Beatrice Deer, ep. 82

Now based in Montreal, growing up in Northern Quebec. Beatrice Deer spent a lot of time outside in her Inuit community of Quaqtaq. Her village was small (population of about 350/400) and very tight knit. Raised in a big family, her parents brought music into their house and would often play around the house as well as expose Beatrice to music in their church where they served as pastors. Even though her town is so remote, you can only access it by plane, she had access to plenty of popular music: Disney soundtracks, Grease, Michael Jackson and so many music videos from MuchMusic (the MTV of Canada). Because MuchMusic was not available at home, she would tape videos while visiting Montreal. She sings in English and French, but she mostly sings in her native Inuktitut, which she feel most comfortable in expressing herself. Through the influence of her community and the pop music she loved growing up, she created a genre of music: "Inuindie" and has released three albums in that style.

Beatrice has overcome a lot in her life: sexual abuse, alcoholism, toxic relationships, depression and thoughts of suicide.  The starting point for her latest album, My All To You, was a desire to relive the moment in when she decided to transform her outlook and do some serious work on herself. Now an advocate for mental and physical well-being as well as for her Inuit community, she travels the North in Canada visiting First Nation communities. She plays with her band, performs speaking engagements about overcoming trauma and offers professional development training. I'm grateful to Beatrice for sharing her story on the podcast!

American Songwriter Podcast Network