SHANNON THUNDERBIRD 

Shannon Thunderbird is proudly descended from the "Originals", the Coast Tsimshian People, Lax Kw'al'aams Band of the Royal  House of Nisnawaa of the, Giluts'aaw (also spelled 'Kilutsau'). She is Gisbutwada (Killer Whale) Clan. She is also descended from a powerful line of princess/matriarchs storytellers, singers, actors, musicians and dancers.

The Lax Kw'al'aams Aboriginal people inhabit part of the 'Land of the Totems', Lakelse Lake (Lax Gyels), Lakelse River, and territorial camps in Lax kw'alaams (Port Simpson) and near the Tsimshian Peninsula close to Metlakatla, Northern B.C. The Coast Tsimshian Indigenous People are members of the "original six" tribes responsible for carving totem poles. 

Thunderbird brings her many years of entertainment and senior management expertise to Teya Peya Productions a company she founded in 1991; its main vision is to elevate the human spirit using a dynamic combination of Arts, Entertainment and Education.

Thunderbird & Teya Peya Productions are now based in Ontario, Canada; she travels extensively celebrating with people all over the world the passion of her life - Turtle Island's Indigenous Cultures.

Songs and Music of First Nations Peoples sung by the Pre-eminent Voice of First Nations Culture and Spirituality.

Thunderbird's acclaimed music blends ancient Indigenous rhythms with an eclectic mix of jazz, rap, folk, gospel, pop and classical sensibility. Her classically-trained virtuoso style makes her one of the most compelling performers in contemporary First Nations music.

Drawing on her Pacific Northwest Coast Tsimshian roots, her mesmerizing emotional impact on audiences arises from her three and a half octave vocal range, storytelling ability, and deep involvement with First Nations’ issues.

Her drumming, original music and lyrics, stirring repertoire, presentation, and  luscious voice make her one of the most in-demand performing artists on the current scene.

She is also proud to be performing with Sandy Horne, renowned Bassist with the Canadian Rock Band, "The Spoons"  in West Wind and the Woodland Sisters ; Stories of Noo Halidzoks, Great Circle Drumming & Thunder Rolling in the Mountains

Click Fire to learn more about the shows 

HER CD IS ON SALE WHEREVER SHE IS
 PERFORMING OR SPEAKING

Thunderbird is descended from a long line of singers, actors, dancers and storytellers. She educates audiences about First Nations Culture, History and Spirituality through her much in demand singing and storytelling skills.  

Drawing on ancient and contemporary Indigenous tales, original musings, wisdom from many Native Nations, Thunderbird creates imaginative and compelling programs that take audiences on incredible journeys of discovery about Turtle Island's First People.  Her performances touch the spirit, honour the Ancestors, feed the funny bone, inspire the soul.  Her passion is her people and to tell the "real" story from a Native perspective.

Her extensive experience in the Arts along with her university education and teaching skills has provided her with a unique combination of talents that underlie the presentation of sometimes difficult subject matter in an educational, compassionate and entertaining fashion to audiences of all ages.

She is a weaver of stories about real people from all over Turtle Island, (Crazy Horse, Chief Joseph, In-Who-Lise, Black Shawl); she explains in imaginatively musical and narrative form their lives, loves, and lore both before and after European contact. 

Her repertoire not only includes stories (and songs) from the Canadian Pacific North-West Coast, but also from a variety of other First Nations as well. She has performed across Canada, England, Germany, Sweden, Sicily, Japan and the United States.

Incorporating the dynamics of live theatre borne from the great Feast ceremonies of the Northwest coast,, drums and music, Thunderbird weaves fantastic tales about the Seen and Unseen worlds that both educate and uplift the audience; she offers a universal message about the inter-connectedness and endless possibilities that such connections make to the living world; she speaks to the need for harmony, equality, dignity and respect for self and Mother Earth.

Her performances offer the opportunity of returning, re-examining, re-visiting, re-grounding the soul in those beliefs and values that have helped shape personal earth walks for thousands of years. 

 SINGER-SONGWRITER, FABULOUS BASS PLAYER

• Owner, Little Bear Recording Studio,

• Road Manager, Teya Peya Productions

• Principal Performer partnered with Shannon Thunderbird

• Singer, Songwriter

•  Groundbreaking top female electric bass player

• Founding member of the Canadian Rock Band, The Spoons

• The Spoons have been inducted into the Alternative Arts Hall of Fame, CBC Radio and continue to play occasional concerts across Canada

• In the music business for over twenty-five years

• Gold records, several Juno nominations and a string of pop radio hits

• Co-Star of “Hardscrabble Road”, an original musical by Singer and Songwriter, James Gordon

• Toured with James Gordon for several years through the United States and Canada

• “Woman of Distinction for Arts and Cultures”, City of Guelph, ON

 Both performers have come together in the spirit of sisterhood Their souls sing the same songs as they walk parallel paths Thunderbird a proud Coast Tsimshian woman; Horne a proud 'Second' Nations woman descended from John Butler founder of John Butler's Rangers** who did their best to protect the Indigenous people; she has also embraced traditional Woodlands traditions. Their love of all kinds of music and all things Indigenous have created a really unique, one of a kind performance pair. 

**In case you are interested, Butler's Rangers commanded by Lieutenant Colonel John Butler was raised in 1777 and served until the general reduction of the British Army in North America in 1784. A key factor in the successes of the Rangers was the close respectful co-operation of the various Native nations with which it served. They even had a mission statement:  "To Serve With the Indians as Occasion Shall Arise."
 

They are having fun & making beautiful music together

More photos

Thunderbird and Horne are also currently collaborating on two upcoming projects:
(a) their first joint CD due out early 2008;  (b) Soundtrack for Thunderbird's  new theatrical production, 'Daughter of the Copper Shield'.

"Shannon, I would like to thank you for an outstanding luncheon keynote presentation at the 2004 Human Resources Conference: Connect, Collaborate, Build Human Capacity. You engaged the hearts and minds of our attending delegates and opened them to embracing change and connectedness on a meaningful level....Your presentation, "Soul Speak and the True Self" was extremely well-received. [It] made a shift in people's perspectives and helped them to see and feel the need to build connections on a personal level to truly engage in a collaborative Community."
(E.M. Lengyel, Conference Board of Canada)

"Shannon Thunderbird's ability to reach people with her 'soul speak' messages from all walks of life is truly amazing." (A. Michaels, Engineer) 

Thunderbird regularly speaks at Conferences, Post-Secondary Educational institutions (Social Work, Nursing, Music, Theatre, History, Politics), Conventions, Corporate Workshops and Seminar forums, and other Special Organization and Group Events/Presentations.

MORE ON TEYA PEYA PRODUCTIONS

Under the auspices of Teya Peya Productions, Thunderbird presents relevant, original, high energy, humorous, loaded in content programs. She offers pragmatic bear medicine to the human family in finding ways to get in touch with the art of living and working wise. 

After a number of years as a Senior Director in a large company Ms Thunderbird has seen how easy it is for individuals to lose their focus under the pressure of performance, longer hours and increased stress. She conveys her messages by combining a variety of elements:

• Keynote Addresses, Talks, Workshops and Healing Drumming Circles are focused on topics that speak to the importance of being authentic; learning to recognize individual value, time-honoured traditional teachings set in contemporary contexts ("We matter. We so often feel that we don't"). 

• Participants learn to access and understand the freedom and responsibility that owning their personal power brings to the dance of life; understand the 'tricky' laws of the mind, which includes recognizing self-defeating messages and negative attitudes.

• Thunderbird's 'Speaks' appeal to all Mother Earth's people as she offers a universal message of interconnectedness. Participants learn to quiet their inner chatter, centre their minds and reconnect with themselves and others in a safe and self-empowered environment.

Globally people must be responsible or each other, and Teya Peya's Workshops and 'Speaks' are reminders that humans are "One People" and an integral part of an harmonious Universe. 

TOPICS
(Workshops and Talks can be adapted to individual needs)

• Manage the Mind, Lead With the Heart

• Wisdom of the Ages: The Art and Meaning of Indigenous Storytelling

• S.O.S. - Self, Others, Society - Workshop for Women

• Medicine Wheel Teachings

• The Exquisite Magic of Cultural Diversity

**Thunderbird is often asked to speak at 'Multi-Media Technology' Conferences on the Art and Integrity of Storytelling as a means of Cultural Grounding for the human family (for example, she is a regular speaker at the Canadian Film Institute in Toronto). Everyday the language of technology and the construction of multiple media artifacts reaches ever deeper into the broader culture. The development of these technologies is a sophisticated means of delivering stories to the world. Although the new technology does not in and of itself have intrinsically revolutionary cultural or social value, such values will develop over time as users discover a more inherent role for electronic tools in the structure of remaking society. 

 Let's talk!

For More on Teya Peya Production's Seminars, Workshops and Speeches

Recent Speaking and Workshops  

WOW'D 'EM AT EXPO 2005 IN NAGOYA, JAPAN

TEYA PEYA PRODUCTIONS ACHIEVE THE FOLLOWING GOALS:

• Break down stereotypical attitudes towards Canada's First Nations People

• Raise self-esteem, pride and strengthen personal identity for ALL humans

• Shows are relevant to ALL humans

• Understand that freedom is a basic human right, not a privilege

• Give voice to the words of the Ancestors

• Give voice to the exquisite magic of cultural diversity

• Offer a world of possibilities and connections in a modern world

• Move audiences with the dynamism of Raven Magic

• Sing with the song of Orca

• Howl with the teachings of Wolf

• Identify and understand the meanings of symbols

• Educate about First Nations history, culture and spirituality in an often humorous way

• Laugh, laugh and laugh loudly

For more information on the Shows, or to book them for your event, contact:

HOME PAGE

To book Thunderbird
   VOICE@SHANNONTHUNDERBIRD.COM  

Note to Gentle Readers: Due to the almost mythical number of SPAM emails  (average: 8,000/mo),  anti-spam software has been installed - be patient and answer the question from IPermitmail; Thunderbird looks forward to hearing from you.