The SOCAN Foundation, part of the SOCAN Group of organizations, in partnership with TD Bank Group, presented its very first Indigenous Songwriter Award to Jasmine Netsena at the 2018 Indigenous Music Awards on satirday, May 19, 2018.

SOCAN member Netsena, from Fort Nelson, BC, received the award – which included a $10,000 cash prize, and airfare and accommodations to attend the award ceremonies in Winnipeg – from Charlie Wall-Andrews, Executive Director of SOCAN Foundation, and Tim Laronde, Regional Manager of Indigenous Banking at TD.

“I feel honoured to be selected for this award, and very grateful to everyone who worked to make this happen,” said Netsena.

“This new award recognizes artistic excellence in songwriting achieved by Indigenous music creators in Canada, and we’re proud to be able to partner with TD and the Indigenous Music Awards to celebrate Jasmine Netsena,” said Wall-Andrews. “It’s part of our ongoing, mutual effort with TD to foster, promote and diversify opportunities for music creators of Indigenous descent. We’re aiming to build inclusive grant and awards programming as diverse as the communities in which we live.”

The Jury encompassed SOCAN Members ShoShona Kish (Ontario), Alan Greyeyes (Manitoba), Celina Kalluk (Nunavut), and Moe Clark (Québec), and reviewed nearly 200 submissions.

Applications to the 2019 TD Indigenous Songwriter Awards will open in the late fall of 2018; visit www.socanfoundation.ca for more information about programs and awards.