Arlette Alcock (born Arlette Christine Aida Brabant, 8 October 1958) is a

Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...

-Canadian folk musician, songwriter and social activist. Arlette is best known for performing her outspoken songs which detail the past and current challenges facing Métis and Indiginous people. Since 1997 she has released two full-length albums and two EPs of original music under the

mononym A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. A mononym may be the person's only name, given to them at birth. This was routine in most ancient societies, and remains ...

Arlette. Her music has received extensive Aboriginal radio airplay in Canada and the United States. Arlette has been nominated for a variety of Aboriginal music awards in North America and won the Songwriter of the Year award at the Native-E Music Awards in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

, in 2008. Her songs Midnight Mass Graves (2021) and Kimowan (2023) both achieved positions within the top 20 on the Indigenous Music Countdown.

Career

Arlette began writing poetry and playing guitar when she was a teenager, building a reputation as a songwriter. Her writing focuses on her Indigenous heritage, spirituality, racism and residential school abuse. Her debut album ''Tribe of One'' was released in 1997. Her second album, ''Wolfgirl'' was produced by Grammy Award Nominee

Gaye Delorme Gaye James Delorme (March 20, 1947 – June 24, 2011) was a Canadian songwriter, composer and guitar player. Biography :"Although his name is generally first associated as the writer of 'The Rodeo Song', an expletive-filled cowboy anthem made ...

and released in 2007. Both albums received airplay on Aboriginal Radio stations in Canada and the United States, as well as the CBC National Radio in Canada. In 2008 Arlette won the Songwriter of the Year award at the Native-E Music Awards, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She was nominated for Best Folk Recording at the

Native American Music Awards The Native American Music Awards (also known as the NAMAs or "Nammys") are an awards program presented annually by Elbel Productions, Inc., The Native American Music Awards Inc., and The Native American Music Association, a 501(c)(3) non-profi ...

the same year, and her single "Her Suitcase" was an Honor Award Finalist for acoustic folk single in the 2008 Great American Song Contest. Arlette has been featured on the

Aboriginal Peoples Television Network Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) is a group of Television in Canada, Canadian Specialty channel, specialty television channels based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The channels broadcast programming produced by or highlighting Indigenous p ...

show ''Beyond Words'', is a member of the National Aboriginal Recording Industry Association and has collaborated with many other notable Métis Canadian musicians including Cheryl l'Hirondelle, Sandy Scofield, and Janet Panic. She has performed at many Aboriginal and Métis events, including the Night Hawk Aboriginal Music Festival, International Aboriginal Day and the Missing Women's March in Vancouver; and at National Aboriginal Day, Honouring Our Sisters and the Métis Rendezvouse in Kelowna. In 2021 Arlette released a 5 song EP of new material, produced by Janet Panic. The title track ′Midnight Mass Graves′reached the #15 position on the Indigenous Music Countdown. In 2022 Arlette released a second 5 song EP titled 'Birch Lake'. The single from this EP, 'Kimowan', remained within the top 40 on the Indigenous Music Countdown for 11 consecutive weeks climbing to the #10 position in December of 2023.

Personal life

Arlette Alcock was born in

Trail, British Columbia Trail is a city in the western Kootenays region of the British Columbia Interior, Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It was named after the Dewdney Trail, which passed through the area. The town was first called Trail Creek or Trail Creek Lan ...

on 8 October 1958 to Roseline Chartrand, of the

Pine Creek First Nation The Pine Creek First Nation is a Saulteaux First Nation in Manitoba, Canada. The First Nation's homeland is the Pine Creek 66A reserve, located approximately 110 kilometres north of Dauphin along the southwestern shore of Lake Winnipegosis be ...

of Manitoba and Raymond Adam Brabant, of the

Little Black Bear First Nation Little Black Bear First Nation ( ''kaskitêw-maskwa-maskosis'') is a Cree and Assiniboine First Nation in southern Saskatchewan, Canada. Their reserves include: * Little Black Bear 84 * Little Black Bear 84SC * Treaty Four Reserve Grounds 77 ...

of Saskatchewan. Arlette is a

descendant of Pine Creek

Saulteaux The Saulteaux (pronounced , or in imitation of the French pronunciation , also written Salteaux, Saulteau and Ojibwa ethnonyms, other variants), otherwise known as the Plains Ojibwe, are a First Nations in Canada, First Nations band governm ...

Anishinaabe, and Irish lineage on her mother's side, together with Little Black Bear

Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...

and French ancestry on her father's side. Her parents were both Canadian residential school survivors. In addition to her career as a musician, Arlette has also worked as a library technician for the

Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN), formerly known as the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, is a Saskatchewan-based First Nations organization. It represents 74 First Nations in Saskatchewan and is committed to honouring ...

, the

Union of BC Indian Chiefs The Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) is a First Nations political organization founded in 1969 in response to Jean Chrétien's White Paper proposal to assimilate Status Indians and disband the Department of Indian Affairs. Sinc ...

, and the First Nations University in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Arlette is a vocal advocate for many social justice issues in Canada including

missing and murdered Indigenous women Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women are instances of violence against Indigenous women in Canada and the United States, notably those in the First Nations in Canada and Native American communities, but also amongst other Indigenous peoples s ...

(MMIW), the protection of women's reproductive rights and people living with addictions in Vancouver's

Downtown Eastside The Downtown Eastside (DTES) is a list of neighbourhoods in Vancouver, neighbourhood in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. One of the city's oldest neighbourhoods, the DTES is the site of a complex set of social issues, including disproportio ...

, where her mother died 1988. Her mother's story is referenced in the lyrics of her song 'Roseline.'https://soundcloud.com/arlette-alcock/roseline

Discography

References

External links

www.arlettemusic.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alcock, Arlette 1958 births Living people Métis musicians Canadian women singer-songwriters Canadian singer-songwriters Canadian folk guitarists Canadian women folk guitarists People from Trail, British Columbia Canadian women activists First Nations activists