Neil Young to perform shows in benefit of Alberta First Nations fighting oil sands

rbarnes Posted On December 10, 2013

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BRAD WHEELER

The Globe and Mail

Published Monday, Dec. 09 2013, 12:38 PM EST

Neil Young, the often antagonizing singer-songwriter who wrote the surreal ballad Pocahontas and who named one of his bands after an iconic Native American warrior, has announced he will perform four concerts in benefit of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN).

The performances, which include appearances by the jazz chanteuse Diana Krall, are to be known as the “Honor the Treaties” shows. Concerts will happen at Toronto’s Massey Hall (Jan. 12), Winnipeg’s Centennial Concert Hall (Jan. 16), Regina’s Conexus Arts Centre (Jan. 17) and Calgary’s Jack Singer Concert Hall (Jan. 19).

Tickets for the four concerts go on sale Friday, Dec. 13, through Ticketmaster. Seats range in price between $55 and $250.

Money raised will go to a legal defense fund set up to support the ACFN’s legal challenges against oil companies and government bodies, and to uphold rights related to Treaty 8, an agreement signed in 1899 between Queen Victoria and various First Nations bands of Alberta. Shell Canada was recently given the green light from Ottawa to expand its 7,500 hectare Jackpine oil sands mine to 13,000 hectares. Indigenous and environmental groups foresee damage to the area’s water, land and animals.