Shannon Thunderbird

Shannon Thunderbird
OriginCanada
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, speaker, educator, playwright, author
Websitewww.shannonthunderbird.com

Shannon Thunderbird is a Coast Tsimshian First Nations singer-songwriter, speaker, educator, recording artist, playwright, and author.[1][2]

Biography

Thunderbird is an Elder of the Giluts'aaw tribe, Royal House of Niis'gumiik, Gispwudwada (Orca) Clan.[3] She is an artist and educator[4] and a medicine wheel teacher who communicates time-honoured indigenous knowledge through workshops/seminars, drumming circles, stage shows, and the written word. Thunderbird has worked with thousands of people all over North America, Europe and Asia. In particular, she and her performance partner, Sandy Horne of the Canadian synthpop band the Spoons, have presented to over three hundred and fifty thousand students in elementary, secondary schools, universities and colleges across Canada and the United States.[5] She is President of Teya Peya Productions, a First Nations arts/education company[6] she founded in 1991 that includes the Thunderbird Native Theatre and Red Cedar Sisters Vocal Trio to which she is the Artistic Director.

Her touring shows include "Wolf Thunder: Big Drums Are Calling!", "Turtle Thunder Sings", "Sweet Thunder Medicine Wheel", "Daughter of the Copper Shield", "Thunder Rolling in the Mountains", Thunder Wolf Songwriting, Vocals and Drumming, Spirit Thunder Drumming and vocal workshops celebrating cultural diversity and North American indigenous cultures.[6]

Thunderbird is an advocate for Indigenous rights, pointing out the injustice and repercussions of the Indian Act of 1876.[7][8] She is also an advocate for anti-colonial education, elevating the status of Indigenous art,[4] and the right of Indigenous women to take part in drumming.[8]

Written works

  • Truth and Timelessness: Indigenous Medicine Wheel Knowledge. 2020
  • Featured Contributor: We Do It This Way, ED. Dr. April Go Forth, Thoz Womenz Inc., Alturas, California, 2014
  • Featured Contributor: The Art of Living, A Practical Guide to Being Alive. ED. Claire Elizabeth Terry, Kairos, Spain, 2008.

Discography

  • May Your Spirit Be Strong (2003)[9]
  • Wind Centre (with Sandy Horne) (2011)
  • Red Cedar Sisters (due out 2020)

References

  1. ^ "Shanon Thunderbird CBC Radio 3 Bio". CBC Radio 3. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  2. ^ "The Sultans of String Musical Performance". Waterloo News. University of Waterloo. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
  3. ^ Thunderbird, Shannon (2009). "Wisdom of the Ages: From Houses to Monsters, the Naming Practices of the Coast Tsimshian Nation". Proceedings of the 23rd International Congress of Onomastic Sciences. Toronto: York University. pp. 964–968. hdl:10315/4039. ISBN 978-1-55014-521-2.
  4. ^ a b Iseke-Barnes, Judy; Danard, Deborah (2009). "Indigenous Knowledge and Worldview: Representations and the Internet". In Hakikur, Rahman (ed.). Selected Readings on Global Information Technology: Contemporary Applications. IGI Global. p. 476. ISBN 9781605661162. OCLC 1298714974.
  5. ^ "Shannon Thunderbird and Sandy Horne". ReverbNation. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
  6. ^ a b Meshcherova, Anna (May 6, 2013). "First National Congress Presents Unique Learning Opportunity for Canadian Artists and Organization". Culture Days. Archived from the original on December 6, 2015.
  7. ^ Morgan, C. W. C. (March 1, 2010). Our Past, Our Present, Our Future. America Star Books. ISBN 9781683944188.
  8. ^ a b Thunderbird, Shannon (January 4, 2018). "Letter from an unrepentant Elder regarding Women at the Big Drum". Windspeaker. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  9. ^ "2005 OUEEEN Conference Program". University of Windsor. October 2005. Archived from the original on February 17, 2008.
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