Ian Campeau can’t help but smile as he talks about the potlatch ceremony, a festival celebrated by West Coast Indigenous peoples. We’re in a studio in Toronto overlooking Dundas West, and Campeau, genial and warm in a wash of light from the windows, is praising the ceremony’s treatment of affluence. “They measured their wealth by how much they can give away,” Campeau says. The potlatch would redistribute resources among the community, levelling the field, and it’s clear that Campeau wants to share everything he’s got in the hopes of bettering the lives of others.

That’s why he had to leave A Tribe Called Red.

“It was a fucking hard decision,” Campeau sighs later, before lighting a joint, seated on a bench in Trinity Bellwoods Park. It’s been almost two weeks since Campeau, known in Tribe as DJ NDN, announced his departure from the beloved Canadian electronic group. He’s moving on from the group he cofounded in order to dedicate himself to advocacy and activism work, using his platform to continue to “bring positive things into the world.”

Of course, that’s something A Tribe Called Red has always done. The trio has spoken bluntly about colonial violence, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against Indigenous peoples, and as they’ve rocketed to become one of Canada’s most popular performing groups, their activism has spread far and wide. They won the award for Breakthrough Group of the Year at the 2014 Juno Awards, and they’ve been shortlisted for the prestigious Polaris Prize twice. Their long-running Electric Powwow at Babylon, a nightclub in Ottawa, created space in urban environments for Indigenous peoples, while their 2015 Rez Tour brought urban electronic music to First Nation stages.