Alan Greyeyes - a member of Peguis First Nation, and an artist manager and mentor for many young Indigenous artists including Boogey - couldn't agree more. Having connected Boogey to the Jets and the Southern Thunderbird Medicine Drum group for this project, Greyeyes has long been involved in the music scene in Manitoba. That's perhaps most notable through the sākihiwē festival - a music festival that takes music to divested Winnipeg neighbourhoods so Indigenous and newcomer families can participate in the arts without sacrificing their personal safety, family responsibilities, and ability to make ends meet. Greyeyes knows the power of music and he sees great potential for the special WASAC song.
"Music gives us an opportunity to reach further than the hockey arena. This is a piece that will engage people on social media, and maybe go even further. We might even see it between whistles, not just in Winnipeg, but possibly in other markets, and it might be on national broadcasts. Music is a medium that engages people in almost every part of their lives."
Giving Indigenous artists a chance to shine on this stage is significant to Greyeyes too. Boogey was the perfect producer to mesh the traditional sounds of Indigenous music with modern beats that will connect people of all cultures to the song, but Greyeyes is equally excited to have the Southern Thunderbird Medicine Drum group featured. Seeing an all-female drum group is rare, and including them is another show of inclusion and challenging the norm to him.
"Every stage like this gives us an opportunity to challenge stereotypes and show Canadians that Indigenous people are just as unique and talented as their loved ones," noted Greyeyes. "For me, it's about representation and seeing ourselves represented in the folks who are on stage or on screen. When I was growing up, I really didn't see examples of Indigenous people doing incredible things. Nowadays, a lot has changed, and young folks can see that they can be artists, they can be hockey players, they can be movie stars. They can do incredible things with their lives, which is why it's important for me, on a daily basis, to show young Indigenous people that they can do anything."
Through Greyeyes' mentorship, Boogey has come to realize how important that aspect is, particularly through this process of composing a song for WASAC Night.
"I went into the process hoping that the music would first of all get fans excited about the game," said Boogey. "But the more we went into the studio with the amazing drum group and had conversations with people from the Jets' team, I started to get the bigger picture that this is good to do for the community. We can inspire people and create a song that represents the territory it's played on and that the Jets play on."
