Indigenous advocate spreads message through words and music – LakelandToday.ca

September 24, 2024

Singer Stephanie Harpe gave a vivacious performance earlier this summer in Bonnyville, and though she might be remembered for her powerful vocals, she is also a passionate Indigenous advocate with work.

LAKELAND – Singer Stephanie Harpe gave a vivacious performance earlier this summer in Bonnyville, and though she might be remembered for her powerful vocals, she is also a passionate Indigenous advocate with work including a Ted Talk entitled Indigenous Suffering and Survival to Success. She has also been a keynote speaker for the United Nations.

Harpe hails from Fort Mckay First Nation, a 40-minute drive north of Fort McMurray. She reminisced about growing up with the negative impact of residential schools in her life – and the positive impact of music.

“I started music very, very young. It was my escape in a home where my grandmother was in a residential school, my mother was in residential school, and then we got taken away to residential school. So, it was a nice escape. It was my friend, my confidante. It was something that was always there for me.”