The rhythmic beat of a drum and a deep, chilling voice define Chubby Cree, an Indigenous hand drum group.
Carol Powder and her 13-year-old grandson, Noah Green, started performing as Chubby Cree when Noah was two.
In the nine years since Chubby Cree has achieved social media fame and nationwide recognition.
But how did they get here?
The duo’s journey is captured in Chubby Cree: PiMahCiHoWin (The Journey), a new documentary by Vancouver filmmaker Jules Arita Koostachin.
Based in Vancouver, Koostachin is a member of the Attawapiskat First Nation in northern Ontario. Her work highlights Indigenous storytelling.
To Koostachin, there was no story better to tell than that of Chubby Cree.
The Journey shines the spotlight on the talented music duo’s many accomplishments.
In one scene, Powder and Green perform outside the Alberta legislature during the Strike for Climate Action rally in 2019.
The duo’s music reached five thousand people at the rally, including climate activist Greta Thunberg and marked the beginning of Chubby Cree’s journey.
The Journey Begins
But Green’s musical journey began even earlier. He started singing at eight months old and got his own drum months later.
Powder remembers putting an eight-month-old Green to bed and hearing him copy a tune she was singing.
Powder also grew up surrounded by traditional Cree music and culture.
She was taught to sing and play the hand drum at a young age by her grandfather, who was 99 years old.
“In the future, you’re going to be a singer…you’re going to help bring these women back to the drum because that’s where they belong. Children belong there. Why? Because that’s the only time anyone’s going to heal,” Powder recalls her grandfather saying.
For First Nations, the drum represents Mother Earth’s heartbeat and is a source of strength, renewal, and healing for both the drummer and Mother Earth.
“I truly, truly, truly believe what we’re doing is we’re singing for Mother Earth…as we sing, we help to heal because she needs all the attention she can get with climate change today,” Powder told CBC News.
Powder has passed the torch of singing to Green while she carries the rhythm for the duo through her drumming.
A Phenomenon!
Since Chubby Cree’s debut in 2019, the group has gained a massive following on social media platforms like TikTok, Reddit, and Instagram.
Chubby Cree recently signed with Unbelievably Spectacular, a record label and management company, to release their first single, “Rock Your World.”
The group worked with David Strickland, a Multi-Platinum, Grammy award-winning Indigenous producer, to produce “Rock Your World.”
Strickland is known for working with artists like Drake, Method Man, and Sade.
Chubby Cree has also received calls from the Ellen Degeneres Show, America’s Got Talent, and Little Big People.
But the fame hasn’t changed Chubby Cree.
Powder and Green will never forget their purpose and why they started Chubby Cree: “to spread love, healing, and connect people through music.”
Chubby Cree’s music is also a way to remember Powder’s brother, Rick, who passed away in 2016.
“His nickname was Chubby Cree, and he used to always come with us singing; he loved hanging out with us. He always would be saying, ‘When am I going to be singing with you guys?’” Powder told The Tyee.
Powder and Green share the same bond many of us share with our friends, family, and loved ones. These bonds are what make our province great.
Chubby Cree’s journey is a powerful reminder that we can move forward while passing on our culture and traditions to the next generation.
