Grand Chief Welcomes Grammy Winning "Portugal. The Man" at Osheaga

Kahnawà:ke Grand Chief Joseph Tokwiro Norton welcomed Grammy award winning band, ‘Portugal. The Man’ to traditional Kanien’kehá:ka Territory when they performed at the Osheaga Music Festival in Montreal on Friday, August 3, 2018.

According to the band’s management, Portugal. The Man is on a journey to honor and speak truthfully about Natives of the United States, Canada, and around the world. The band recently made news when they refused to appear on a network in Australia because the newscast members spoke disparagingly about Aboriginals. Following that, they met with Aboriginal leaders and had a Culture Bearer open their show and remind concert goers to know and appreciate the lands they love, and call home is, in fact, Native land.

“Essentially you reach out to aboriginal people from that part of the country and you invite them out to acknowledge that you’re on borrowed land – ‘borrowed’ – and it’s sort of just a blessing and recognizing that this land was once someone else’s,” band member Eric Howk said of the practice in an interview with the Los Angeles Daily News.

“Wa’tkwanonhwerá:ton sewakwé:kon ne ne Kanien’kehá:ka raotihóntsa,” Norton said from the Mountain Stage at Osheaga as reported by Iori:wase Kahnawakenews.com. “In my language that means ‘Welcome to Mohawk Territory.’ I hope everyone enjoys themselves this evening. This is a wonderful occasion and I am very honoured to that I was asked to come here to speak before you.”

The founders of Portugal. The Man were raised in rural Alaska, with an appreciation of ancient Native traditions of hunting, fishing, gathering, and survival as part of their upbringing. One of the Band’s members, the son of an Iditarod musher, traveled to many villages, and some of their first heroes were Alaska Native mushers.

Portugal. The Man has been together since attending Wasilla High School in Alaska in 2001. They now make Portland, Oregon their base. They have traveled North America and the world and have made eight albums. ‘Feel it Still’ from their latest album, ‘Woodstock’, won Best Pop Group Song at the 2018 Grammys, and in their award speech, they gave a shout-out to Alaska Native kids.