Woman's Work::Sandra Sutter

"​Sandra Sutter is Cree Métis, tracing her lineage back to the 1800s. Her family of origin is from the Red River area in Manitoba and settled in Île-à-la-Crosse, Big River and Muskeg Lake in Saskatchewan, as well as various points across the Prairies.
 
Raised in a loving non-Indigenous family, Sandra discovered and embraced her ancestral and cultural roots later in life. Like many displaced Indigenous people, honouring her proud heritage is important to a woman whose birth heritage was lost through time and circumstance. Her culture now influences her every step through life and she has grown into an active and passionate advocate for Indigenous culture and rights. Her life journey in both the non-Indigenous and Indigenous worlds has given her a unique perspective and opportunity to bring people together through her songs of reconciliation.
 
In Calgary, Sandra is a well-known singer-songwriter and has performed at many different venues across western Canada. She sings, writes and plays in a variety of styles including folk, country, jazz and rock. Sandra is inspired by her Indigenous heritage and has been active in the arts, particularly music, for many years. This love of culture was expressed several years ago in the release of an EP of original songs entitled “Peaceful Nation”.
 
Sandra is the Aboriginal Partnerships Manager for PTW Energy and CGT Industrial and the President of the Board of Directors for the Circle for Aboriginal Relations Society. She sits on several Indigenous serving board and committees across Canada. She lives and breathes the concepts that she thinks, speaks and sings about every day.
 
In 2017, Sandra was awarded an Indigenous Arts production grant from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts to record a full-length studio album with producers and JUNO-winners Vince Fontaine (Eagle & Hawk/Indian City) and Chris Burke-Gaffney (Orphan, The Pumps, Harlequin). This year, with another grant from AFA, they completed Sandra's second full length album, Aurora 12!
 
Her album Cluster Stars is part of a vision to help bring an understanding of the Indigenous culture to both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people, with the overall objective of understanding leading to acceptance and acceptance leading to peace and well being. The belief in the fundamental strength of the Inuit, Métis and First Nation cultures as expressed through art and particularly in this case through music, provides the material and drive for this project." ~ www.sandrasutter.com