Cree entertainer Winston Wuttunee has no plans to slow down at 85

It’s been over 15 years since entertainer Winston Wuttunee of Red Pheasant Cree Nation has been on stage at Edmonton’s KDays, formerly know as Klondike Days. The well-known entertainer is also known for his stops at Winnipeg schools as a respected elder. Now, he’s just wrapped up two shows at the Indigenous Experience stage at the Edmonton Expo Centre. “My wife and I started off with a prayer song, and that might have set the tone, and then we started off with a really good fiddle tune and it went just perfect,” Wuttunee told APTN News. “So, it got the crowd—it set the crowd up for a really peppy time and that’s what we gave them.” “There’s one thing I do that I never did when I was younger-I always start with a prayer. And in that prayer, I ask the Creator to be kind to everybody that’s sitting in the audience, to make them feel good, to make them feel happy, to let them know who they are. And I’m just here to help you know who you are,” said Wuttunee. Still going strong at 85 years young, with no plans for slowing down, Wuttunee showcased an impressive line-up of mostly his own compositions from the past 52 years of song writing to an appreciative crowd. “It went very, very well. My boys in the band said ‘boy, you really know how to control an audience’.” Wuttunee had CD’s on hand for the crowd, but he had a special deal for attendees. “CD’s were free if you jigged-then the CD was free when the jigs came along. If you didn’t jig-they were $15,” Wuttunee said. “But I told the crowd, don’t just take the first price my wife gives to you, at least argue a little bit,” Wuttunee said with a laugh. Looking back at his lengthy career, Wuttunee said he just loves being a performer. “I really love my music, I really love performing, I really love going on stage.” Of the K Days crowds attending his shows on the Indigenous Experience stage, he said they were very diverse and not just Indigenous. “There were many different nationalities there. That was a real good part of it. And they were really enjoying it, just clapping their hands and stamping their feet,” Wuttunee said. “But it doesn’t matter who is there I can perform to any audience.” After this round of shows, Wuttunee and his wife will return to their home base in Winnipeg. “Around Winnipeg, I usually sing in the schools. I’m busy 4 days a week, but maybe there will be another gig somewhere,” Wuttunee said. “We just got back from a gig on Vancouver Island and on that gig, we sang in five French schools. And every school I had to speak total French, no Cree or English. And that’s not a problem for me.” He recalls one little boy came to thank him after one performance. “‘Monsieur Autochtone, merci pour le visit,’ the boy said. And that was one of the best things that happened there,” according to Wuttunee. Wuttunee said despite his age, he’s still enjoying what he’s doing and has no plans to slow down. “I can still do it just the same as I did when I was younger. I can still get up there and do the jig, I can dance around, I can play fast music, I can play slow music, I can play country western music, I can play the clarinet. I’m never stuck on stage, and it’s over before I realize it,” Wuttunee said. “When I slow down, it won’t be a plan.” Continue Reading