Crystal Shawanda
Crystal Shawanda is an Ojibwe–Potawatomi singer, songwriter, and powerhouse vocalist from Wiikwemkoong First Nation on Manitoulin Island, Ontario. She is celebrated for her incredible ability to move between country, blues, and soul with equal conviction.
Raised in a musical family, Shawanda began performing at six, joined Debajehmujig Theatre by nine, and recorded her first Nashville sessions at thirteen — early signs of a voice and drive that would carry her far beyond her rural Rez (community).
Shawanda first rose to prominence in Nashville’s country scene. Her 2008 debut, Dawn of a New Day, became the highest charting album by a First Nations artist in the SoundScan era, leading to international touring, major award nominations, and quickly becoming one of the most visible Indigenous women in mainstream country music.
However, the blues — the music she grew up hearing from her brother’s record collection — remained her deepest artistic inspiration. In 2014, Shawanda shifted fully into blues, unleashing a raw, soulful vocal style she had felt compelled to restrain in country music. Her 2020 release, Church House Blues, received extensive airplay in North America and Europe, and she went on to become the first Indigenous woman to win a JUNO Award for Blues Album of the Year. In 2022 she achieved another first: her song “Midnight Blues” made her the first Indigenous person to appear on the American Billboard blues chart.
Despite immense career success south of the border, Crystal Shawanda continues to perform with emotional honesty, vocal mastery, and a spirit rooted in her home community.
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Speak Up! is curated by David McLeod (member of the Pine Creek First Nation, MB), Indigenous programming consultant.