist on folk festival, coffeehouse and theatre tours across Canada,[2] he then became editor of a native newspaper named The Thunderbird,[4] and was a determined organizer of protests and spoke on native rights issues.[5]

In this era, he was also the neighbour of Joni Mitchell during her early career on Toronto's Yorkville coffeehouse scene,[4] and had his first acting role in an episode of Adventures in Rainbow Country.

Marty Dunn published a biography of Redbird, Red on White, in 1971.[5]

Writing

His collections of published poetry includes I Am Canadian (1978) and Loveshine and Red Wine (1981).[2] He has also done other commissioned work for various public events in Canada, including the official opening of the Canadian Museum of Civilization and Expo 67.[6] A project of musical theatre primarily based on his poetry was performed for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh during the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 1977,[2] and Redbird represented Canada at the Valmiki World Poetry Festival in Delhi, India in 1985.[2]

He collaborated with musician Winston Wuttunee in the 1970s, including a joint appearance at the Mariposa Folk Festival and the album See the Arrow.

From his spoken word work, two CD's Duke Redbird the Poet (1994) and In Other Words (1999) have been released.[3] In 1999, aboriginal rapper TKO persuaded Redbird to work together on his next album, asserting that "Duke Redbird is the old master of the spoken word and I'm the new master."[3]

"Silver River", a song Redbird recorded in 1975 in collaboration with musician Shingoose, appears on the 2014 compilation album Native North America, Vol. 1.[7] The song originally appeared on Shingoose's four-song EP Native Country.[8]

With Bonnie Devine and Robert Houle, he also cowrote The Drawings and Paintings of Daphne Odjig: A Retrospective Exhibition, the guidebook to the National Gallery of Art's 2009 retrospective exhibition of artist Daphne Odjig.

Activism

During the 1970s, Redbird was the then vice-president of the Native Council of Canada.[2] After earning a master's degree in political science from York University, his academic thesis We Are Metis was then published in 1980.[9] He subsequently served as president of the Ontario Métis and Non-Status Indian Association.[2]

Media work

He began working in television and film during the 1990s. He wrote the teleplay Four Directions: A Canoe for the Making for CBC Television,[10] was an associate producer on then feature film Dance Me Outside,[2] and produced a multimedia documentary on aboriginal art for the National Film Board.[3] He has also worked in television as a news producer and aboriginal issues reporter for Citytv.[11]

He took on multiple acting roles in this era, appearing in episodes of Wonderfalls and Relic Hunter, and in the films The Shaman's Source and Casino Jack.

Business

In the 1990s he was co-owner of a downtown Toronto pub, the Coloured Stone,[11] and played a pivotal role in reuniting Mitchell with Kilauren Gibb, the daughter she had given up for adoption in the 1960s.[11] He also launched Native Blend Coffee, a line of fair trade coffee, in 1999.[3] In 2000, he opened a restaurant, Eureka Continuum, to specialize in aboriginal cuisine.[12]

In this era, he described to the Toronto Star the ways in which his philosophy of activism had shifted: "I'm still a kind of activist, but it's on a different level. Now, I'm an elder, a wisdom-keeper, a sharer. I try to help people from community - aboriginal, indigenous people who may be Metis, First Nations or Inuit - who are assembling strategies to accomplish their goals. Wisdom is choosing the right goal. It's my job to ask: Is it wise?"[12]

Academic work

After leaving Citytv in 2009, Redbird joined OCAD University as a mentor and advisor in the institution's indigenous visual culture program until 2012. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from the institution in 2013.[13]

In 2019, he collaborated with Myseum of Toronto on an indigenous history project at Ontario Place.[14]

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References
  1. Literary History in English at The Canadian Encyclopedia.
  2. Jeannette Armstrong and Lally Grauer, Native Poetry in Canada: A Contemporary Anthology. Broadview Press, 2001. ISBN 978-1551112008. p. 41.
  3. "An unbending spirit: The creative journey is far from over for the artist, poet, and former politico, Duke Redbird". National Post, April 10, 1999.
  4. "Joni: `Dirt poor,' 20 and pregnant Excerpts from a new book reveal details of Joni Mitchell's life in '60s Toronto". Toronto Star, April 7, 1997.
  5. "Shaman of the global village". The Globe and Mail, September 12, 1981.
  6. "Pre-opening gala planned for Museum of Civilization". The Globe and Mail, June 22, 1989.
  7. "Forgotten Native American musicians: 'We could have been the next Nirvana'". The Guardian, December 4, 2014.
  8. "Native Country: Record launches Indian artistic project". Ottawa Journal, January 23, 1976.
  9. Ethnic Literature at The Canadian Encyclopedia.
  10. "Writer urges CBC to let natives tell their own stories". Toronto Star, November 20, 1993.
  11. "Joni Mitchell's Secret". Maclean's, April 21, 1997.
  12. "Restaurant celebrates home and native food". Toronto Star, June 28, 2000.
  13. "OCAD UNIVERSITY TO CONFER HONORARY DEGREES ON DOUGLAS COUPLAND AND DUKE REDBIRD". ocadu.ca. May 30, 2013. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
  14. "Why the otter is better than the beaver and other Canada Day lessons with Indigenous elder Duke Redbird". Toronto Star, June 30, 2019.
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