Niska Napoleon

With a stage presence that can stop people in their tracks, a voice that makes you wonder “did she just do that?” and songs that can stir up emotions you didn’t even know you had explain why Niska is becoming a force in the indie music scene. After watching her father and former chief Art Napoleon perform at a music festival at the age of eight, she immediately knew what she wanted to do with her life. Growing up on moose meat and learning songs off albums her dad brought home from the road, she was driven to create her own original material. At the age of ten she recorded her first song and by sixteen she was touring throughout Canada.

Developing her art form in numerous bands provided Niska with the opportunity to open for acts such as Buffy St.Marie, Kai Mani Marley, The Persuasions and The Aggrolites spanning musical genres from traditional cree, hip hop, jazz, reggae and rock. Blending her love of performing with her tremendous range Niska has developed a sound and style that is all her own, winning her fans where ever she goes.

As a front woman for Victoria based ska band Rocky Mountain Rebel Music (RMRM) Niska garnered fans across the nation, causing sweat to drip from every ceiling bar from Victoria to Quebec City and earning titles such as “91.3’s Zone Band of the Month”, “Monday Magazine’s 2010 pick for Favorite Band” and a nomination for "Female Vocalist of the Year" from The Vancouver Island Music Awards. Living out of a suitcase, busking for gas money and traveling cross country with an overloaded van of men are things Niska considers “part of the dream”.

Without a release of her own Niska has been featured on “The Midday Show,” “Breakfast Television,”  “MY TV,” “The New Canoe," "The Mix", CBC Radio and most recently her music has appeared on APTN's "Moosemeat & Marmalade" and "Mohawk Girls" catching the attention of audiences and media alike. "If I had released an album at 16 like I always imagined I would, I wouldn't be the artist I am now. It was very important to me to not be just a voice influenced by someone else, I fought hard to find my own and I have every intention of making it count", she says. It is with her passion for delivering powerful, meaningful authentic art and her high standard of what a debut album should be that explains why she's been holding out on us for years despite being in demand. On the verge of her debut release,armed with two decades worth of experience and a strong desire to make a name for herself as a solo artist, expect to see a lot more from this indie/soul Canadian Cree princess.