NFB Releases ‘Indian Man’ – 1st Single In Decades

By FYI Staff

The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is releasing a song for the first time in decades – “Indian Man,” the opening song from the musical documentary, The Road Forward.

According to a spokesperson for Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor, the release is due to “popular demand” after 200+ public screenings of the film, with audiences asking where they can find the music.

Released Tuesday, the track is now available on most popular music streaming platforms, including iTunes, Apple Music, YouTube, Spotify, and Amazon Music.

Written by Marie Clements, this Indigenous blues-rock song was composed and arranged by award-winning recording artist and Métis singer-songwriter Wayne Lavallee. It is performed by Wayne Lavallee, Jeremy James Lavallee, Murray Porter, Russell Wallace, Latash-Maurice Nahanee, Ronnie Dean Harris, a.k.a. Ostwelve, and the late Leonard George. The musicians are Wayne Lavallee (guitar), Marie-Josée Dandaneau (bass) and Richard E. Brown, a.k.a. RB (drums).

Digitally mastered, the song was originally recorded at Bryan Adams’ Warehouse Studio in Vancouver. It is produced by Marie Clements and Wayne Lavallee, and executive produced by the NFB.

The full-length version of the film The Road Forward is also available for download at NFB.ca.

 The documentary brings to life the past 80 years of politics and protest on the West Coast and across the country, performed by an ensemble of some of Canada’s finest vocalists and musicians, including the Manitoba-born Métis performers Jeremy James Lavallee and Wayne Lavallee, as well as Mohawk musician Murray Porter, from the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. The story-songs range from emotionally wrenching ballads about the missing and murdered Indigenous women to inspirational anthems that seamlessly connect the past and present.

The Road Forward is produced and executive produced by Shirley Vercruysse for the NFB’s BC & Yukon Studio in Vancouver.