Mohawk songwriter Semiah on the fear of being pigeonholed and embracing her heritage in music

Semiah Kaha:wi Smith grew up surrounded by artistry.

Her house in Six Nations was home to her mother, who owns a dance studio, and her grandparents, who were both potters.

"Art in and of itself has always been a huge part of my upbringing, and I don't really know any other way," Smith says.

The 24-year-old Hamilton-born singer-songwriter, who goes simply by Semiah when on stage, is one of several acts performing Friday as part of the Unity Festival on Six Nations.

The festival starts at 7 p.m. at the Gathering Place by the Grand and will feature a plethora of artists from the community, such as Derek Miller, Lacey Hill, hoop dancer Ascension Harjo and others. 

A journey to embrace singing

Smith, who is Mohawk, Turtle Clan, told CBC Hamilton her love for singing started when she was a kid, when she would sing "very loudly in grocery stores," and eventually led her to singing lessons. 

At the time, it was just something she did after school, she said. As time passed, she "got shy" and stopped singing.

It took her a few years of experimenting with other art forms such as acting and narrating before she came back to the form.

"I was in New Zealand with my mom at a Māori wedding out there, and so the traditional way that you introduce yourself is through a song and I was still shy at the time," she recalled.

"But when it's for culture, I kind of couldn't say no, so I would sing some songs from our community and to share there and just to see the kind of enjoyment and the connection that brought really made me think about starting singing again."

Smith said she then began writing her own traditional songs, joined a trio, and started performing in the area.

"At the same time, I wanted to explore my individuality, and who am I as Semiah, the person," she said. 

That's when she started writing her own songs in English but felt hesitant about sharing them.

During the pandemic, Smith says she found the confidence to release her first song, Nothing Can Kill My Love For You.

The soft, acoustic tune was released in May 2021 and produced by musician and producer Rob Lamothe. It was followed by All of this Time, which she made with her cousin.

Letting culture bleed into art

Smith said she was always hesitant to bring her heritage into her English-language music.

"It's always been a fear of mine, that if I did brand myself as an Indigenous artist, that I would be trapped in that pigeonhole, in that stereotype as an artist."

Recently, however, she said she has been challenging herself to include more Indigenous teachings into her work.

"You have to read into the lyrics and interpret [those teachings] so I try and incorporate messages like that into my music that you wouldn't necessarily hear the first time you listen to it," she said. 

"I'm very trying to be very tactical and how I spread those messages, just so that it reaches a lot of people that aren't even Indigenous."

Smith says one thing heavy on her mind has been the future, and what kind of elder she's going to be, which is what has inspired her more recent songs. 

"That's kind of what that Celestial Bodies is about. It's about that first verse saying, 'I don't give a f--k about you.'

"And I really say that with my chest, like, I don't give a f--k about any of these politicians that, you know, told us that we can't be who we are," she said. 

"The overall song is celebrating that we're still here … and it's really just such a miracle, that we still have what we have today and that we have these venues [where] we can come together and celebrate who we are."

Learning how much representation matters

Smith says she's excited to sing for her community, but also nervous about how she'll be received. 

"The music that I do is not generally what Six Nations really listens, listens to, I don't sing things like Blues or Country."

Smith said representation is also a reason why she's excited to perform Friday.

"I never thought too hard about what I was doing for my community until a bunch of little girls were saying how much they liked my music and that they wanted to learn how to play music, too," she said.

"It really hit me then that I guess it really does matter that there is representation." 

Unity Festival Creative Director Jace Martin, who is also performing Friday, said in a release that "people are eager to get back to live events and we thought this year would be the perfect opportunity to reignite that fire to bring everyone together."

Martin says the lineup is impressive.

"We are so proud to show the high calibre of talent from our established artists alongside some new acts," he said.

The event is taking place on the eve of the Grand River Powwow, also happening in Six Nations, which will feature dancers from all over North America and will be held this year at the Ohsweken Speedway.