By Tabassum Siddiqui
For years, musicians ShoShona Kish and Amanda Rheaume would cross paths on tour and at other music events, becoming fast friends and collaborators in their desire to support and advocate for fellow Indigenous artists. In recent years, Kish had floated an ambitious idea: what if they started their own record label to do just that?
When the pandemic hit and lockdowns put a halt to touring, their dream became a reality. The pair used the pause on performing to found Ishkōdé Records, which aims to amplify Indigenous artists, songs, and stories within the wider music landscape. They named the label after the Anishinaabemowin word for fire – and they’ve been blazing a new trail for Indigenous representation in the music industry ever since.
“There was a big gap in the industry in terms of Indigenous and Indigenous-led spaces,” says Kish, who is from the Anishinaabekwe community and co-founded the JUNO Award-winning group Digging Roots with her partner Raven Kanatakta. “Amanda and I had been collaborating on the Indigenous Music Summit and compounded with our touring time and meeting other artists on the road, we were just very aware of all these incredible artists that didn’t have the industry support that they needed.”
“Discrimination and racism are prevalent still, and Indigenous artists have such a lack of representation in the wider music community” adds Rheaume, an award-winning Métis singer-songwriter. “When we were doing our research, we learned that there have never been any Indigenous artists on the commercial radio charts, and there aren’t many Indigenous artists signed to major labels.”
In addition to Rheaume and Digging Roots, Ishkōdé’s current roster includes rising musicians and songwriters Sebastian Gaskin, Morgan Toney, and Aysanabee (who, along with Rheaume and Digging Roots, is nominated in multiple categories at this year’s Summer Solstice Indigenous Music Awards, which will be presented at the National Arts Centre on June 6).
Veterans of the Canadian music scene, Kish and Rheaume are bringing their two decades of experience and own personal journeys to building their label.
Both recall being inspired by music at an early age – Kish says she remembers tearing up when she was only a toddler while listening to emotive songs her mother would play for her. She went on to learn music in school and from her grandfather (a musician who had performed on CBC’s long-running variety program The Tommy Hunter Show alongside his wife, who was also a singer), who gave Kish her first guitar and taught her simple chords.
She began writing songs when she was just 11 years old, as a way of expressing herself.
“It was a really important tool for my growth and my mental health during some of the more difficult times in my life, and became my companion,” Kish says. “So it was a really natural choice for me to continue with music, although I didn’t necessarily consider it as a career at first.”
Kish studied fine arts and creative writing during her undergraduate years before returning to university to study music, later meeting her husband and forming Digging Roots.
Rheaume’s path to a career in music was also fostered in part by a family connection – in 1999, her aunt was working on the all-female Lilith Fair tour. Rheaume, then 16, got the chance to meet founder Sarah McLachlan and veteran folk duo Indigo Girls and was invited up on stage to perform during the group finale.
“Meeting those women and getting to experience being on stage, I thought, ‘Oh, this is what I want to do,’” Rheaume recalls.
She started out playing cover songs in “every single bar you can think of” in Ottawa before beginning to write original material and releasing her own albums.
As independent artists, both Rheaume and Kish managed nearly every aspect of their own careers – and are working to ensure their label helps artists navigate challenges they might face in the industry.
“I’ve definitely been told ‘no’ more times than I’ve been told ‘yes’ – and still had to keep going and keep believing,” Rheaume says.
Ishkōdé is all about saying yes to better representation of diverse voices – a mandate that is particularly meaningful as National Indigenous History Month and Pride Month begin, but also one that Kish and Rheaume want to see underscored at all times.
“Music is such a powerful tool to represent our humanity. I’m a queer artist, I’m Métis, and I stand on stage and sing my truth – the more that we have diverse stories and songs in these spaces, the stronger we all are,” Rheaume says.
Part of advocating for Indigenous artists includes ensuring they have control over their own songwriting rights so Ishkōdé recently partnered with Toronto-based CCS Rights Management –a client of CMRRA – and its Daytripper Music Publishing division on a joint publishing venture.
“This is a new adventure that we’re undertaking, and we’re excited to be working with CCS and Daytripper as partners – they bring this whole wealth of knowledge and experience that’s new to us and we’re learning a lot as we go,” says Kish, who will be performing with Digging Roots at Inside the Song at The Great Hall in Toronto on June 6, hosted by CMRRA, Music Publishers Canada, and the JUNOS. “I’m really inspired to create a safe space for Indigenous artists, and to serve their work the way it deserves.” “Despite being a professional songwriter for almost 20 years, I knew very little about the publishing space – and that’s often not uncommon in the music industry. But there’s so much more information and learning we can do as a music community to make sure that artists know what their rights are, how to navigate that space, and understand what resources and opportunities are out there for them.”
Rheaume concurs: “I think it’s important that artists work with a publishing partner that they trust and the belief is there in the work and in the writer; not just in the catalogue, but in what that person has yet to create. The spirit that [CSS Founder and President] Jodie Ferneyhough and [CSS Creative/A&R Director] Jordan Howard have brought to the table has inspired me to think about it that way also. The reminder that it’s about the song itself is so important to me as an artist and entrepreneur in terms of what we’re trying to do here – which is lift up songs by Indigenous artists and storytellers.”
Even before founding Ishkōdé, Kish and Rheaume had begun collaborating on the annual International Indigenous Music Summit (IIMS) – the only global event dedicated to creating awareness, sharing resources, and building opportunities for the Indigenous music community.
This year’s event – the first standalone in-person IIMS – which ran from May 31 to June 4 at Toronto’s Allied Music Centre and Massey Hall, brought together Indigenous musicians, industry personnel, community leaders and elders from Turtle Island and around the world for networking sessions, panels, ceremonies, and 40-plus musical performances.
“It started as a little dream of bringing people together and it’s grown really quickly,” explains Kish, who is IIMS’s artistic director, while Rheaume is director of operations.
“It is my hope that we can be a part of building space to catalyze really honest, brave conversations about how to move forward together.”
As they continue to grow their label, Kish and Rheaume are always considering the power of engagement – whether that’s cultivating authentic exchanges on social media, the way they connect with others in the industry, or drawing on their Indigenous roots to put community at the heart of their work.
“We think a lot about discovery, and about the quality of engagement” Kish says. “For us, it’s about real, honest, courageous relationship-building, and bringing Indigenous music to larger audiences and communities. The stronger our relationships are, the stronger our communities are, the stronger the industry is, and ultimately we can better serve the music and the artists.”
“ShoShona and I are doing all this work together, but then when we go out and engage with our partners, that exchange has a forward motion that is welcoming and opens up space,” Rheaume adds. “That’s really what we have been working toward – so the word ‘engagement’ and the action of engaging feels like the key to unlocking what we will build together in the future.”
To learn more about Ishkōdé Records, visit www.ishkoderecords.com.
