Steve Wood

Steve Wood

Steve Wood

& the Northern Cree Singers

“If you believe in yourself, who you are, where you came from, your culture and more importantly your language, it will take you to places you have never even dreamed of,” says Steve Wood, 51, founder and drum keeper of the Northern Cree Singers – the hugely popular, award-winning First Nations group.

The Northern Cree Singers were founded in 1982 by Wood and his brothers Randy and Earl Wood. The group originates from the Saddle Lake Cree First Nation but is made up of members from the Treaty 6 Area, most notably the Frog lake Cree Nation, Onion Lake Cree Nation, Samson Cree Nation, Louis Bull Cree Nation, and the Poundmaker Cree Nation. They have garnered multi-Grammy nominations, multi-Juno nominations, and have been awarded multi-Native American Music Awards and Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards. They have also won numerous powwow singing competitions.

The awards and accolades they have received are numerous, but it is their adherence to their founder’s philosophy that have made them role models for First Nations peoples everywhere. Their success is a testament and a message to youth that traditional native music can be a star on the biggest stage, without sacrificing first principals.