iskwē (

Cree syllabics Cree syllabics are the versions of Canadian Aboriginal syllabics used to write Cree dialects, including the original syllabics system created for Cree and Ojibwe. There are two main varieties of syllabics for Cree: Western Cree syllabics and E ...

: , formerly transliterated IsKwé) (short for waseskwan iskwew, meaning "blue sky woman" in English) (born Meghan Meisters, 1981) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and activist.

Personal life

Originally from

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, Manitoba, iskwē has lived in Los Angeles, New York City, and Toronto, and now lives in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...

."Indigenous artist iskwē shares her inspiration for music"
''

Unreserved ''Unreserved'' is a Canadian radio program, which airs weekly on CBC Radio One.

'', 10 September 2017.

Career

She released her debut album ''Iskwé'' in 2013. Her debut single "Nobody Knows," produced by

The Darcys The Darcys are a Canadian two-piece art rock band from Toronto, Ontario. Currently independent, the duo was previously signed to a four-album deal with the record label Arts & Crafts.Wheeler, Brad (November 20, 2011)"The Darcys: A new and momen ...

and featured in the Netflix series '' Between'', focused on the

Missing and murdered Indigenous women Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) is an epidemic of violence against Indigenous women in Canada, the United States, and Latin America; notably those in the FNIM (First Nations, Inuit, Métis) and Native American communities. Acros ...

crisis in Canada. Her second album, ''The Fight Within'', was released in 2017. In 2018, she received a

SOCAN Songwriting Prize The SOCAN Songwriting Prize, formerly known as the ECHO Songwriting Prize, is an annual competition recognizing the best in Canadian emerging music, both anglophone and francophone. Established in 2006, the competition was designed to recognize som ...

nomination for the song "Healers". ''The Fight Within'' garnered a win at the 2017

Western Canadian Music Awards The ''Western Canadian Music Awards'' (WCMAs) are an annual awards event for music in the western portion of Canada. The awards are provided by the Western Canada Music Alliance, which consists of six member music industry organizations from Br ...

(WCMA) for Electronic/Dance Artist of the Year, she also received a

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

nomination for Indigenous Music Album of the Year at the

Juno Awards of 2018 The Juno Awards of 2018, honouring Canadian music achievements, were presented in Vancouver, British Columbia during the weekend of 24–25 March 2018. The primary telecast ceremonies were held at Rogers Arena. Vancouver previously hosted the Juno ...

and was longlisted for the 2018 Polaris Music Prize. Her third album, ''acākosīk'', was released on 8 November 2019. The album won a Juno Award for Music Video of the Year for the song Little Star directed by Sarah Legault and was a Juno Award nominee for Adult Alternative Album of the Year at the

Juno Awards of 2020 The Juno Awards of 2020, the 49th Juno Awards, was an awards presentation that was to be held at SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on 15 March 2020. The awards and associated events were cancelled due to the emergence of the COVID-19 pan ...

. Her song "Breaking Down" was shortlisted for the 2020 SOCAN Songwriting Prize and the video PRISM Prize. iskwē's fourth album ''The Stars'' was released 5 March 2021 and is a "reimagination" of her album ''acākosīk'' (saying that "the stars" is English for ''acākosīk''.) featuring new arrangements (by Darren Fung) of six songs with iskwē accompanied by a trio of piano (Michael Shand), cello (Mariel Gonzalez), and violin (Laura C Bates) recorded live-of-the-floor at Revolution Recording in Toronto and an orchestral arrangement of “Night Danger (Lovers Mix)” recorded with the FILMharmonic Orchestra (Prague).

Discography

*''Iskwé'' (2013) *'' The Fight Within'' (2017) *''acākosīk'' (2019) *''The Stars'' (2021) *''Mother Love'' (2022, with Tom Wilson)

Songs

''Iskwé'' Album Tracks * iNewYork * So Over You * Recycle ft M1 of Dead Prez * Another Love Song (remix) * Wandering (remix) * One Better * Midnight * Another Love Song * Not Today * Slack Jaw ''The Fight Within'' Album Tracks * Ice Walker * Soldier * Healers * The Storm * Will I See * Disturbed * Nobody Knows * Sometimes ft. Keolya * Say It Sweet ''acākosīk'' Album Tracks * Intro * Breaking Down * The Unforgotten * Little Star * Interlude * Sweet Tuesday * Night Danger ''The Stars'' Album Tracks * Little Star (Stars Mix) * Night Danger (Lovers Mix) * Sweet Tuesday (Stars Mix) * Interlude (Stars Mix) * Breaking Down (Stars Mix) * The Unforgotten (Stars Mix)

Awards

* 2020 Juno Winner – Little Star Music Video of the Year * 2020 Juno Nominee – acākosīk for Alternative Album of the Year * 2020 Nominee SOCAN Songwriting Prize - for the song "Breaking Down" * 2020 Nominee PRISM Prize for 'Breaking Down" * 2018 Juno Nominee – The Fight Within Indigenous Album of the Year * 2018 Polaris Prize Long List – The Fight Within * 2017 WCMA Winner – Electronic Artist of the Year * 2017 Winner – REVEAL Indigenous Arts Award

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iskwe Canadian women pop singers Canadian electronic musicians Musicians from Winnipeg Musicians from Hamilton, Ontario 21st-century Canadian women singers Canadian people of Irish descent Living people Year of birth uncertain Canadian LGBT singers 1981 births 21st-century Canadian LGBT people