Advertisement

Music

Rosary Spence: Musician

Musician. rosaryspence.com 


Personally and directly in the music scene in Toronto, I have not experienced racism. I will say, as a person I have experienced it my entire life. I come from a small community up north. I’m Cree. I never lived in a real urban setting until I moved to Toronto eight years ago.

One of the things I liked about moving here was that it was very multicultural. I’ve had a lot of negative experiences, but in the music scene specifically I’ve yet to experience something racist. I don’t consider myself mainstream, while I consider Toronto’s music scene very mainstream, and there are not a lot of opportunities for me. The access to the media where you could get more exposure is tied to [a more mainstream] scene.

I know I’m different. The way I grew up was very traditional. Every experience I have, I feel I’m very blessed to have. Sometimes I wonder how I’m viewed, as an indigenous woman living in Toronto. My awareness of all the missing and murdered indigenous women means there’s always an underlying fear.

If I were to go missing tomorrow, how quickly would the community respond? How quickly would the authorities respond? Probably not as quickly as they would for a blond college student. I would automatically be stereotyped as an alcoholic, a drug addict, a runaway, whatever. Those are the things that would come up first. That’s definitely a fear I have and a reality for every indigenous woman.

I’ve been invited to perform at events that may not necessarily be a part of my community of indigenous people. All the settings I’ve performed at have been safe, and I don’t think I’ve ever not felt safe. Often I’ll get contacted by a really well-known aboriginal organization in Toronto because someone else has been looking for an aboriginal singer. I wish there were more of that kind of reaching out and attending and networking. I always take those opportunities to educate and inform people on some level. I utilize [tokenism] for the best interests of my community.

I don’t think Toronto’s music scene is racist from my own experience. I’m still an emerging artist, and if it has happened to me, I haven’t felt that it might deter me. I haven’t been directly abused within the music community, but I have been in other areas [like by] my neighbour across the street, the one beside me, in the medical field, walking down the street. It’s real, it exists and it is happening. 

But on a professional level, I take care of my spirit and my music.

At the Music Gallery (197 John) with Pura Fé on February 26. rosaryspence.com.

racisminmusic@nowtoronto.com | #racisminmusic

Advertisement

Exclusive content and events straight to your inbox

Subscribe to our Newsletter

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

By signing up, I agree to receive emails from Now Toronto and to the Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.

Recently Posted