Bebe Buckskin

She hit the stage singing gospel and country music at age three, with a professional singer — her mom — as backup.

“I came out of the womb singing,” says 32-year-old Bebe Buckskin, who grew up on northern Alberta's Paddle Prairie Métis settlement and spent her younger adult years playing coffee shops, open mics and busking.

This spring, the singer — whose voice has been compared to Janis Joplin's — will release her fulllength record, Captain Medicine, a mix of blues, rock, R&B and traditional powwow music. It was recorded at historic FAME recording studios in Alabama, and was slated for release last year. Instead, Buckskin spent this year adding songs and redoing others.

“COVID was a blessing in disguise,” says Buckskin, who now includes a song entirely in Cree, embracing not only her ancestors' language but the platform she feels her voice gives to address issues faced by Indigenous people.

The singer-songwriter, who released the EP Asiskiy (Earth, in Cree) in 2020, expects to split her time in 2021 between Calgary and Nashville, looking to record an album of classic country covers with a friend and to perform at an increasing number of rock and roll venues in Nashville.

She hopes 2021 will bring a return to touring in Canada and the U.S., where she has developed a following, particularly in states with bluegrass traditions.

Buckskin's journey in the past several years has been both personal and musical, as she grieved the loss of her husband. That journey, while working on her LP, will be reflected in a documentary — also called Captain Medicine — that she's filming.

The eldest of eight children and mother of two also wants to establish a music scholarship for Indigenous youth and is contemplating a children's album.

“I always thought music is an important way to connect with Indigenous youth, in Cree. Reclaiming the language is a huge part of my evolution.”