Saskatoon's Sweet Grass Records marks 25 years with push to digital

When the owner of Sweet Grass Records first began his record label in 1993, compact discs were making their debut and tape cassettes were still all the rage.

The Saskatoon-based business is now celebrating its 25th anniversary by remastering and digitizing its entire collection of more than 200 Indigenous albums.

Owner Ted Whitecalf has always had a passion for his culture. A Cree man from Sweet Grass First Nation, he worked at the Saskatchewan Indian Cultural College, now known as the Saskatchewan Indigenous Cultural Centre, for nearly 20 years starting right out of high school. He went on to receive his audio/visual certification in London, Ont.

Since then he has made it his mission to help retain cultural knowledge by recording it.

"The whole idea behind Sweet Grass Records was to record our musicians and groups that are out there that are so rich in song," he said.

"To me they were really under-represented and no one was really promoting it properly."

That was the inspiration for Whitecalf to begin the label in the '90s.

Now because of changes in technology he wants to renew older albums that are still popular on the powwow circuit, as well as record more elders' stories.

"It's important to keep those stories and songs alive. We do that, we are making sure that our children will be able to hear and see it."

Juno nomination in 1st year

The business flourished within the first few years. Whitecalf was putting Indigenous music on the Canadian map and a partnership with EMI Records allowed Whitecalf to distribute music faster and farther at an national and international level.

In its first year, Sweet Grass Records received a 1994 Juno nomination for Stoney Park by the Stoney Park Singers in the then-new category of Best Music of Aboriginal Canada Recording.

Stoney Park was one of the first groups to record their music with Sweet Grass Records. They just recently wrapped up their latest album with Sweet Grass Records titled The Journey.

"Ted always tried his best, he was doing something for powwow music that no one was doing back then," said Coleman Beaver, lead singer of Stoney Park Singers from Morley, Alta.

"He was a good promoter, always attending powwows and getting group's songs out there."

That led to collaborations with other noteworthy Canadian musicians.

Saskatchewan-born artist Buffy St. Marie wrote, composed, and recorded her widely known round dance song Darling Don't Cry with powwow singer Edmund Bull in Sweet Grass's Saskatoon studio in 1996.

Friendships and collaborations

At the 2004 Juno Awards, Nelly Furtado invited Whitefish Jrs, another powwow group that recorded with Sweet Grass Records, to perform with her on stage. At that show, Buffy St. Marie happened to be sitting next to Barenaked Ladies bassist Jim Creeggan, and during the chance meeting Creeggan was introduced to Beaver.

"I was a big fan of powwow music, sort of a new fan to powwow music," said Creeggan.

"I was just really hearing that sound in my head and knew I wanted it in our album somehow."

They got together and wrote and recorded a song that would be featured in the Barenaked Ladies' 1996 album Born on a Pirate Ship.

"Within a month we had a plan to rendezvous in a recording studio in Saskatchewan," said Creeggan.

"The recording was like a normal recording, but it was also about getting to know each other. Ted put together a barbecue, and I was given an eagle father which was a great honour for me."

As technology changed, sales dwindled and the company branched into merchandise sales, photography and live powwow recordings. Now Sweet Grass Records is preparing to rollout digitized versions of its albums.

Cole Perlett, a digital marketing consultant with the label, is helping the company enter a new era.

"I can't count the number of times I have got phone calls for a tape, or song ... where the original is still on cassette," Perlett said.

"So we are giving the label somewhat of a rebirth."

Whitecalf said he doesn't plan on stopping now, and will continue, expand and evolve with the times.

"If you really have a strong dream about what you want, then nothing can stop you."