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St. Thomas University will be awarding an honorary degree to Wolastoqiyik Two-Spirit song carrier, composer, activist, and ethnomusicologist Jeremy Dutcher at a special event on Tuesday, September 8 at 3:00 pm in Kinsella Auditorium, McCain Hall.

All are invited to attend.

“We are so pleased to honour the accomplishments and work of Jeremy Dutcher. This special ceremony is taking place the same day as our Mawiyamok Indigenous Gathering on campus which helps to welcome new and returning Indigenous students to Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú. We know that Jeremy is an inspiration to them through his artistic creativity and reviving and promoting Indigenous culture. This is one more reason we are proud to honour his outstanding accomplishments,” said St. Thomas University President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. M. Nauman Farooqi.

Jeremy Dutcher is a member of the Neqotkuk First Nation. He received international accolades for his first album, Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa (The Songs of the People of the Beautiful River), recorded following research on archival recordings of traditional Wolastoqiyik songs at the Canadian Museum of History. The album earned the 2018 Polaris Music Prize and Indigenous Album of the Year at the 2019 JUNO Awards. His second album, Motewolonuwok also won the Polaris Music Prize, and he is the only artist to win the award twice. Dutcher has scored the Atlantic Ballet production of Pizuwin, a first-of-its-kind Wolastoq story-ballet, and the film, Sk+te’kmujue’katik (At the Place of Ghosts), that explores themes of community and Mi’kmaq culture and language with a focus on Two-Spirit and LGBTQ+ identity. In 2022, his family launched Kehkimin, the first Wolastoqey language immersion school. He recently performed with Members of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in concert at Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú, the first of a series of concerts in Indigenous First Nations in the region.