Yovan Nagwetch
Encyclopedia
Biography
He was born in the Gaspésie village of ChandlerChandler
A chandler was the head of the chandlery in medieval households, responsible for wax, candles, and soap.Chandler may also refer to:- People :* Chandler , the surname of various people...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
and grew up in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. He is a Métis
Métis
A Métis is a person born to parents who belong to different groups defined by visible physical differences, regarded as racial, or the descendant of such persons. The term is of French origin, and also is a cognate of mestizo in Spanish, mestiço in Portuguese, and mestee in English...
of Wabanaki
Wabanaki
Wabanaki, Wabenaki, Wobanaki, etc. may refer to:In geography* area referred as the "Dawn land" by many Algonquian-speaking peoples to describe the Eastern region of the North American continent, generally described as being New England in the United States, plus Quebec and the Maritimes in CanadaIn...
ancestry, a hoop of small Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
nations located on the Atlantic shore of Canada and the USA. Later he emigrated to France and to Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, before spending many years performing and travelling elsewhere in many places across the continent.
Ethnically Nagwetch is a Canadian Wabanaki
Wabanaki
Wabanaki, Wabenaki, Wobanaki, etc. may refer to:In geography* area referred as the "Dawn land" by many Algonquian-speaking peoples to describe the Eastern region of the North American continent, generally described as being New England in the United States, plus Quebec and the Maritimes in CanadaIn...
Métis
Métis
A Métis is a person born to parents who belong to different groups defined by visible physical differences, regarded as racial, or the descendant of such persons. The term is of French origin, and also is a cognate of mestizo in Spanish, mestiço in Portuguese, and mestee in English...
. The homeland of the Wabanaki Métis consists of the eastern region of the North American continent, generally described as being New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
in the United States, plus Quebec and the Maritimes in Canada. Their history dates back to the sixteenth century when the first Europeans, mainly French, married within local tribes and adopted the “Indian” way of life.
After arriving in Finland Nagwetch started to explore the musical heritage of his Wabanaki ancestors resulting in the creation of Wabanag
Wabanag
-History:Wabanag is a Canadian-Finnish ethnic rock band based in Helsinki, Finland. The Band was originally founded and formed by singer/songwriter Yovan Nagwetch in the early 1990s after he emigrated to Finland, after spending many years performing and travelling elsewhere in Europe, most notably...
, a concept band gathering young musicians of different ethnic backgrounds and playing Nagwetch's music.
Surrounded by music his whole life he started composing songs when he was five years old. Starting with serious songwriting when he was 12 years old and picking up the guitar at age 16. Though he has no formal education in music, he is self-learned in various fields of music, from producing music in Montreal to playing on the streets of Europe, to learning and eventually teaching African drums in Paris. He is also known for his use of flutes and frame-drums.
Nagwetch has toured widely in Finland with his band Wabanag
Wabanag
-History:Wabanag is a Canadian-Finnish ethnic rock band based in Helsinki, Finland. The Band was originally founded and formed by singer/songwriter Yovan Nagwetch in the early 1990s after he emigrated to Finland, after spending many years performing and travelling elsewhere in Europe, most notably...
, and in 2005 The Bands album Ulodi was nominated as Best International Album at the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards winning them recognition and airplay also in the USA and Canada.
Nagwetch is also a known as a traditionalist and activist for the cause of Native
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
and Métis
Métis
A Métis is a person born to parents who belong to different groups defined by visible physical differences, regarded as racial, or the descendant of such persons. The term is of French origin, and also is a cognate of mestizo in Spanish, mestiço in Portuguese, and mestee in English...
peoples.