Leading Sultans of String, he is making this album in the spirit of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action, and Final Report that asks for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to work together as an opportunity to show a path forward. Artists include Crystal Shawanda, Don Ross, Duke Redbird, Leela Gilday, MJ Dandeneau, The North Sound, Marc Meriläinen (Nadjiwan), Métis Fiddler Quartet, Northern Cree, Raven Kanatakta, Shannon Thunderbird and more. Chris is a recipient of the Dr. Duke Redbird Lifetime Achievement Award from JAYU Arts For Human Rights, and a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for his work creating community through music. As bandleader, he produces, composes and plays violin with Sultans of String, who’s CDs have earned three JUNO Award nominations for Instrumental and World Album of the Year, and six Canadian Folk Music Awards out of 11 nominations. As a producer he received Producer of the Year for the 2023 Canadian Folk Music Awards. His productions have hit the New York Times Hits List, the Billboard World Music Charts, and also won the SiriusXM World Music Award. 

The Día de Los Muertos Collective is a nonprofit that coordinates the efforts of Toronto's community to bring a celebration that honors the dead, delights the living, promotes artistic creation and foster community development through tradition. 

Sam Kruger (performer, sound designer, he/him) is a performer, playwright, sound designer, and recent immigrant to Canada. Since 2018 his works have toured to theatres and festivals around the world, including Canada (PuSh Festival, Summerworks), the UK (Soho Theatre, Summerhall), Portugal (Teatro do Barrio Alto), Denmark, Germany, and Australia. He is one half of theatre/performance/comedy duo Creepy Boys, whose show SLUGS was nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2025. Kruger’s emphasis is in the creation of original theatre that draws on Lecoq-style physical theatre, Gaulier-esqe clown, performance art, and surrealism. Often exploring themes of isolation, alienation, and the performativity of everyday life, Kruger’s work is funny, physical, stupid, sincere, wiggly and proudly weird. He holds a BA from the University of Minnesota, and is a graduate of the École Philippe Gaulier, in Étampes, France.

Artist, Activist, Historian and Ancestral Knowledge Keeper.

Moose Deer Point First Nation: Shawnee, Lakota, Potawatomi, and Ojibway.

A graduate of OCAD University’s Interdisciplinary Art Media and Design Masters program in 2015, Cote has been exploring new ways to imbue Mural Painting through oral traditions of storytelling and with traditional spiritual perspectives. Cote studied Beaux-Arts Style painting/drawing at OCAD under the direction of Carmen Cereceda Bianchi (Diego Rivera’s longtime mural assistant). Philip has worked with numerous renowned artists including Young Jarus, Kwest, and Nick Sweetman.

As an Indigenous painter and Muralist, the purpose of Cote’s research is to unearth, and reveal, his cultural experience and knowledge of signs of Indigenous symbols, language and interpretation. Cote’s academic practice includes public speaking, land acknowledgements, Indigenous Cosmology and cultural interpretation offered at The Art Gallery of Ontario, The McMichael Canadian Art Collection Art Gallery, The Royal Ontario Museum, York University, The French School Board, The Catholic School Board, The University of Toronto, UofT Mississauga Campus, Ryerson University, Six Nations Polytechnic, OCAD University, The Peel District School Board, and the Toronto District School Board through the Aboriginal Education Centre.

Most recently Philip is working on a large-scale Mural for Suncor Energy, and The Bickford Learning Centre, Scotia Bank, and the MLSE (Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd.) Launch Pad in Toronto.

Shub (formerly known as DJ Shub) is a Mohawk artist, producer, and composer from Six Nations of the Grand River, and the pioneer behind the powwow-step genre. A former member of the JUNO-winning A Tribe Called Red, he helped define a new era of Indigenous electronic music with the breakout track Electric Pow Wow Drum, now exceeding 25 million streams. His solo career has since taken him from the DMC World Championships to the Canadian Screen Awards, where he won Best Original Song for his soundtrack to The Grizzlies, to the theme of Sacha Baron Cohen's Emmy-nominated Showtime series Who Is America?

With Heritage, a two-part body of work and the most ambitious project of his career, Shub has created his most complete statement yet. Raw, genre-defying, and deeply rooted in culture, the two albums together form a full autobiography, weaving electronic, hip-hop, and powwow energy into something that belongs equally in a club, at a festival, or in someone's headphones. Anchored by bucket-list collaborations and a commitment to bringing Indigenous music to the biggest stages in the world, Heritage Part One and Two are unmistakably Shub.

The award-nominated roots ensemble Sultans of String presents Indigenous Collaborations with Walking Through the Fire, a profoundly collaborative album and touring project created in direct response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s 94 Calls to Action. Drawing together a rich tapestry of First Nations, Métis and Inuit voices - from artists such as Duke Redbird, Métis Fiddler Quartet, and Northern Cree - with Sultans of String's global-roots sound, the project seeks to “walk through the fire” of historical trauma, truth-telling and intergenerational impact. Recorded on Indigenous land at the Indigenous-owned Jukasa Studios and giving Indigenous collaborators full creative control over language, lyrical narrative, and royalties, the project sets a new standard for respectful and equitable non-Indigenous/Indigenous artistic alliances.

Featuring:

Alyssa Katrine – Métis Violist, singer

Don Ross - Mi'kmaw Guitarist

Dr. Duke Redbird - Chippewa/Anishinaabe Elder and Poet

Kate Dickson - Ts’msyen Singer

Lisa Odjig - World Champion Hoop Dancer

Marc Meriläinen (Nadjiwan) – Ojibwe Guitarist, singer

Shannon Thunderbird – Ts’msyen singer, drummer

The North Sound - Forrest Eaglespeaker - Blackfoot Singer-Songwriter & Nevada Eaglespeaker

Tocani is a contemporary fusion band formed in 2017 and based in Toronto/Tkaronto, Canada/Turtle Island. Its members - Luis Rojas, Guillermo López, Alfonso Galicia, Jesús Mora, and Camilo Giraldo - all have their roots further south in the Americas.

With Tocani (a Nahuatl term that means “the one who plants the seed” or sembrador in Spanish), this group of friends seeks to explore ancient, pre-Hispanic traditions and re-interpret them for the present day, interweaving Nahuatl language, mythology, urban legends, popular stories, and the sounds of everyday city life to both connect them to their ancestry and to use traditional ways of knowing and doing to gain a fresh perspective on today.

Percussion and wind instruments form the core of Tocani’s music, with the drum signaling the heartbeat, the unerring rhythm of life. In that regard, Tocani’s performances also seek to explore and emphasize connections among Indigenous cultures across the globe.

Dancing in the footsteps of their ancestors, the members of Tocani perform on instruments modeled on those from pre-Hispanic times: huēhuētls (a tubular membraphone from Mesoamerica), ocarinas (a kind of vessel flute), kuisi ( a type of flute from the Koguis people in Colombia), marimba de chonta (a melodic percussion instrument from the Awa and Chachi communities in Colombia and Ecuador), and teponaztli (an ancient wood-tongue drum from Mesoamerica).

Importantly, the group’s members strive to build their instruments themselves, leaning on guidance from traditional Indigenous knowledge keepers but also seeking to achieve a particular sound and look for their pieces.

“The act of creating the instrument with your own hands, of moulding it with your own body and your personal labor, forms part of the ritual that connects the performer to their drum or flute,” says Luis Rojas.

The group aims to transmit that organic sense of cohesion to its audiences as well: not matter their background, everyone is invited to immerse themselves in the rhythms, movements, and colours of a Tocani performance to learn something about ancient traditions, to find a fresh place of connection, and, above all, to enjoy.

Tocani: sound, movement, stories rooted in the past to illuminate the present. 

Alyssa Katrine is a Métis fiddler, cultural educator, and facilitator whose performances weave music, storytelling, and lived history into immersive, relational experiences. With a Doctorate in Musical Interpretation from the Université de Montréal, her work bridges artistic excellence with culturally grounded education.

Alyssa has performed across Canada, including appearances with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Canada Games Opening Ceremonies, and Koerner Hall. She has collaborated with artists such as Sultans of String and Amanda Rheaume, and is a member of Kuné: Canada’s Global Orchestra.

Rooted in Métis ways of knowing, her performances invite audiences into connection—with land, ancestry, and one another—through music, movement, and story. Warm, engaging, and participatory, her work fosters understanding, curiosity, and respect, creating meaningful experiences that extend beyond the stage.

Spring 2026 marks the release of Don’s new all-vocal album, Songs That Found Me, a mix of original songs and interpretations reflecting milestones in his life. His 19th solo album (his 27th including collaborations) showcases not only his rich voice but also his work as a multi-instrumentalist and recording engineer. Like his 2023 release Water, it is being launched independently through crowdfunding, allowing collaborations (on Water) with artists such as Bruce Cockburn and The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.

Born in Montreal to a Mi’kmaw Indigenous mother and Scottish father, Don earned a BFA in Music from York University and became a full-time musician in 1988, the year he first won the U.S. National Fingerpick Guitar Championship (he won again in 1996). A prolific recording artist and global touring musician, he now lives in Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Marc Meriläinen is the artist behind Nadjiwan, a prolific and distinctive voice in Canada’s independent music landscape. With a career spanning numerous releases, his work moves fluidly across genres, blending atmospheric textures, rhythmic experimentation, and deeply personal songwriting. Nadjiwan’s music is marked by its emotional depth and sonic range, creating immersive listening experiences that resonate with diverse audiences.

In addition to his solo catalogue, Marc is a featured collaborator with the Sultans of String on their acclaimed Walking Through The Fire project, contributing to a powerful body of work that brings together artists from across cultures and traditions. His performances are both engaging and evocative, reflecting a commitment to artistic exploration and meaningful collaboration. Through Nadjiwan, Marc continues to evolve as a creator, offering music that is thoughtful, dynamic, and compelling.

At the heart of great songwriting is great storytelling. For The North Sound, songs are a declaration of joy, a hallmark of yearning, and a tender tale of honesty. Yet amidst the rawness, trials and tribulations, there are notes of hope and happiness. 

This is the duo at their best:

Sharing stories in the way they know how. Forged deep in Treaty 7 Territory, where the prairies rush towards the foothills, The North Sound is a partnership between lead singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Forrest Eaglespeaker and vocalist and composer Nevada Eaglespeaker. A fusion of authentic voices, crisp harmonies and rollicking/burgeoning indie folk-roots rock, the duo — a married couple —weave and wend through themes of family and connection, recovery and addiction. As partners who play and write together, the themes of family, love and sacrifice are inescapable — in their shared sojourn, Forrest and Nevada have forged the core of a rock solid collaboration. And at the heart and soul of the group is an incredible story of two people who stuck it out and found a collective voice to breathe life into tribulations and traditions.

On June 6th at 1:00pm, Luminato presents the Cannes World Film Festival winning “Walking Through The Fire-Visual Album” at the Harbourfront Studio Theatre. A musical film experience unlike any other from 6x CFMA winners Sultans of String, this Event will also feature opening remarks and post-film Q&A with filmmaker/Sultans of String producer Chris McKhool, along with Shannon Thunderbird & Kate Dickson and others from the project.

A central theme running through Walking Through The Fire: Visual Album is the need for the truth of Indigenous experience to be told before reconciliation can begin in earnest. Embedded in the title is the energy of rebirth: fire destroys, but it also nourishes the soil to create new growth, beauty, and resiliency. Walking Through The Fire ensures that we emerge on the other side together, stronger and more unified.

Sultans of String created this film in the spirit of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action, and Final Report that asks for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to work together as an opportunity to show a path forward. Says bandleader Chris McKhool (whose grandfather was a stowaway from Lebanon at the turn of the last century), “We know that as a society we can’t move ahead without acknowledging and reflecting on the past. Before reconciliation can occur, the full truth of the Indigenous experience in this country needs to be told, so we’ve been calling on Indigenous artists to share with us their stories, their experience, and their lives, so we settler Canadians can continue our learning about the history of genocide, residential schools, and of inter-generational impacts of colonization.”

“The place that we have to start is with truth. Reconciliation will come sometime way in the future, perhaps, but right now, truth is where we need to begin the journey with each other. As human beings, we have to acquire that truth”

Dr. Duke Redbird – Chippewa/Anishinaabe Elder and poet

“The very fact that you’re doing this tells me that you believe in the validity of our language, you believe in the validity of our art and our music and that you want to help to bring it out. And that’s really what’s important, is for people to have faith that we can do this”

The Late Honourable Murray Sinclair, Ojibwe Elder and former chair of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission

Film is 82 mins.

Click here to watch the 2 min trailer https://youtu.be/wWSZUduo5Kk