Little Hawk’s third CD deals with big picture

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This article was published 14/06/2010 (5685 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As a musician, Little Hawk deals with the big picture, but as a person Troy Westwood takes things on in smaller chunks.

"How is it possible to solve poverty when poverty is a central tenet of capitalism? How it can be fixed is beyond me. That’s a macro question; I’m dealing with the micro, doing my best to effect positive change one person at a time. That’s all we can do," he says.

The former Winnipeg Blue Bombers kicker performs music under his aboriginal name Little Hawk. He has just released his third independent album, Vigilance, which deals with topics such as residential school claims, drug and alcohol addiction, the problems plaguing Winnipeg’s North End, missing and murdered aboriginal women and the 2005 killing of Matthew Dumas by a Winnipeg police officer.

The music was inspired by his day job — the one he goes to after finishing his shift as part of QX-104’s Waking Crew — for a local social services agency specializing in family reunification, his involvement with First Nations communities and by reading the newspaper every day.

"I guess in a perfect world we wouldn’t have these types of issues. It’s not that I go out of my way to write about these issues as they hit the news or spread in the communities, but sometimes these stories hit you and stick with you. They resonate in your soul. Lyrics to me are a weapon for the healing process, or a cry out to help change things. That’s the way the songs are for me, and if they happen to strike other people the same way (then) hopefully it can help effect positive change," he says.

The Dauphin-born Winnipegger has been involved in music since the early 1990s when he was a member of award-winning rock band Eagle & Hawk. He set aside his ambitions with the group in 2001 to concentrate on his football career, but never stopped writing music in his spare time.

His 2005 debut solo album, Little Hawk: 1492-1975, was based on 500 years of North American aboriginal history. His next release, 2007’s Home and Native Land, focused on Canadian issues, such as the Oka standoff and the J.J. Harper shooting.

The Chris Burke-Gaffney-produced Vigilance, available for sale on his website, local independent music stores, CD Baby and iTunes, again takes a distinctly Canadian approach with an even greater emphasis on Winnipeg stories.

"I think it’s a natural path, whatever this journey is that I’m on. The historical stories were the ones I had to tell that made an impact on me and set the foundation. At this point in time, many of the songs are ones made through observations over long periods of time. I guess it’s just a natural progression as a songwriter," he says.

Westwood, 43, isn’t aboriginal by birth, but has always been attracted to the spirituality and culture of First Nations people. He was given the name Little Hawk by an elder in the early 1990s and in the ensuing years has become more and more involved with several First Nations communities and has incorporated aboriginal traditions into his lifestyle.

"In all the years I’ve been involved in the community no one has ever said anything negative towards me. I’ve always been treated with astounding kindness in taking part in ceremonies and with my music. I’m out of control of what anyone thinks of me, anyway. I’m only in control of my actions and my actions in the community. I hope those actions speak for themselves. In the end I’m just following my heart and spirit," he says.

rob.williams@freepress.mb.ca