Kontiwennenhawi – Akwesasne Women’s Singers

The term ‘Artist’ is very broad and covers a range of skills from painters and sculptors to actors, musicians and singers. Although they sing, Kontiwennenhawi – Akwesasne Women’s Singers don’t like to refer to themselves as artists. The members don’t get paid for their time spent and what they accomplish together as a group is so much more than just the music they produce. Kontiwennenhawi can often be found helping with different community events and volunteering to organize other events like the Sing that travels to different communities in the Spring and Fall seasons. It is this ability to generously give of themselves to and for their community that makes them exceptionally skilled and known around the world.

Kontiwennenhawi began 14-years ago and now have a core set of members: Bear Fox, Katsitsionni Fox, Elizabeth Nanticoke and her daughters Iawentas and Tekonwakwenni, and Maxine Cole. They are always welcoming new members and often cover local events like the recent grand opening of the Sunrise Acres Elder community where they sang the Ohen:ton Karihwatehkwen to begin the ceremony.

The group then traveled a few weeks ago to California where they participated in a four-day Grass Valley World Fest Music Festival, which brings in international groups to share music from different parts of the world. Included in their trip was the chance to visit Pyramid Lake in Nevada, which is only accessible to local Aboriginal People.

This opportunity presented itself when a contact of Bear asked whether the group would be interested in participating. Mignon Geli was very excited to be hosting the women from Akwesasne and took them around the area to experience new things every day. From whitewater rafting on the American River to an open mic night at Marco’s in Caloma to a live interview on a radio station with fifty thousand listeners, Kontiwennenhawi had a memorable experience.

The music festival itself was a large affair with eight different stage setups for music ranging in genre including reggae bands, samba bands, belly dancing and more native traditional music like that of Kontiwennenhawi. India Arie was the headlining band for the entire festival. During the opening ceremonies Nina McNair and their family singers invited Kontiwennenhawi to join them on the big drum.

Kontiwennenhawi was also exposed to a new lifestyle as the people in the area were very conscious of their food purchases and making sure things were organic. The Inter-Tribal Eco-village Council partially sponsored Kontiwennenhawi’s travel to California and hope to bring them back again for next year. The Eco-village Council builds sustainable communities and use a lot of green energy. The remaining expenses for the trip were paid for out of pocket by each member who attended.

When asked about the work it took to get Kontiwennenhawi’s name so widely recognized in the grass roots level they all agreed that their goal was to do good work in the community.

“We’re not performers, we are community workers” said Elizabeth. “It is just the way we carry ourselves in the community that people see we have something to offer.”

“We don’t sing for money,” added Iawentas. “What we make comes back to the community.”

Kontiwennenhawi’s third CD is almost done with one more track that needs to be recorded. The group hopes to have that ready for the community before October, which is when they will be traveling to Saratoga Springs for a Native American Festival.

For more information on how to join Kontiwennenhawi, contact any of their members. They are also available on Facebook and can be found by searching Kontiwennenhawi Akwesasne-WomensSingers.