Thomas Dale Jackson was born October 27,
1948 on the One Arrow Reserve,
Saskatchewan, near Batoche. The son
of Rose, a Cree, and Marshall, an
Englishman, his family moved to Namao,
Alberta when he was 7 years old, finally
settling in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1963.
Tom developed an early affinity for
music. "My uncles would always come
over and bring their instruments, and my
mother would sing. I had a guitar
when I was seven or eight years old."
Leaving high school at age 15, his got his
start in the music industry performing in
local coffeehouses. "I was really
caught up with the folk music era," he
recalls.
"There was a coffeehouse called the Purple
Pit at the Indian & Métis Friendship
Center at 376 Donald Street and I played
there a lot with Lindsay Cronk, Graham
Jones, and Doug Elias. Graham showed
me how to advance my guitar playing.
My first professional gig was warming up
for them at Assiniboine School. I
can still recall standing up in that
school gym playing my songs."
Spurred on by friend and fellow folksinger
Rick Neufeld, Tom began writing his own
songs. "I fancied myself a
connoisseur of poetry, in particular
musical poetry," he admits. "I was a
big fan of Kris Kristofferson and Paul
Simon. So when I started writing I
was very conscientious about making sure
that the songs would not be fluff."
As Scene Magazine declared, "His lyrics
reveal a warmth and insight into his
wrong-side-of-the-tracks upbringing."
A trip to the Mariposa Folk Festival
proved inspirational for the aspiring
singer/songwriter, who witnessed
performances by Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan,
and Neil Young. "I played some
coffeehouses in Montreal where I met
Leonard Cohen, who came out to listen to
this Native guy singing."
Photo credit:
David M. Perich
The Early
Years Photo credit: David M.
Perich
On the periphery of the
Winnipeg music scene through the 1970s,
Tom worked with a series of local
musicians. "I had a band called Tom
Jackson and Friends which was Fred Dawes,
Bill Merritt, Chris the Shark, Norm Dugas,
Dave Wood, the Kozub sisters, Dave
Kramer. There were lots of places to
play in Winnipeg back then and a real
music community, which allowed you to
become a better musician. But my
greatest influence in music at the time
was Rick Neufeld. I still talk about
all the good times at Rick's farm out in
Ste. Anne in my storytelling show, Stories
and Song and Tomfoolery."
In 1971, Tom recorded an
independently-distributed single, "White
Man Listen", funded by the Manitoba Indian
Brotherhood. He also found himself
in demand to sing on television. "I
believe I have probably performed on more
musical variety shows than many other
performers, without actually having a
recording career or a record out."
Running parallel to his growing music
endeavours was a budding acting career
that would bring Jackson from local stages
to international attention. "My
ability to act, I believe, can be credited
to my commitment to performing live
onstage. I used to get so
emotionally wrapped up in what I was
singing. If I believed in the song,
the audience would believe in it. I
would emotionally commit myself to the
song. That is a great skill to have
as an actor."
Approached to do a storytelling segment
for the Canadian edition of Sesame
Street, Tom then received an offer
from Winnipeg's Prairie Theatre Exchange
in 1979 and took the plunge. "I just
figured I'd give it a try. The show
was very successful and went on from
Winnipeg to New York. So I traded
instruments onstage, from guitar and
singing to acting."
He has appeared in television shows such
as North of 60, Shining Time
Station, Star Trek: The Next
Generation, Law & Order,
Red Earth Uncovered and most
recently, CTV/CW network’s Sullivan’s
Crossing 2023/2024 season as Frank
Cranebear. Guest roles in Season 4
and 6 of Outlander, Cardinal,
and Supergirl garnered
international fans.
Jackson's movies include the dark comedy
thriller Cold Pursuit opposite
Liam Neeson, in which he played White
Bull, a Ute drug lord. Over the
years, he has worked with a veritable
who's who list of actors such as Eric
Bana, Olivia Wilde, Kris Kristofferson,
Sissy Spacek (in 2012’s Deadfall),
Bruce Greenwood (2005’s Mee-Shee: The
Water Giant), and Bryan Brown
(1999’s Grizzly Falls).
Tom Jackson still defines himself first
and foremost as a singer. "It
depends on where you're from in the
country," he says, deep baritone voice
resonating. "On the Prairies, they
know me first as a singer who's an actor
now. And in places where they didn't
know I was a singer, people picked up on
my acting career and discovered later that
I was a singer through television."
In 1997, Tom organized the Red River Flood
Relief Benefit concert in Winnipeg,
bringing together ex-Guess Who partners
Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings as well
as BTO member Fred Turner for a memorable
night of music. He also spearheaded
the Say Hay concert in support of
drought-stricken Canadian farms, raising
$1.8 million.
Jackson's best-known and most enduring
legacy, however, has been the annual Huron
Carole. While living on the streets
in Toronto in the 1980s, he organized a
fundraising concert in 1987 for a crisis
centre, the centerpiece of the concert
being "The Huron Carole". He'd first
become aware of this song back in 1965
when performing on a Winnipeg Christmas
special. Returning to Winnipeg soon
after the Toronto fundraiser, a local food
bank was threatened with eviction, so Tom
staged the concert again. "We raised
enough money to keep the wolf from the
door for the next three months. Now
it's a national event."
The annual Huron Carole concert series,
featuring a star-studded lineup of
Canadian performers, has raised more than
$3 million for food banks across
Canada. Touring virtually on Zoom
and YouTube from 2020 to 2022 for various
agencies, 2023 marked a return to the live
onstage performance in Halifax, in support
of the Canadian Red Cross, and produced
for broadcast on APTN, APTN Lumi, and
Eastlink.
Time magazine named Tom Jackson one of
Canada's best activists.
Tomali Pictures Ltd. (co-owned by Tom and
wife Alison) has spent over 3 decades
developing and nurturing relationships in
government and the charitable and
corporate communities of Canada.
From its initial start of crafting The
Huron Carole – the show, the tour, the
television specials – extraordinary
connections remain the motivation behind
the umbrella organization that oversees
Jackson's many artistic endeavours, from
film production to music.
Despite Tom Jackson's many achievements,
memories of the Winnipeg music scene
remain strong. "I can remember even
in the bad moments always having fun," Tom
said. "It was such a blessing for
me. The Winnipeg music scene - over
and above any place else - was a
life-saving and life-giving experience for
me."
Achievements:
Canadian Country Music Association
Humanitarian Award 1996
Canadian Aboriginal Music Award for
Best Producer 1999
Ontario Country Music Association
Lifetime Achievement Award 2000
Officer of the Order of Canada, 2000
Order of Canada Advisory Committee
Member 2004-2007
Juno Humanitarian Award 2007
Playback's Radio & Television
Hall of Fame
Gemini Humanitarian Award 2007
Humanitarian Award at the 2007 Juno
Awards
Governor General's Performing Arts
Award (GGPAA) for Lifetime Artistic
Achievement 2014
Ambassador of the Order of the Red
Cross
Member of the Order of the Red Cross
Chancellor of Trent University
2006-2013
ImagineNATIVE August Schellenberg
Award of Excellence 2016
Companion of the Order of Canada,
2020
Honorary degrees from 11 Canadian
universities including the University
of Calgary, Trent University, Brandon
University, and the University of
Lethbridge 1998 - 2021
The Queens' Gold, Diamond, and
Platinum Jubilee medals, 2002-2022
