WINNIPEG --
A folk singer from Manitoba considered one of the pioneers of Indigenous music has died from COVID-19.
Shingoose, born Curtis Jonnie, passed away from COVID-19 at the age of 74 on Jan. 12, according to his daughter, Nahanni Shingoose. He was a resident of the Southeast Personal Care Home in Winnipeg.
“His impact and his legacy is incredible,” Nahanni said from her home in Ontario on Wednesday. “I’ve been honoured with so many great stories and gifts from people, the stories that they had to share about his legacy.”
Shingoose, an Ojibwa from the Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation in Manitoba, was a survivor of the Sixties Scoop, being adopted at the age of four. He was sent to a boarding school in Nebraska at the age of 15, and began singing in the choir there. “It’s one of fortunately/unfortunately moments where music came into his life, but I think that, through his experiences, he was able to harness somewhere, through his spirit, that feeling of resilience,” Nahanni said. "That’s what he sang about.”