Digging Roots: Skoden (Let’s Go Then)
Digging Roots is a Canadian indigenous band consisting of husband and wife duo Raven Kanatakta Polson-Lahache and Sho-Shona Kish. Raven is Anishinabe and Mohawk and grew up on a small native reserve in Winneway, Quebec. Sho-Shona, on the other hand, is from Batchewana First Nation though he grew up primarily in Toronto, Canada. The couple both ended up in Ottawa in 2004 after Raven’s family moved there and Sho-Shana was there for school. The two met through a mutual friend and hit it off immediately. That same day, Sho-Shona accompanied Raven to a music audition she had scheduled for a spot at a music festival. Spontaneously, they decided to audition together and thus began Digging Roots.
Digging Roots makes music that is a mix of indigenous music, Turtle Island blues, soul, and rock n roll. They are a six-member band that blends Sho-Shona’s “earthy vocals,” Raven’s electrifying guitar, and the band’s strong drumming (“About”). Recently, their oldest son, Skye, has joined the band as a drummer. They are highly successful with 2 Juno Awards for the Contemporary Indigenous Group of the Year and multiple successful international tours. Currently, they have published 4 albums: Seeds, We are, For the Light, and Zhawenim.
Listen to their latest album (Zhawenim) on Spotfiy:
Despite their different native backgrounds, both Raven and Sho-Shona share the experience of facing racism and oppression. Further, they both grew up in households that focused on activism for Indigenous rights. Due to these common threads, their music often seeks to advocate for Indigenous rights and empower Indigenous peoples.
“Our activism is kind of in the way that we live, more than anything. It’s built on how we live as a family,” says Raven (“Digging Roots”).
The song I chose from Digging Roots is called “Skoden.” It is their second most popular song on YouTube. The title translates to “Let’s go then” in English and is typically used as slang in casual contexts.
The song has a strong, upbeat, hopeful feeling. The official music video is accompanied by bright, flashing visuals which gives the song a fun, almost hypnotic energy.
However, the lyrics are more urgent and foreboding. At first, the repetitive chorus merely vaguely encourages listeners to “Stand up, step up, or get out of the way.” But as the song progresses the lyrics get more specific. “11 years to change the course, 3600 days” alludes to the climate crisis and changing the course of the planet. The line “lost generations living in fear,” evokes a strong sense of responsibility for the climate crisis on the listener as they are forced to consider future generations who will live on this planet. The official lyric video enforces this message.
It starts with imagery of nature (mountains, the ocean, animals etc.). But towards the middle, images of cut-down trees and factories puffing smoke into the air appear. Overall, despite the catchy, cheerful energy of the song, the lyrics desperately urge listeners to take a stand against climate change. The title “Let’s Go Then” reflects the casual, upbeat tone of the song while capturing the essence of the song–to take action.
Sources:
“About.” DIGGING ROOTS, www.diggingrootsmusic.com/about. Accessed 30 Jan. 2024.
“Digging Roots.” Dreamcatcher Bios, www.dreamcatcherbios.com/hero/digging-roots/. Accessed 30 Jan. 2024.
Roots, Digging. Picture of Raven and Sho-Shona. DreamCatcher Bios, http://www.dreamcatcherbios.com/hero/digging-roots/.
Roots, Digging. SKODEN -Single – Album by Digging Roots – Apple Music. 27 Jan. 2022. Apple Music, https://music.apple.com/us/album/skoden-single/1600921762.
“Skoden – Digging Roots (Official Lyric Video).” YouTube, YouTube, 12 Oct. 2023, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nk13oKaLJv0.
“Skoden – Digging Roots (Official Music Video).” YouTube, YouTube, 11 Mar. 2022, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjVdj1Gd2Iw.
I really enjoyed the lyric video and duality of your song choice. The quote “Fear will be our courage now, Hope will be our strength” resonated with me and allowed me to relate to their mission to advocate for indigenous rights. Frequently, Indigenous culture is lost through modernization, but Digging Roots balances their music to provide modern, catchy tunes with a deeper, heritage-focused message. Their music connects perfectly to this class as they address climate change, fossil fuel use, and indigenous arctic community. The traditional headdresses in the music video give the listener an insight into their two unique cultures and the story of how the couple met. Overall, this group is very interesting and combines various genres that I enjoy. I hope that they continue to release music and albums that advocate for future generations and the environment.
I found Digging Root’s song to be very catchy and enjoyable to listen to. It is interesting comparing your artist to mine because my artist (Laura Niquay) really focused on singing in her native language unlike Digging Root. Part of that was because her initial primary audience was people in her community with hopes of revitalizing their native language through her music. In contrast, Digging Roots seems to pursue a broader appeal, using their catchy tunes to unite diverse audiences in the fight against indigenous community challenges. Really interesting considering the role of language in indigenous communities and the value of preserving culture and community, while also balancing that with the need to reach out to others to urge them to consider how their actions surrounding climate change affect everyone.
This style of music was completely opposite to that of my artist: Rasmus Lyberth who uses a more traditional folk style. However, I loved the upbeat, pop rock feel and loved how they use a contemporary style wile encouraging the listener to take action in addressing the climate crisis. My artist, Lyberth, illustrated simular themes encouraging his audience to take action against the climate crisis, but reached a completely different audience because of his different style. Here, there is so much importance in the variety of artists and style of music in order to reach a wide audience and to spread this important message. Additionally, I appreciate how they incorporate traditional styles and techniques into their modernized music and believe they remain grounded in some of the central aspects of Inuit values: nature, community and the responsibility to protect the earth. I throughly enjoyed listening to this group and will continue to in the future!