Northern Cree and Tia Wood

Join us for an intergenerational night of Indigenous excellence from Treaty 6 territory in Alberta to conclude the 2025 ʔəm̓i ce:p xʷiwəl (Come Toward the Fire) festival and celebrate the introduction of the Chan Centre’s Made in Canada series. Legendary powwow and round dance drum group Northern Cree make their Chan Centre debut in a powerful double bill with rising star Tia Wood.

Northern Cree are renowned as one of the best, most prolific, and beloved acts in modern powwow music. The group have won two Juno awards, have been nominated for nine Grammy Awards, and appeared on the Grammy-winning album Gathering of the Nations Pow Wow 1999. Founded by brothers Steve, Randy, Charlie and Earl Wood in Maskwacis, Alberta, Northern Cree have been singing together more than four decades. They have recorded 50 albums, appeared on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert, and made history in 2017 when they became the first powwow group to perform at the Grammys.

For this special double bill, Tia Wood makes her return to the Chan Centre with a special kinship connection– her father, Earl Wood, is one Northern Cree’s founders.

Hailing from Saddle Lake Cree Nation, Tia Wood is a born entertainer. She began singing as soon as she could talk, with her dual Plains Cree and Coast Salish heritage providing inspiration and community. While her father co-founded Northern Cree, her mother was also a singer in an all-women’s drum group and her sister, Fawn Wood, is also a Juno-winning singer of traditional and contemporary songs.

Tia Wood has since gained an enormous audience on social media where she “Indigenizes” sounds and shares songs on TikTok and Instagram, landing her a feature in Vogue magazine and amassing over 2.5 million followers across the platforms. In 2020, Wood took a leap of faith, moving to Los Angeles to pursue a solo career. She has since become the first Indigenous artist signed to Sony Music, and she released her debut EP, Pretty Red Bird, with her lead single “Dirt Roads” climbing the charts with over one million views on YouTube. Following her acclaimed performance at the 2023 edition of ʔəm̓i ce:p xʷiwəl (Come Toward the Fire), Tia returns to the Chan Centre with a full band and horn section.