Morley Loon (1948–1986) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

musician, from

Mistissini Mistissini ( meaning Big Rock) is a Cree town located in the south-east corner of the largest natural lake in Quebec, Lake Mistassini. The town is inside the boundaries of the Baie-James Municipality and is the second largest Cree community ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. Loon played in several groups, including Red Cedar and

Kashtin Kashtin were a Canadians, Canadian folk rock duo in the 1980s and 1990s, one of the most commercially successful and famous musical groups in First Nations in Canada, First Nations history. Career The band was formed in 1984 by Claude McKenzie a ...

, but was mostly known for his solo work. He mostly wrote and performed in the

Cree language Cree ( ; also known as Cree–Montagnais language, Montagnais–Naskapi language, Naskapi) is a dialect continuum of Algonquian languages spoken by approximately 86,475 people across Canada in 2021, from the Northwest Territories to Alberta to ...

, and was a prominent activist for First Nations issues.

Career

Loon was born 1948, in the village of Mistissini in what was then Baie-James, now

Eeyou Istchee Eeyou Istchee is a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) of Quebec that is represented by the Grand Council of the Crees. On July 24, 2012, the Quebec government signed an accord with the Cree Nation that resulted in the a ...

, in northern Quebec, to

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 ...

parents. He began singing and touring in the late 1960s, composing in Cree. In the 1970s, Loon was an active part of the Canadian First Nations political movement. Loon was part of the cast of ''Cold Journey'', a

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drama filmed in 1971, and participated in protests over the sale of First Nation artifacts at a

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auction. He recorded two albums with the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

's Northern Service in 1975, as well as a studio album, ''North Land, My Land,'' with Boot Records in 1981. A

cassingle A cassette single (CS), also known by the trademark cassingle, or capitalised as the trademark Cassette Single, is a music single supplied in the form of a Compact Cassette. The cassette single was introduced in 1980. History The debut singl ...

, ''North Country'', was released independently in 1984. Morley Loon was the first performer in the Cree language to see significant radio airplay in Canada. Loon influenced other First Nations musicians, such as

Lloyd Cheechoo Lloyd, Lloyd's, or Lloyds may refer to: People * Lloyd (name), a variation of the Welsh word ' ("grey") or ' ** List of people with given name Lloyd ** List of people with surname Lloyd * Lloyd (singer) (born 1986), American singer Places Unite ...

and Kashtin, to sing in their own languages. Cheechoo played backing guitar and toured with Loon in the late 1970s. With

Inuk Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labr ...

musician

Willie Thrasher Willie Thrasher (born 1948) is a Canadian Inuvialuk musician from Aklavik, Northwest Territories.

, Loon formed Red Cedar, based out of

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. The group played at the

Black Hills Survival Gathering Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''Psyc ...

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in 1980. In 1986, Loon died at age 38 after suffering a lengthy illness. His song "N'Doheeno" is featured on the 2014 compilation album ''

Native North America, Vol. 1 ''Native North America, Vol. 1: Aboriginal Folk, Rock, and Country 1966–1985'' is a compilation album, released in 2014 on Light in the Attic Records."Light in the Attic Unearths the Forgotten History of First Nations Music with 'Native North America' Compilation"
''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

'', October 8, 2014.

Discography

* ''Songs in Cree Composed and Sung by Morley Loon, ''1975, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Northern Service * ''Cree Songs'', 1975, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Northern Service * ''North Land, My Land/Cette terre du Nord qui est mienne'', 1981,

Boot Records Boot Records was a Canadian country, bluegrass, and contemporary folk label formed in 1971 in Toronto by Stompin' Tom Connors and his manager, Jury Krytiuk. Early years Originally started as a format for Connors' recordings, Boot shortly after b ...

* ''North Country'', 1984, independently released

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loon, Morley 1948 births 1986 deaths First Nations male singers Cree writers People from Eeyou Istchee (territory) Singers from Quebec 20th-century Canadian male singers Canadian male singer-songwriters Canadian folk singer-songwriters 20th-century Canadian male musicians 20th-century Canadian singer-songwriters 20th-century First Nations musicians