{{Short description|Canadian Inuk musician (born 1948)}} {{Infobox person | name = Willie Thrasher | image = Willie Thrasher au La Sala Rossa.jpg | alt = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software --> | caption = Thrasher performing at La Sala Rossa in [[Montreal]], [[Quebec]], Canada | birth_name = <!-- only use if different from name --> | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1948}} | birth_place = [[Aklavik]], [[Northwest Territories]], Canada | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (DEATH date then BIRTH date) --> | death_place = | nationality = | other_names = | occupation = Musician | years_active = 1960s–present | known_for = | notable_works = | relatives = [[Eric Schweig]] (nephew) }} '''Willie Thrasher''' (born 1948) is a Canadian [[Inuvialuit|Inuvialuk]] musician from [[Aklavik]], [[Northwest Territories]].<ref name=tyee>[https://thetyee.ca/Culture/2015/05/23/Willie-Thrasher-Second-Life/ "On the Road Again: Willie Thrasher's Second Life"]. ''[[The Tyee]]'', May 23, 2015.</ref> He has recorded both as a solo artist, and as a member of several bands, including The Cordells, and Red Cedar, with [[Morley Loon]]. Thrasher has advocated for [[Inuit]] and [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] issues for much of his career.
== Early life == Thrasher was born in 1948,<ref name=":0"/> in Aklavik. He was born into the traditional Inuit hunting culture of the western Arctic; his father was a whaler and hunter. At age five, he was removed from his family and placed in the [[Canadian Indian residential school system|Canadian government's residential school system]]. In Aklavik, he attended the Immaculate Conception and Grollier Hall Residential Schools until he was sixteen.,<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|url = http://www.nativejournal.ca/pages/2009%20sections/*2009.01.sections/2009.01.Culture.html|title = Inuvialuit recording artist releases 4th compilation|last = Kolausok|first = Edward Dean|date = January 2009|work = Native Journal|archive-date = 2016-03-04|access-date = 2014-11-25|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304042900/http://www.nativejournal.ca/pages/2009%20sections/%2A2009.01.sections/2009.01.Culture.html|url-status = dead}}</ref> where he learned to play drums on a kit in the gym.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url = http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/3b1ef960-69c5-11e4-8f4f-00144feabdc0.html|title = Forgotten legends of Native American music|last = Hunter-Tilney|first = Ludovic|date = November 14, 2014|work = Financial Times}}</ref> After leaving school, he worked as a [[wildland firefighter|forest firefighter]] in [[Whitehorse]], and began playing in rock groups.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url = https://vancouversun.com/entertainment/music/Groundbreaking+First+Nations+artists+their/10402961/story.html|title = Groundbreaking First Nations artists get their due on new compilation|last = Conner|first = Shawn|date = November 21, 2014|work = Vancouver Sun}}</ref> A fan of [[The Beatles|Beatles]] drummer [[Ringo Starr]], Thrasher formed a band called the Cordells with his brother and friends.<ref name=":0" />
== Music career == The Cordells toured [[northern Canada]] in the late 1960s and early 1970s, playing schools and community halls. Based out of [[Inuvik]], they were considered the town's first rock and roll band, and played mostly contemporary songs and covers.<ref name=":2" /> After a show in the mid-1970s, Thrasher was approached by an elderly man and challenged as to why he didn't play music that reflected his Inuit heritage.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url = https://www.straight.com/music/763386/native-north-america-unearths-treasure-trove-old-first-nations-gold|title = Native North America unearths a treasure trove of old First Nations gold|last = Varty|first = Alexander|date = November 5, 2014|work = Georgia Straight}}</ref> From that point, Thrasher moved into more personal songwriting and began studying Inuit music.<ref name=":2" />
After this change in style, Thrasher joined popular artists such as [[Buffy Sainte-Marie]] and [[Willie Dunn]] (Mi'kmaq descent) in exploring Indigenous topics in the mid-1970s, and speaking out on political issues.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Hidden in plain sight : contributions of aboriginal peoples to Canadian identity and culture Vol. 1|last1 = Beavon|first1 = Daniel J K|publisher = University of Toronto Press|year = 2005|isbn = 9780802085818|location = Toronto, Ontario|page = 389|first2 = David R|last2 = Newhouse|first3 = Cora Jane|last3 = Voyageur|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=onYTkpUp6hoC&dq=%22willie%20thrasher%22&pg=PA389}}</ref> Thrasher toured heavily in this period, and suffered from alcoholism.<ref name=":1" /> In the early 1980s, Thrasher made two recordings with the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]]'s [[CBC North|Northern Service]]: ''Spirit Child'', a full-length studio album of original songs, and ''Sweet Grass,'' a live recording in [[Val-d'Or]], [[Quebec]], with fellow First Nations musicians [[Willy Mitchell]], [[Morley Loon]], and Roger House.<ref>{{Cite book|title = The encyclopedia of native music : more than a century of recordings from wax cylinder to the Internet|last = Wright-McLeod|first = Bryan|publisher = University of Arizona Press|year = 2005|isbn = 9780816524471|location = Tucson|page = [https://archive.org/details/trent_0116405745989/page/233 233]|url = https://archive.org/details/trent_0116405745989|url-access = registration|quote = willie thrasher.}}</ref>
Thrasher joined [[Morley Loon]] as part of his [[Vancouver]]-based Red Cedar group in the 1980s. In 1990, Thrasher participated in the [[Odeyak]] expedition, where Cree and Inuit leaders paddled from Quebec to New York City.<ref name=":3" /> A song composed by Thrasher was performed in [[Times Square]] by the group.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Voices for the Odeyak|last = Posluns|first = Michael|publisher = New Canada Publications|year = 1993|isbn = 9781550210705|location = Toronto, Ontario|page = 40|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=1lKYiZGeaVoC&dq=%22willie%20thrasher%22&pg=PA40}}</ref> In 1998, Thrasher performed as part of a revival of traditional [[potlach]] ceremonies organised by [[Commissioner of the Yukon]] [[Judy Gingell]] in [[Whitehorse]].<ref>{{Cite book|title = Encyclopedia of the Arctic|last = Nuttall|first = Mark|publisher = Routledge|year = 2005|isbn = 9781579584368|location = New York|page = 1337|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Swr9BTI_2FEC&dq=%22willie%20thrasher%22&pg=PA1337}}</ref>
His songs "Spirit Child", "Old Man Carver" and "We Got to Take You Higher" are featured on the 2014 compilation album ''[[Native North America, Vol. 1]]''.<ref name=exclaim>[http://exclaim.ca/Music/article/light_in_attic_sets_out_to_unearth_forgotten_history_of_first_nations_music_with_native_north_america_compilation "Light in the Attic Unearths the Forgotten History of First Nations Music with 'Native North America' Compilation"]. ''[[Exclaim!]]'', October 8, 2014.</ref> As a result of the revived publicity from the ''Native North America'' compilation, Thrasher has undertaken more extensive touring, including festival dates in [[Austin, Texas]] and the [[Northwest Territories]],<ref name=tyee/> and his 1981 album ''Spirit Child'' was reissued in October 2015 on [[Light in the Attic Records]].<ref>[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/music/willie-thrasher-is-ready-for-his-closeup-again/article27016157/ "Willie Thrasher is ready for his closeup, again"]. ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'', October 28, 2015.</ref> Thrasher currently lives on [[Vancouver Island]], in [[British Columbia]].<ref name=":1" />
== Personal life == Actor [[Eric Schweig]] is Thrasher's nephew.<ref>{{Cite Instagram |user=littlebird.series |date=2023-05-17 |title=@EricSchweig is a Canadian born Inuit actor, who may be best known for his work in the 1992 film, The Last of the Mohicans. |postid=CsXdU-GMvcx |access-date=2025-08-03 |language=en}}</ref>
== Discography == * ''Sweet Grass Music'' (live), 1980, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Northern Service, with Willy Mitchell, Morley Loon, and Roger House * ''Spirit Child'', 1981, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Northern Service * ''Asumatak – The Great Land'', 2009
== References == {{Reflist|30em}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Thrasher, Willie}} [[Category:People from Aklavik]] [[Category:Singers from the Northwest Territories]] [[Category:1948 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:20th-century Canadian male singers]] [[Category:20th-century Canadian singer-songwriters]] [[Category:20th-century Inuit musicians]] [[Category:21st-century Canadian male singers]] [[Category:21st-century Canadian singer-songwriters]] [[Category:21st-century Inuit musicians]] [[Category:Inuit from the Northwest Territories]] [[Category:Inuvialuit people]] [[Category:Canadian male singer-songwriters]] [[Category:Canadian folk singer-songwriters]]