“Diyet’s poetic lyrics are heartfelt and true, full of hope and inspiration for positive change in her community.”- DISCourse
A songwriter, storyteller and performer, Diyet creates music rooted in the land, culture and lived experience of the North. As an Indigenous woman walking in two worlds, she is both a keeper of traditional songs and stories and a contemporary artist with a voice distinctly her own.
Born in a tent and raised on the ancestral lands of the Kluane First Nation in Canada’s Yukon Territory, Diyet grew up in a family grounded in tradition, but with an adventurous and unconventional spirit. That combination continues to shape her music, reflecting her Southern Tutchone, Tlingit, Japanese and Scottish heritage.
Through powerful storytelling and an unmistakable connection to place, Diyet’s songs travel across landscapes and generations. Her music explores the contrasts that define life in the North—wildness and belonging, tradition and change, hardship and hope—blending roots, alt-country, folk and Indigenous musical traditions into a sound that is warm, expansive and deeply personal.
Over the past decade, Diyet has performed at major folk, jazz, world music and multidisciplinary festivals and theatres across Canada and toured throughout the UK, Europe, the United States and the Circumpolar North. With her trio, The Love Soldiers, recent international appearances have included Expo 2025 Osaka in Japan, Music Meeting Festival in the Netherlands and English Folk Expo in the UK.
Daazhan Dah Keyi – This Is Our Country
Diyet’s new concert project brings together music, storytelling and the visual landscape of the North. Presented in partnership with the Ted Harrison Foundation and planned for touring in 2027–2028, the production will feature music from Diyet’s four albums alongside traditional songs, stories and new work.
Set against the vivid artwork of renowned northern artist Ted Harrison and other northern artists influenced by his legacy, Daazhan Dah Keyi creates an immersive journey through land, culture and contemporary northern life. The result is a uniquely northern performance where music and visual art come together to tell a larger story of place, identity and belonging.
Diyet performs in an intimate duo with her husband and longtime collaborator Robert van Lieshout, with her trio The Love Soldiers, and, beginning in 2027, in a new orchestral format.
Photos by Alistair Maitland and Cathie Archbould.