Giving and getting inspiration on First Nations school tour

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/03/2025 (518 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There are no sold-out arenas or glittering marquees, but Nelson Little is on the tour of a lifetime.

The 46-year-old country-roots artist has spent the last month performing for excited students in school classrooms and gymnasiums while visiting First Nations communities across Manitoba.

“This is one of the most rewarding tours of my career so far and I’ve been on a lot,” says Little, who was named Roots Artist of the Year at the 2024 Manitoba Country Music Awards.

And he’s just getting started.

As the featured artist for this year’s Indigenous Touring Program hosted by the Manitoba Arts Network, Little is set to visit 18 First Nations over four months. It’s the largest standalone tour to date for the program, which has been running since 2021, thanks to an influx of funding from Canadian Heritage.

The goal is to “inspire Indigenous youth one community at a time,” says Rhonda Head, Indigenous program co-ordinator for the arts network, which connects visual and performing artists with rural and remote Manitoba communities.

Past headliners have included a mix of established and emerging artists, such as Brandi Vezina, Jerry Sereda, Sebastian Gaskin and Gator Beaulieu.

While each tour differs, owing to the range of musical genres featured, the aspirational impact of seeing Indigenous musicians in the spotlight has remained the same.

“The students have a twinkle in their eye and you can tell they’re connecting,” says Head, an acclaimed mezzo-soprano from Opaskwayak Cree Nation who has been involved since the program’s inception. “This has been a very empowering and spiritual experience.”

That connection has been a two-way street for Little.

“As someone who writes from the heart, I feel like there’s … something given back to me,” says the singer-songwriter who lives in Portage la Prairie. “I felt it in the first half hour in the first community.”

Since the beginning of February, Head and Little have travelled by car and plane to five First Nations in the northeastern and southwestern corners of the province.

This week, the pair is spending two days each in Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, Waywayseecappo First Nation and Birdtail Sioux First Nation, where Little will perform original songs — including Just Make It Happen, an upbeat single released last year — while sharing his perspective on the healing power of music.

The Métis musician was born in Thompson and spent his early days in Winnipeg until he was injured in a shotgun accident as a teen. He moved to live with family out of town and several years later survived a fatal car accident in which his cousin died.

“I was in Grade 11, supposed to be paying attention in school, but I had tears in my eyes,” Little says.

His bereaved uncle inspired him to pick up a guitar and channel those traumatic experiences and difficult emotions into songwriting. Performing those deeply personal songs helped Little open up and overcome a dark period in his life.

It’s a story he shares to encourage youth to reach out if they’re struggling and follow their dreams through adversity.

“If I can inspire one kid or all of them, it’s worth it,” he says.

During each tour stop, Little runs workshops with young aspiring musicians, who are invited to join him onstage. He’s been equally inspired by the musicianship he’s witnessed.

“The talent in these communities is amazing,” he says. “They’re real artists for sure.”

Little heads back to his home in Portage next week before hitting the road again in April. The tour wraps up on May 9 in Wuskwi Sipihk First Nation.

eva.wasney@winnipegfreepress.com