Marc Meriläinen, the Toronto-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and all-around visionary better known as Nadjiwan says, “Humans have always questioned and wondered about both our purpose and origins in the universe. There are numerous stories in Indigenous cultures of the ‘star people’ visiting us throughout history with the purpose of teaching us a greater understanding of not only the universe but ourselves. In short, we ultimately come from the stars.”

Transforming the sound and image of Indigenous music has been one of Nadjiwan’s goals from the very beginning, and his prodigious output has been recognized in many corners, including the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards, the Native American Music Awards, the Indigenous Music Awards, and Toronto’s Dora Mavor Moore Awards for the Performing Arts. In 2010, he was invited to perform at the Vancouver Winter Olympics and in 2015, at the Pan-Am Games in Toronto.