Samuel Tremblay, better known by his stage name Samian (born 11 July 1983),Samian
at the First Nations Youth Network. is 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 ...

rapper who performs in both French and Algonquian.

Biography

A member of the

Abitibiwinni First Nation The Abitibiwinni First Nation () is an Algonquian First Nation in the Canadian province of Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province s ...

, Samian was born in Amos and grew up in the community of Pikogan in Abitibi-Témiscamingue and in several other cities in the province of Quebec. His father is Québécois and his mother is Algonquin. He was first noted by participating in the Wapikoni film project in 2004 and would later perform on stage with the Quebec Rap group Loco Locass. In 2005, Samian collaborated on several projects with Canada's National Film Board, the Department of Indian Affairs and ''HARRO décrochage scolaire'' (school dropout Network), AIDS and problems related to compulsive gambling. In 2006, he won first prize for best music video for his clip ''Courage'' at the United Indigenous Peoples Festival in Pau, France. During this festival, he will play the first part of Florent Vollant, member of Kashtin music group. He was the first musician to sing in both French and Algonquin. He is an inspiration to many Aboriginal youth. His popularity is growing since his revelation to the Festival Voix d'Amérique (America's Voices Festival). The same year, he met with Anodajay and wrote the song "La Paix des Braves", which referred to the agreement signed respecting a new relationship between the Cree Nation and the Government of Quebec. The song became his first single. Loco Locass later invited Samian to perform his song on stage at the Place des Arts in Montreal during the ''Loco Locass Symphonique'' event. He released his debut album, ''Face à soi-même'', in 2007 on Anodajay's 7ième Ciel Records. He has performed across Canada and internationally, including shows in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and at the

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

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 ...

. In 2007, he was one of the spokesmen at the Quebec Social Forum with Paul Piché and Raoul Duguay. At the

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day (), also known in English as ''St John the Baptist Day'', is a holiday celebrated on June 24 in the Canadian province of Quebec. It was brought to Canada by French settlers celebrating the traditional feast day of the Na ...

festivities on June 24, 2008, Loco Locass and Samian performed "Paix des Braves" before tens of thousands of spectators at Maisonneuve Park, as well as millions of viewers on television. His 2010 album ''Face à la musique'' includes a hip hop remake of

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 ...

's "Tshinanu". His rendition does not sample the original recording; instead, he collaborated directly with the members of Kashtin on a new recording of the song's guitar line and chorus. On May 2, 2010, he appeared on '' Tout le monde en parle'', bringing awareness to the fact that the

Algonquin language Algonquin (also spelled Algonkin; in Algonquin: or ) is either a distinct Algonquian languages, Algonquian language closely related to the Ojibwe language or a particularly divergent Ojibwe language dialects, Ojibwe dialect. It is spoken, alon ...

was endangered. In 2013, he acted in the Quebec film '' Rock Paper Scissors (Roche papier ciseaux)'' alongside Roy Dupuis. On August 4, 2014, Samian did a concert at the ''Festival Présence Autochtone'', held at Place des Festivals in Montreal, where he was joined by several guests including Loco Locass and Kathia Rock. In 2014, Samian also took part in a program which was broadcast on APTN titled ''Le Rhythme''. Alongside Dany Bédar, Samian was the mentor of several Aboriginal musicians, singers, writers and performers, aged 18 to 30, guiding them through an artistic journey of intensive training, ultimately leading them to the recording of their first album as a group. He has also had acting roles in the films '' Scratch'' (2015), '' Hochelaga, Land of Souls'' (2017), '' Bootlegger'' (2021), '' The Inhuman'' (2021) and '' Aller Simple'' (2022). He won the award for Best Actor at the 2022 American Indian Film Festival for ''L'Inhumain''."BROKEN ANGEL and POWERLANDS Win Top Awards at 2022 American Indian Film Festival"
''Vimooz'', November 16, 2022. He was a Felix Award nominee for Indigenous Artist of the Year at the 44th Félix Awards in 2022.Myriam Bercier
"Les résultats du gala de l’ADISQ 2022"
''Le Canal Auditif'', November 6, 2022.

Discography

*''Face à soi-même'' (2007) *''Face à la musique'' (2010) *''Enfant de la terre'' (2015)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samian 1983 births Canadian male rappers 21st-century Canadian rappers First Nations rappers Musicians from Quebec People from Abitibi-Témiscamingue Living people Algonquin people Canadian male film actors Male actors from Quebec First Nations male actors 21st-century Canadian male musicians 21st-century Canadian male actors 21st-century First Nations musicians