Yvonne Saint Germaine
Yvonne St. Germaine's music reflects her beliefs. She travels to many isolated, poverty-stricken Aboriginal communities where, she states, "there is much loneliness and pain." The purpose of her website is "to encourage anyone who is held in the bondage of addiction, abuse, or has lost hope." She sings and shares her hope story throughout Canada and the United States.
"My burden and goal is to reach the people in your community who are lost to addiction or abuse."-Yvonne Saint Germaine
By her own account, prior to July 26, 2006, seven-time Aboriginal Gospel Award winner, Yvonne Saint Germaine, led a life that was "dark, lonely, abused, and suicidal". Her addictions included alcohol, prescriptions pills, and crack cocaine. Her turning point, she states on her website, came when "demons began revealing themselves in my home."
Yvonne knew then that if she were to survive and conquer her addictions, she would need help. She sought it through attending a pilgrimage at Lac Sainte Anne, Alberta. When the prayerline formed, she followed it forward and cried out to God.
"I felt the hand of Jesus touch me...an instant miracle took place...I was instantly set free from the bondage I was in. I never experienced detox or withdrawal."
Since that life-altering experience, Yvonne dedicated her life to telling "all who are seeking hope that Jesus saves."
A single mother of three sons, the Cree singer's pastor and his wife are influential in her ministry where Saint Germaine provides hope through praise and worship in song and on the guitar. She believes that the most important gift parents can confer on their children "is planting within them the seed of Jesus Christ."
Her music business reflects her beliefs. A self-proclaimed evangelist, she travels to many isolated, poverty-stricken Aboriginal communities where, she states, "there is much loneliness and pain."
St. Germaine says the purpose of her website is "to encourage anyone who is held in the bondage of addiction, abuse, or has lost hope." She sings and shares her hope story throughout Canada and the United States. "I truly believe that what the Lord has done for me He will also do for you."
She facilitates workshops, speaks on her life of addictions and abuse, and sings and speaks in schools, jails, churches, gospel tents and "wherever the Lord gives the opportunity to let people know there is hope."
In an interview with Ron Mainse, President of Heart to Heart Marriage and Family Institute in Burlington, Ontario, St. Germaine discussed her struggles as a rebellious teenager, challenges with substance abuse, and her ultimate delivery through Christ. The interview is posted on YouTube.
In 2010, Yvonne St. Germaine became the first female gospel artist to open at the Native American Music Awards held in Niagara Falls, New York.
Her latest achievements include a 2016 Western Canadian Music Awards Best Gospel CD; 2015 Aboriginal Peoples Choice Best Gospel for her CD If You See My Savior; 2014 Gospel Music Association Covenant Aboriginal Song of the Year Award for Stay Strong; and a 2013 Native American Music Award, Best Gospel CD, for My Jesus I Love Thee.
At the 2014 nationally televised Aboriginal Days Celebration in Winnipeg, St. Germaine performed and shared the stage with internationally renowned actor/singer/songwriter Billy Ray Cyrus.
Sources:
Aboriginal Singer Delivered From Addictions, YouTube, 2011
RPM Indigenous Music Culture webpage
http://www.yvonnestgermaine.com
Wikipedia
KB Schaller(Cherokee/Seminole heritage) is a journalist, researcher, novelist, and illustrator. A version of this article appears in 100+ Native American Women Who Changed the World by KB Schaller, winner of the International Book Award, Women's Issues Category. Her books are available through Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Books-a-Million, and other bookstores. She lives in South Florida. Email: soaring-eagles@msn.com; http://www.KBSchaller.com
