Enjoying a successful music career that spans more than 30 years, Juno Award winner, Steve Bell, credits much of his success to First Nations people he met in prison.

"I'll never forget you know, such kind people, such lovely people. Many of them were First Nations men," said Bell.

He wasn't an inmate, he was a little boy when was taught to play guitar in jails and now he says he feels the need to give back to Indigenous people including those at Shoal Lake 40, Ontario.

Men in prisons like Stony Mountain, where his father was a chaplain.

Bell says at the time, he couldn't understand why there were so many Indigenous men in jails, so he asked his dad.

"He kind of said, ‘why would you ask that question?’ I said because there's more sort of in jail then out in the street. I made the connection although I wouldn't have the percentage language and all that kind of stuff. [My father] looked at me and smiled and said, ‘that's a good question. It's those kinds of questions you need to ask for the rest of your life’," said Bell.

Bell says he has and questions injustices he sees against First Nations people.

Bell has launched a petition in support of Shoal Lake 40.

Last week people there were left heartbroken, realizing there was no commitment by the federal government to build an all-weather road - a road to and from a community that sits next to Winnipeg's fresh water supply.

"It staggered me. This isn't a community a thousand miles north of the last road, this is a 15 minute drive off the TransCanada Highway. And that we're 100 years into the story and there's not a basic road is kind of mind boggling," concluded Bell.

His petition has reached thousands of people across the country and hopes at least 50 thousand people will sign it, asking supporters to pressure the federal government to honour its commitments by fulfilling a Treaty promise to build 'Freedom Road' for Shoal Lake 40.

In the meantime, the artist and the Chief of Shoal Lake 40 plan to meet and talk further about what else could be done to make sure Freedom Road becomes a reality.

In just two days, more than 2,300 people have signed the petition. Bell hopes that number significantly increases before it is sent to the prime minister's office.