Jeremy Dutcher saw the risks of singing in English on his second album.

As a classically trained musician known for using his voice to draw attention to an endangered Indigenous language, some might91裸聊视频檝e seen him welcoming a non-Indigenous language onto his sophomore album 91裸聊视频淢otewolonuwok91裸聊视频� as a betrayal of his roots.

91裸聊视频淵ou never want to be seen (as) stepping away from your true intent,91裸聊视频� the 32-year-old recently explained after rehearsals in a Toronto music space.

91裸聊视频淵ou want to stay on your path.91裸聊视频�

Five years ago, his debut 91裸聊视频淲olastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa91裸聊视频� elevated Dutcher to the national stage when it won the 2018 Polaris Music Prize. The album showcased the operatic tenor singing with century-old recordings of his elders made in Wolastoqey, the language of the Wolastoqiyik people.

Dutcher won a Juno award, collaborated with Buffy Sainte-Marie and Yo-Yo Ma, and was invited to sing at Joni Mitchell91裸聊视频檚 75th birthday party.

Soon people were asking how he might follow on such a distinctive first album.

91裸聊视频淭he reason I started creating my own music was because I couldn91裸聊视频檛 go to the radio, turn it on and hear songs in our own language,91裸聊视频� he reasoned.

91裸聊视频淭o do it in English felt like, 91裸聊视频極h I guess you91裸聊视频檙e changing your course.91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频�

Yet Dutcher knew he91裸聊视频檇 eventually have to make a decision.

More than 100 recordings of his ancestors singing in Wolastoqey exist at the archives in the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que., he said. Dutcher used 11 of them on his debut.

91裸聊视频淚 could91裸聊视频檝e made over three other archive albums,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淏ut I didn91裸聊视频檛 want to do that (because) you get stuck in one story.91裸聊视频�

Dutcher, who grew up partly in the Tobique First Nation in New Brunswick, saw the possibility of his sophomore effort being a 91裸聊视频渕ore direct offering to people91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频� in particular, the English-speaking audience that discovered his first album.

It also presented the opportunity to link two very different languages, often within a breath of each other.

91裸聊视频淭hey91裸聊视频檙e coming from separate families, so finding a pathway between them was a challenge, but also an exciting artistic constraint,91裸聊视频� said the musician, who now lives in Montreal.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 a trip for me to still hear it.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淢otewolonuwok,91裸聊视频� which was released earlier this month, finds Dutcher in what he calls a liminal space as he confronts the nuances of the modern Indigenous experience. He describes the album as 91裸聊视频渟orrow, grief, joy and beauty all up against each other91裸聊视频� as it considers the heavy weight of recent times.

In the years since his debut album, the Indigenous community has been shaken by the discovery of unmarked graves at residential schools, faced a worsening housing crisis on reserves and seen youth suicide rates skyrocket.

Dutcher said the album91裸聊视频檚 inspiration started with the work of Cherokee poet Qwo-li Driskill and their words of bearing witness, celebration and healing.

91裸聊视频淪kicinuwihkuk,91裸聊视频� the first track, sees Dutcher singing about land sovereignty.

His voice quivers on the song 91裸聊视频淭ake My Hand91裸聊视频� as he considers the meaning of lineage: 91裸聊视频淎ll of the ghosts that we sing back to,91裸聊视频� he sings. 91裸聊视频淭each us our way of listening.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淪akom91裸聊视频� was recorded with a 12-voice choir improvising the harmony as Dutcher sang in Wolastoqey.

91裸聊视频淚t was an acknowledgment that we do nothing alone,91裸聊视频� he explained of the song, one of the clearest examples of how Dutcher sees the relationship between Canada and its Indigenous Peoples.

91裸聊视频淎s a country, we91裸聊视频檙e trying to understand our collective history a little more closely,91裸聊视频� he said.

91裸聊视频淎nd it91裸聊视频檚 good because we91裸聊视频檙e at least coming to hold that story together, rather than it being two completely different realities.

91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 hopeful that we91裸聊视频檙e in a time of shift and change 91裸聊视频� that feels evident,91裸聊视频� he added.

Dutcher is doing whatever he can to capture this moment.

Recently, he was commissioned to contribute music to 91裸聊视频淧isuwin,91裸聊视频� billed as the first-ever ballet based on a Wolastoq tale. The Atlantic Ballet performance tours Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick through the end of November.

The musician also played a series of fundraiser concerts to assist his mother Lisa Perley-Dutcher in her efforts to establish the first-ever Wolastoqey immersion preschool, located in Fredericton.

Dutcher is confident the small group of community leaders teaching the new generation of Wolastoqey speakers will reaffirm some of the language91裸聊视频檚 values of unity and respect for the land.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 potentially revolutionary,91裸聊视频� he said.

91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 encouraged that now, language 91裸聊视频� not just Wolastoqey, but a lot of Indigenous languages 91裸聊视频� are coming forward and (getting) a lot more space to breathe.91裸聊视频�

Dutcher said that91裸聊视频檚 how he measures his success.

91裸聊视频淭he awards, they come and go,91裸聊视频� he said.

91裸聊视频淏ut I don91裸聊视频檛 take any of these platforms for granted. I don91裸聊视频檛 know how long they91裸聊视频檙e going to let me do this. So (my thinking is) just get it out while you can.91裸聊视频�

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 12, 2023.

David Friend, The Canadian Press

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version credited the words of Cherokee poet Qwo-li Driskill as appearing on the first track of the album. In fact, Dutcher says Driskill91裸聊视频檚 work inspired the album.