Pretty Indian Girls goes viral
- Jeanelle Mandes | March 24, 2016
When a group of women singers uploaded a video onto social media, they did not expect to wake up to news that their video went viral with thousands of hits and shares.
Five Indigenous women, who call themselves the Pretty Indian Girls (P.I.G.S) singing group, never thought their voices would gather so much attention. It all started two months ago when Judy Starr, Trisha Goodwill, Raeleena Dawson, Candace Gadwa and Desirae Desnomie were travelling home one night from YoungBear round dance (Mandaree, North Dakota) where they started video recording themselves singing backup to a round dance song called Home Sweet Home.
“I posted that video about nine in the evening…the next morning my daughter woke me up and she said ‘Mom, your video went viral’ I was like wow!” says Goodwill.
The group’s length of singing experiences ranges from early childhood up until recently being discovered. A few of the singers admitted to being shy at first but the other ladies encouraged each other to embrace their voices.
“I’ve always been a part of the round dance and powwow for about 15 years and I’ve always had the urge to sing but not the courage,” adds Goodwill.
That’s what makes this group unique is their ability to encourage each other to sing even when one is shy or hasn’t come out of their shell yet.
“When I met Candace, she said sing as hard as you can, don’t try to look good just sing from the heart. Don’t care how you look because some of us crazy when we really sing hard,” says Starr who also writes the group’s songs including Friendzone. “Singing in your culture and your language is like a prayer, so it’s like your praying and you feel that inside. Close your eyes if you have to, get lost in the moment…you’re given a voice for a reason.”
The P.I.G.S singers have been receiving positive responses and feedback to the newly formed group which has inspired the younger generation of girls to act on their urges to get up and sing.
“We get lots of comments from young girls saying we are their idols or that we sound so beautiful,” says Desnomie. “I know these young girls are watching us and coming there to sing. Even an old lady said she wanted to sing beside us. When old and young people taking notice, it’s a real honor,” she adds.
Every weekend, the group travels near and far to round dances and they continue to receive positive responses and feedback including invites to sing at upcoming events and even receiving requests to record a C.D.
“We’re talking as a group and seeing what it is that we want to do. Judy is the one who comes up with the songs so we have to learn everything, so we’re going with the flow right now,” says Dawson.
Gadwa says the singers prefers a night of round dancing over any other social activities during the winter months because it is something they all enjoy and bond together as friends.
“We would rather go to a round dance rather than spending all night at a bar. That’s the main thing for us,” says Gadwa.
The backup singers’ dream of seeing Indigenous people happy being drug and alcohol free and learning the old ways at these kind of ceremonies.
The group’s latest videos can be found on their Facebook page called The Pretty Indian Girls.