Florent Vollant (born August 10, 1959 in
Labrador) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. An
Innu
The Innu / Ilnu ("man", "person") or Innut / Innuat / Ilnuatsh ("people"), formerly called Montagnais from the French colonial period ( French for "mountain people", English pronunciation: ), are the Indigenous inhabitants of territory in the ...
from
Maliotenam, Quebec
Maliotenam (Mani-Utenam in Innu-aimun) is a First Nations reserve in Quebec, located adjacent to the city of Sept-Îles. Together with Uashat some distance away, it forms the Innu community of Uashat-Maliotenam. The community is a part of the ...
, he was half of the popular
folk music duo
Kashtin, one of the most significant musical groups in
First Nations history. He has subsequently released four solo albums.
In 1997, Vollant built his own recording studio – Makusham – on the reserve which is used by musicians inside and outside the community. His solo album ''Puamuna'', which means 'dreams' in
Innu
The Innu / Ilnu ("man", "person") or Innut / Innuat / Ilnuatsh ("people"), formerly called Montagnais from the French colonial period ( French for "mountain people", English pronunciation: ), are the Indigenous inhabitants of territory in the ...
, was the first time Vollant recorded a full album in his own studio. His Innu-language album of Christmas songs, ''Nipaiamianan'', earned him an apostolic blessing from
Pope John Paul II, as well as the
Juno Award for Aboriginal Recording of the Year in 2001.
In 2020, he served as executive producer of ''
Call Me Human
''Call Me Human'' (french: Je m'appelle humain) is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Kim O'Bomsawin and released in 2020.[Kim O'Bomsawin's documentary film about Innu poet ]Joséphine Bacon
Joséphine Bacon (born April 23, 1947), is an Innu poet from Pessamit in Quebec. She publishes in French and Innu-aimun. She has also worked as a translator, community researcher, documentary filmmaker, curator and as a songwriter for Chloé Saint ...
. He is also a mentor to Nikamu Mamuitun, a collective of emerging First Nations musicians including Marcie Michaud-Gagnon, Joëlle St-Pierre,