Kristen McKay

About

Born in central Manitoba, Kristen McKay, spirit name Golden Eagle Woman, and from the Bear Clan is a 2 spirited Ojibway-Cree-Dakota from Pine Creek First Nation. Kristen is the lead singer to Alternative Indi Band Prison Richard. Kristen is also the host to Sage Talk podcast established in May 2021.

Kristen is deeply connected to her spirituality and culture and has adapted a spiritual support analogy of being protected and supported by her 10,000 Grandmothers. This was inspired by Kristen when 215 was announced from the ground search in Kamloops, BC. Kristen is a Residential School Survivor her parents before her attended IRS and her Grandparents before them had also attended IRS.

Kristen has begun to take a core understanding to the IRS traumas and began a healing journey with these traumas. The understanding and knowledge of IRS has helped Kristen move forward from the pain and grief that once filled her world. Kristen has been able to help others have a more understanding to the IRS traumas and has been fully willing to sit in with various IRS workshops and conferences held in the Winnipeg area.

Kristen is deeply connected to sage as it has brought much spiritual connection and helped Kristen identify herself as the strong 2 spirited empowered healer. The daily use to Sage has ignited a spiritual awakening within Kristen.  Sage grows in abundance where Kristen is currently located, and Kristen harvests, bundles, and utilizes sage to keep her energy and those around her cleansed and it keeps the air pure. This connecting to Sage has been very healing with the approach Kristen brings to her community sage is always present when she attends community events.

Kristen is the lead singer of local Alternative Indi band Prison Richard located out of Winnipeg Manitoba. When Kristen sings her spirit ignites her audience. When Kristen sings her spirit exits her mouth in a vivid color array of rainbows that even her 10,000 Grandmothers and ancestors can see from the spirit world. Kristen sings about women empowerment and MMIWG movements. Her original lyrics speak of her culture and the current issues that Indigenous people everywhere experience. Kristen has also brought a visual of her ancestors and culture with her stage make up. Often Kristen’s make up is referred to as war paint. The war Kristen is facing is that she will no longer be silent about the issues and traumas that Indigenous people face. Kristen does use her voice as a healing tool to speak her truth and she shares her life experiences with IRS and MMIWG as both effect her directly. Within these words, there is a healing premise and Kristen projects her strength and support to those in her spoken word and though her music.

Through the recent pandemic Kristen was dormant with her many performances and booking process. Kristen took this time to sit with the developmental side of the music industry. Kristen participated in the first annual Sothern Summer Tour in 2021 through the Manitoba Arts Network where she toured 5 First Nation communities and 5 non-Indigenous communities. Kristen spoke of her healing journey and was able to share her original music after the world had simply shut down. This ignited a want to reach others through virtual platforms, and Kristen started her own podcast series called Sage Talk which she hosted from her home in Winnipeg. Kristen has had a variety of guests, musicians and performing arts community members, as well as those also on healing journey from traumas. The premise of Sage Talk is “your parents’ traumas are not yours to carry”. Kristen had experienced a detachment from her immediate family and recognized that it was due to the in actively healed traumas from IRS her family carried. Since the last episode of Sage Talk, Kristen has wanted to evolve this healing platform and take it to First Nation Communities with the intent to have youth as the primary audience. Kristen has envisioned sage talk as a Trauma Response Team and or Movement that will travel to Community to do sessions to give knowledge and education to youth. With focus on suicide prevention, 2 spirituality, grief, understanding the types of traumas and providing resources to the youth community members. Kristen will also have her original music as a part of the healing process with sage talk. Music does give Kristen that healing support and she does want to share her gifts. Through her music she can sing of the traumas most can not speak of.

Kristen’s education background is of Nursing Assistant. Kristen’s clan is bear, a natural healer at heart. Kristen has been working with dialysis patients for the last 7 years. Helping those in renal kidney failure understand the diagnosis and process with the treatment place ahead. Kristen has been providing those supports to these patients and their families.

Kristen is truly dedicated to her role as a healer and has gone into Community to give this support and help educate those with health and wellness. Along with her sage connection Kristen does give a lot of her healing work to those in need.

 

 

 

Kristen has performed at fundraisers for the Tina Fontaine safe haven, to support youth and keep them safe and protected within the safe haven. As well as the No Stone Unturned Concert held annually in Winnipeg. Kristen has also played a several fundraisers for Cancer Care Research and as a Cervical Cancer Survivor this has been a very passionate cause for her to donate and support her time to give supports to cancer patients and their families.