Gabrielle Fontaine grew up listening to the stories about the life her grandmother Nora had before having children, including the pivotal role she played in securing her family's treaty rights and status.

"You wish you were there," said Fontaine, an Anishinaabe singer-songwriter from Winnipeg who performs with Indian City, a band founded by her late father, Vince Fontaine — Nora's son.

"You always wonder what it would be like to actually be there in those moments."

That message is now captured in …