Rapper NorthSideBaby brings more to Gamètì than music

The senior administrator of Gamètì says residents feel “lucky” and “blessed” to have two artists visit the isolated Tłı̨chǫ community so far this year.

Sherbaz Muhammad said no artists had performed in Gamètì for the past two years until musician Beatrice Love had a show in January. Now, the community is looking forward to another concert on March 16.

Dawson Harry Pastion-Bear, who goes by the stage name NorthSideBaby, is a rapper from northern Alberta’s Dene Thá First Nation. He will perform in Gamètì as part of a tour that runs from February 14 until March 26 – the Gamètì stop is sandwiched between dates in Manitoba’s Portage la Prairie, the Ontario community of Whitefish Bay, and Winnipeg.

The tour began on Wednesday. Pastion-Bear described his first show, in northern Manitoba’s St Theresa Point First Nation, as “really interactive,” thought conditions on the winter road forced a school bus carrying 40 young people from Garden Hill First Nation to turn back. (Pastion-Bear said he is planning to organize another show for them.)

Pastion-Bear began his music journey 11 years ago as a DJ, then producing his own beats and later writing music. His work has gained momentum through social media. Snippets of his work on TikTok have helped him connect with other communities and opened doors for more performances.

“It was the kids that went to all the band members and were like, ‘We want more NorthSideBaby,'” he said. Gamètì was one of the first communities beyond Manitoba to reach out.

Pastion-Bear believes his audience appreciates his lyrics. His latest track, I’m Sorry, took more than two years to produce and involved a lot of “writing and rewriting.”

As a teenager, Pastion-Bear said his uncle took him to Fort Resolution, Behchokǫ̀ and Hay River, but this will be his first visit to Gamètì, a fly-in NWT community excepts for a brief window each year when a winter road exists.

Muhammad, the senior administrator, acknowledged that isolation poses challenges.

“In Gamètì, we don’t get many opportunities. So even if there’s a concert happening down south, maybe Edmonton or Calgary, they have to plan – and that planning takes forever. there’s flight delays,” he said. “So coming to this community is more like a blessing.”

If the winter road to the south opens as planned, residents of Whatì and Behchokǫ̀ are expected to drive to the show.

The musician’s visit coincides with a hand games tournament from March 15-17, meaning there will already be traffic heading in that direction. That could bring issues of its own – Gamètì is still in “recovery mode” following the Covid-19 pandemic and not well-equipped to host large-scale events, Muhammad said.

“If you’re expecting, in the winter, 200-plus visitors in this town, we can’t accommodate those visitors.”

Even so, Muhammad feels having NorthSideBaby perform is a way to make the community more visible and attract tourists.

“We had allocated some money for the hand games but last year, we faced this challenge where not many people made it to our community,” he explained. NorthSideBaby, he added, might “help us gain some support when it comes to showcasing what is available in the community.”

Pastion-Bear said he grew up playing hand games and would love to attend the tournament if time allows. He’s adding tour dates all the time, and now Fort Resolution wants him to fly there after the Gamètì show.

Muhammad hopes having Pastion-Bear come to Gamètì has an effect on some young residents.

“That’s one thing where you tend to notice. The youth are actually looking forward [to the performance]. We’ll have somebody who is First Nations, who can inspire some individuals,” he said.

Muhammad believes a lack of recreation activities affects Gamètì’s youth, though he says various levels of government are slowly changing that.

“One way or the other, youth are engaged. Either there’s a program with the university, with the college, we host somebody or we send students somewhere,” he said.

“Not having enough to offer to the residents is unfortunate, but this is what we are left with and that’s the reality. It’s not just this community, it’s the problem with many isolated communities.”