Celebrating Mothers: Tanya Tagaq

I don't know about you, but growing up I was immersed in politics due to my mother's job. During my childhood, she would bring my brother and I to political rallies, we marched against the Bush administration when I was 8, and she stands against Pro-Lifers on Parliament Hill every year. I've always admired my mom's head strong politics and am thankful she took the time to bring important issues to my attention from such a young age. 

We want to take a minute to shout out this mother whom we admire deeply for her views and politicized work: Tanya Tagaq.

Not only is she a Polaris prize winning, Juno Award winning artist, but she creates music that is devoid of the mainstream. Her music is fearless, intense, incorporates traditional Inuit throat singing and when you hear it, it is truly all encompassing. She is unafraid to tackle issues that she as an Indigenous person has faced, and Indigenous people continue to face in the aftermath of the Residential School System, of which she herself is a survivor.

Her subject matter also protests the lack of respect for women's rights, especially that of Indigenous women, the lack of respect for the environment and to quote in her words it is "celebrating the great strength of women, it's about rejecting the toxic, militaristic masculinity that's taken over the world since the rise of Western industrial capitalism." (quote from her website here). 

If you remember our Women Window from a few months ago, we had this image of her in it:

One day when she was walking by our Ossington store, her daughter pointed out her image to her. It was exhilarating to have her come in the shop! Her children are lucky to have a mother who has so much strength and is driven so deeply to bring these issues to light. She has influenced our entire country with her music and politics,  and is leaving a powerful legacy for her children.