It is no wonder that Sinclair is a woman of dreams. Born between the Churchill River and Hudson’s Bay in the sub-arctic, Sinclair spent childhood days exploring the riches of the boreal tundra of her home. Summer days running along the northern mossy lowlands picking wild blueberries, or rafting in tidal pools amid the brilliant stretches of Fireweed and Lyme grass that sprawled out over the coastline. Listening for Beluga breaths she’d stop to conjure up a visit with the whales in their home below the salt waves. “Do you stop to sleep at night?”, she’d might ask. Or, “take me to your favourite place to play.” These were the scenes that awakened her imagination. In Winter, Sinclair would often walk out her back door to lie face-up in the snow, visiting with ancestors who danced overhead in the flaring hues of northern lights against a backdrop of ancient stars. This was her place of dreams. There was no need for televisions or cell phone back then. Everything she needed was here outside her door, or on the screen of her childhood imagination.

Raised by her Cree mother and grandmother, Sinclair was taught in her cultural ways. Traditions that taught her to respect her elders, and gratefulness for simple goods that were made from the sacrifice of living things; animals that were the means of their survival. While this was a romantic life, it was also a harsh life. Sinclair remembers foraging for wood to feed the wood stove in Winter, and soon she would soon learn the bitter realities of living in 1960’s.

The 1960’s were a time of hurt and pain for indigenous cultures. Indigenous peoples were looked upon as abase, unintelligent, unequal. These attitudes were ripe for abuse, both physical, emotional and systemic. As she grew to womanhood Sinclair watched as her people struggled for judicial and educational fairness, for clean water and proper housing. She could not understand why others couldn’t see what she saw, the caring kokoms, the laughing children, the humorous uncles, the sharing, the dancing, the singing. As she journeyed she knew that she had to help end the cultural divide. She would do this by bringing the beauty of her people to places around the world through music. This has been her purpose since.

A supporter of Truth and Reconciliation Sinclair shares her stories of childhood and growth, gleaning from cultural and familial teachings based in language, astronomy and legend. She shares her ways of knowing to audiences around the world as a performer, teacher and knowledge keeper, honouring her culture and grandmothers.