Alberta drum group up for Grammy

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Ben Cardinal and the other 11 members of the Northern Cree Drum Group will be rubbing elbows with the music world's biggest names on Feb. 26. Twenty-four hours later, they'll find out if they are this year's winners of the Grammy award for best Native American music album.

Northern Cree, based out of the northern Alberta Saddle Lake First Nation, is the only group from the Canadian side of the US/Canada border to get a Grammy nomination this year. Cardinal told Sweetgrass the group will attend an exclusive nominees-only party the night before the 44th annual Grammy awards are handed out at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The show will be broadcast live on CBS on Feb. 27 at 8 p.m. (ET/PT). Jon Stewart of Comedy Central TV's The Daily Show will be the host.

The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, also known as the Recording Academy, was established in 1957. It's "dedicated to improving the quality of life and cultural condition for music and its makers." The organization has a membership of more than 20,000 musicians, producers and other recording professionals.

The Northern Cree's Rockin' The Rez album, released last year by Canyon Records of Phoenix, AZ, is one of six nominated works. The others are: Life Goes On - Hand Drum and Round Dance Songs by Black Eagle, Weasel Tail's Dream -The Tradition Continues, by the Black Lodge Singers, Bless The People - Harmonized Peyote Songs by Verdell Primeaux and Johnny Mike, the Gathering Of Nations 2000: Millennium Celebration - Vol. 1 (Various Northern Drums) Tom Bee and Douglas Spotted Eagle, producers, and Change Of Life - Oklahoma Powwow Songs by Young Bird.

Rockin' The Rez is a collection of contemporary powwow music, based on traditional songs and techniques but with a modern twist.

"We come up with all the songs ourselves," said Cardinal. "They're all composed by members of the group."

Although the music appeals to all ages, recordings of popular drum groups have become big sellers among young people on the powwow trail in recent years as the art form grows in popularity.

"All over, people are coming up to us and asking us for autographs. That's pretty cool," the 20-year-old said. "We kind of got used to it. When we'd go out to these powwows, even before this nomination, people would be buying our tapes and they'd ask us to autograph them. We got used to signing people's shirts or people's casts or someone's tape or CDs."

The Northern Cree members hope the nomination and possible Grammy win will open some more doors for them in the entertainment world. Cardinal said the group has already appeared in a feature film, performing their music in Grey Owl with Pierce Brosnan.

"We've also been up to Ottawa to sing at Parliament Hill and things like that," he said. "This could open up a lot of opportunities to travel and see the world."

Cardinal said Saddle Lake has a long, proud history of keeping the traditional music alive and there were lots of capable teachers in the community to help the group along.

"It's been passed on for generations here in Saddle Lake," he said. "Saddle Lake's very well known for singers who have passed on, like Alec Wood to Sam McGillivray, they're like the grandfathers of singing out here."

Two members of the group - Steven Wood and Ferlin McGillivray - are in their 40s. The youngest member is Joel Wood, who is 13. Shane Redstar, Conan Yellowbird, Randy Wood, Shane Dion, Leroy Brown, Bill Cardinal, Aaron McGillivary and Saskatchewan import Jonas Tootootsis will all fly to the awards show in Los Angeles on Feb. 25, courtesy of Canyon Records.

Cardinal said they're looking forward to going to the nominees' party with high profile performers like Jennifer Lopez and others.