Over the last four years, Tia Wood has become one of the crucially outspoken voices in music to represent an entire Indigenous generation. A rise owed in no small part to her viral explosion on TikTok during the pandemic, where she created a space for community that has since blossomed into one dedicated to educational activism and the celebration of Indigenous art. Wood ended 2023 with another milestone — announcing in December that she’d signed to Sony Music — making it the label to most likely release her highly-anticipated debut album sometime next year.
But at 23-years-old Wood’s story goes back much further than her ascent on social media. A child of the Plains Cree and Coast Salish, she grew up in Saddle Lake FN, Canada amongst a community in which life, culture, and music were irrevocably entwined. Now that she calls Los Angeles home, many of the memories that ground her are of family, traveling together by minivan to the various powwows and gigs they would perform at.
Some of those relatives even include members of the Grammy Award-winning group Northern Cree, while her sister Fawn Wood is a Juno Award-winning musician. It was her sister who supplied the Indigenous riff on their cover of “Fallen Soldier” by Inez Jasper — the very same song that would launch her toward Internet fame.
Wood saw the overwhelming response and engagement she received on TikTok as a sign to keep putting videos out there. Joining a trend of “Indigenizing” popular songs and performing traditional powwow dances (like Old Style Jingle), while also posting transition videos that showcase Indigenous fashion. She’s often joined by her mom — who in her youth was part of an all-girls drum group — both of them appearing in some of the very dresses they create by hand together.
She’s also remained vocal in highlighting the history of malicious oppression that’s been inflicted upon Indigenous people in Canada. The first of these videos was titled “Auntie T’s History Lesson,” and detailed the violent assimilation of residential schools, as well as the infamous murder of Indigenous men by police officers known as the Starlight Tours. Today she continues to educate her audience of nearly 3 million on everything from the climate crisis to long unspoken truths about colonization.
After the whirlwind year she’s had playing festivals around North America, the one thing fans are no doubt hoping for is more music. It’s a testament to the fixation Wood has become that she’s released very little in the last few years other than covers — yet everything she sings is made all the more spellbinding and urgent through her voice.
When her new album finally drops it will be one of the landmark debuts of 2024. Melding together traditional native sounds with hues of pop, it will feature appearances by members of Wood’s family and the drum group she performs with.
Keep your ear to the ground for its arrival and be sure to follow her below!
Words: Steven Ward
Visit Tia Wood on her website, TikTok, and Instagram to stay updated on new music and tour announcements.
Listen to Tia Wood below!
