Willie Thrasher

Willie Thrasher (born 1948) is a Canadian Inuvialuk musician from Aklavik, Northwest Territories. He has recorded both as a solo artist, and as a member of several bands, including The Cordells, and Red Cedar, with Morley Loon. Thrasher has advocated for Inuit and First Nations issues for much of his career.

Early life Thrasher was born in 1948, where he learned to play drums on a kit in the gym. After leaving school, he worked as a forest firefighter in Whitehorse, and began playing in rock groups. A fan of Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, Thrasher formed a band called the Cordells with his brother and friends. From that point, Thrasher moved into more personal songwriting and began studying Inuit music. Thrasher toured heavily in this period, and suffered from alcoholism.

Thrasher joined Morley Loon as part of his Vancouver-based Red Cedar group in the 1980s. In 1990, Thrasher participated in the Odeyak expedition, where Cree and Inuit leaders paddled from Quebec to New York City. In 1998, Thrasher performed as part of a revival of traditional potlach ceremonies organised by Commissioner of the Yukon Judy Gingell in Whitehorse.

His songs "Spirit Child", "Old Man Carver" and "We Got to Take You Higher" are featured on the 2014 compilation album Native North America, Vol. 1. As a result of the revived publicity from the Native North America compilation, Thrasher has undertaken more extensive touring, including festival dates in Austin, Texas and the Northwest Territories, Thrasher currently lives on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia.

Discography Sweet Grass Music (live), 1980, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Northern Service, with Willy Mitchell, Morley Loon, and Roger House Spirit Child, 1981, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Northern Service Asumatak – The Great Land, 2009