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Brian Wright-McLeod is a Toronto-based music journalist, producer, radio host, and educator who identifies as Dakota-Anishnabe. He teaches courses related to Indigenous studies at Centennial College since 2014, George Brown College since 2019 and the York University Department of Communication since 2020. He previously earned a Diploma in Journalism, graphic arts, and design from Canadore College.
Wright-McLeod began working as a music journalist in 1979. His column "Dirty Words and Thoughts about Music" appears bimonthly in News from Indian Country, Hayward, Wisconsin. His journey in radio began in 1983. He then became the host and producer of Renegade Radio, a live two-hour weekly music and issues program. It first aired in 1984 until 2009 at the Ryerson University campus/community radio station CKLN 88.1 FM and then made available on other radio outlets including Sirius Satellite Iceberg95, JAZZ 91.1 FM, CBC Radio 1, BBC Radio, and the American Indian Radio on Satellite (AIROS) network.
This work and years of research resulted in the publication of his first book “The Encyclopedia of Native Music” (2000) and the companion 3-CD set “The Soundtrack of a People” (2005). Through these works, Wright-McLeod documents artists representing traditional music from the Arctic Circle to the US Southwest from 1905 to 2005 including folk roots and bluegrass; Powwow music from the traditional foundations to the current sounds of northern and southern style; and contemporary music from early jazz of the 1920s to the eclectic sounds of the new millennium. In 2011, Wright-McLeod also authored and illustrated “Red Power: A Graphic Novel.”
Brian is also a music consultant for film, television, recording projects, and institutions including the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences; the Library & Archives, Ottawa; Library of Congress, Washington, DC, and Calgary’s National Music Centre. Wright-McLeod has also volunteered as the Executive Director of the Canadian Alliance in Solidarity with Native People since January 1991.