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Note from editor: On tonight's edition of Canadian Originals on CTV National News at 11pm, Seamus O'Regan brings us the story of Derek Miller.

He's a charismatic, eclectic aboriginal musician who's made it through some very hard times -- and whose toughness and perseverance has helped him garner a huge grassroots following.

Don't miss his story tonight.

Do you know a 'Canadian Original' we should be featuring? Please email us your ideas at originals@bellmedia.ca.

Here is Seamus's blog:

(Photo: Nadya Kwandibens / Red Works Studio)

He's been called a modern day Pete Townsend power-chord rocker with style.

Director Jim Jarmusch has compared him to Hank Williams and Link Wray -- "on peyote."

He's a double-Juno winner, he's recorded a duet with Willie Nelson, and he's performed at the closing Olympic ceremony in Vancouver.

So it's a shame more people haven't heard of him.

His name is Derek Miller, and I had a chance to interview him for tonight's ‘Canadian Originals' segment on CTV National News.

Tall and charismatic on stage -- he performs as comfortably in a slim, pinstriped suit as he does in a plaid shirt . His musical style is also diverse and layered . He describes it as a mix of Hillbilly soul and Mohawk swagger.

In his video, ‘Stoned for Days,' you can hear the juxtaposition between his almost gruff delivery with his beautiful, sonorous guitar riffs:

Miller's ambitious and wants to be recognized and perform on a bigger stage, but, looking at his past, it's hard to believe he got here at all.

When he was just 7 years old he lost his father. Derek struggled with cocaine and alcohol addiction after a tough upbringing on the Six Nations of the Grand River Reserve in southwestern Ontario.

But Miller says living on the reserve has prepared him for the brutal experience of trying to get ahead in the music industry.

"It got me prepared for this battle to go and get pretty beat up, pretty hard and get spit out," he told me, "and go, ‘OK, I want more, let's do it again'."

His toughness and perseverance is paying off . He's managed to gather a huge grassroots audience, while taking it all in stride.

He still undergoes rehab , and is still pigeonholed as "just" an aboriginal performer but he still succeeds, and he still wants to help other like him along the way.

"You just gotta keep fighting and figure out what's going to work for you and how you can get stronger. You think about your ancestors -- and the blood that's in your veins and how you're gonna honour that."