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A tribute to Vince Fontaine

This afternoon, Naomi and I joined many others at a tribute to Vince Fontaine held at the Oodena Celebration Circle at the Forks.  Vince was an incredible person.  He was able to bring people together in his bands and to play and sing with others in a way that was memorable, indeed unforgettable.  He reached across divides in our society.  As part of this effort he reached out to Jim Cuddy, Blue Rodeo's front man and asked him to sing a tune on an Indian City Album.   As Melissa Martin wrote "To Vince, it captured the spirit of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Call to Action no.83: artistic collaboration across cultures."  Melissa quotes Vince Fontaine "I wanted to stretch out on this album and invite a non-Indigenous person into the circle, so to speak.  For me, that's what reconciliation is: broadening the circle and showing people that togetherness again."  This afternoon, there was much of that togetherness.  A few photos from the event are below:  



















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