Background
Dunn also composed the song, "Son of the Sun", which Kashtin recorded on their second album Innu.
director songwriter film producer poet
Dunn also composed the song, "Son of the Sun", which Kashtin recorded on their second album Innu.
Born in Montreal, he is of mixed Mi"kmaq and Scottish/Irish background. Dunn often highlighted aboriginal issues in his work. Born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Dunn was a singer and acoustic guitarist.
He released several full-length albums of recorded music including Willie Dunn (1971), The Pacific (1980) and Metallic (1999).
Metallic, reprises material from both earlier releases. In 2004 Dunn released the album Son of the Sun with sixteen songs (including three live versions).
His songs "I Pity the Country", "Son of the Sun" and "Peruvian Dream" are featured on the 2014 compilation album Native North America, Volume 1. He wrote a song entitled "The Ballad of Crowfoot" and directed a ten-minute National Board of Canada (NFB) film of the same name in 1968.
He received 3,155 votes (650%), finishing fourth against Liberal incumbent Jean-Robert Gauthier.
He participated in the Culturally Diverse First Peoples Arts Showcase tour in 1998, and the Nations in a Circle spotlight of 2002. He was inducted into the Aboriginal Walk of Honour in 2005. Dunn died in Ottawa on August 5, 2013, aged 71.
A longtime member of the New Democratic Party, Dunn defeated Mohamed Bassuny to win the party"s federal nomination for Ottawa—Vanier in the 1993 federal election.