BCMEA 2024 Keynote Presenter
Sherryl Sewepagaham

Sherryl Sewepagaham, a Cree-Dene artist from the Little Red River Cree Nation in Northern Alberta, embodies a richly interdisciplinary approach as an Indigenous artist, composer, and educator. She is currently pursuing her Doctoral studies in Ethnomusicology at UBC, of which she holds a 2024 Vanier Scholar title, and earned a Master of Education in Elementary Education from the University of Alberta and a Bachelor of Music Therapy from Capilano University. Sherryl’s PhD research focuses on the impact of Cree song practices in language revitalization. She is a passionate advocate of Cree language songs contributing to the heavy work of Indigenous language preservation and retention in communities, education, and academic scholarship. Sherryl acknowledges her parents for their guidance and support in learning the Cree language, storytelling, and cultural learning, which she infuses in her artistic and academic work.

For nearly two decades, Sherryl dedicated herself to teaching K-6 elementary music with a focus on Indigenous musical traditions and pedagogy. Realizing there was a lack of Indigenous resources for her students, she began creating her own teaching resources, which led to additional resources. She composed the music and lyrics for the National Arts Centre's "Music Alive"theme song and contributed to three teacher resources for the “Arts Alive” program. Sherryl also wrote a secondary music resource for MusiCounts Education Charity titled “Kanata: Contemporary Indigenous Artists and their Music” and was an advisor and contributor for “Singing in Indigenous Languages: A Practical Guide for Educators” released as part of the CBC Canadian Music Class Challenge this fall. Her newest Orff-based resource, “Earth Songs for Children,” will be available in November 2024 sponsored by the Alberta Orff Chapter.

Sherryl has been commissioned by esteemed national choirs such as ProCoro Canada, the Canadian Chamber Choir, Dead of Winter, and Luminous Voices. Her compositions include impactful works like "Yôtin (The Wind)," "Nipîy (Water Song)," "Kahkiyaw Oskâyak (All the Young People)," "Okâwîmâw Askîy (Mother Earth)," and "Laughing Beaver," two of which were featured in Samantha Whelan Kotkas' 2021 production 'Wandering with Wonder' orchestrated by the Red Deer Symphony Orchestra. Notably, she co-produced the music soundtrack for the 2022 documentary 'Re-ken-si-le-a-shen' by Métis filmmaker, Jamie Bourque-Blyan.

Sherryl's debut solo album, 'Splashing the Water Loudly,' released in 2014, garnered a nomination at the 2015 Indigenous Music Awards and has been highlighted on Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN)'s 'Chaos and Courage' series and 'All Our Relations.' She is currently working on a children’s album of Cree songs.

Formerly a founding member of the acclaimed Edmonton-based trio Asani for 23 years, Sherryl contributed significantly to their award-winning albums, 'Rattle & Drum' and 'Listen.' Asani performed at prestigious venues worldwide, including Carnegie Hall in New York, The Kennedy Centre in Washington, D.C., and Midem in France. They were also honoured to perform at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver and for dignitaries such as the 14th Dalai Lama and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth.

Sherryl is proud to be invited as your Keynote Speaker for the 2024 BCMEA conference!

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Keynote Address Snapshot
Wîtaskîwin: “Having Good Relations” Through Indigenous Arts Education

Wîtaskîwin relies on fostering “good relations” between schools and local Indigenous communities through collaborative arts partnerships. In Canada’s history, it is well-documented that over 150,000 First Nations, Métis and Inuit children were forcibly taken from their families and communities and put into Indian Residential Schools far from their homes, from 1831 until the last school closure in 1997 in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut. Indigenous children were negatively impacted for 150 years by the denial of simply being born Indigenous and the native languages they spoke, including being denied their cultural practices such as cultural arts (beading, basket-making, carving), singing and dancing. This impact continues today intergenerationally. 

In this keynote presentation, Sherryl will discuss the role that arts educators at all levels can play to create positive change for the betterment of not only Indigenous students, but for all our students. We will explore how arts educators can make a difference through re-evaluating current biases and perspectives of Indigenous people, and expanding Eurocentric teaching practices to include Indigenous pedagogies and epistemologies. Finally, Sherryl will share ways to reduce apprehensions and fears in cultural learning, and explore how to prioritize building trust and breaking down barriers with Indigenous students and communities. 

In establishing the vital role that arts educators can play in being change-makers in decolonizing music education, Sherryl will introduce educators to resources such as MusiCounts, Arts Alive, Orff-based teaching resources and funding opportunities, designed to enable educators to put the spirit of this keynote presentation into practice in their own contexts. 

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