Mi'kmaq Music

Leo Crema

The Beaton Institute of Cape Breton has a collection of Mi'kmaq music on their site as well  as an easy to follow overview of the culture.  Here's an excerpt from the site:

The selections chosen to showcase Mi'kmaw culture on this website fall into four broad categories: traditional songs, Catholic hymns, fiddle traditions, and contemporary works. The traditional songs largely draw upon the Ko'jua repertoire, a genre of dance music. The Catholic hymns can be divided into "old" and "new" traditions, where "old" refers to songs from the Gregorian chant tradition and "new" refers to more recent repertoire, such as "Immaculate Mary," that has been translated into Mi'kmaq.

The Mi'kmaw fiddle tradition demonstrates a diversity of playing styles and repertoires, including tunes from the standard repertoire, as well as the adaptation of traditional song to fiddle (as in Lee Cremo's playing of Ko'jua).

I know my son Nathan would be very interested in the fiddle connection as he plays a wide variety of traditional fiddle music. Here's a link to Leo Cremo page with him playing.

I've embedded a player below so you can listen without leaving the blog if you prefer.

The Stone Canoe

Here's a great short animated film the tells in image and music the Mi'kmaq story of the Stone Canoe.

Mi'kmaq Language Instruction in NS

I was interested to see how well developed the Nova Scotian Department of Education policies are vis-à-vis the teaching of the Mi'kmaq language. In the "purpose" section of the document, the authors state that :

 "The Mi’kmaw/Miigmao community recognizes the need to reclaim and strengthen its language—-in homes, communities, and in schools. It is only through the pervasive use of the language that it will continue to live. The document provides the vision and structure for all subsequent Mi’kmaw/Miigmao language curriculum development."

Since the document dates from 2003,  I wonder how well Mi'kmaq instruction is faring in Nova Scotia today?

Mi'kmaq Creation Stories

Today, I happened across Debbie's blog (she is Mi'kmaw and lives in Boston) One of her posts has a link to an interesting site (Four Directions Teachings) that recounts creation stories from a variety of First Nations, including the Mi'kmaq. I enjoyed listening to the creation stories; they have such symbolic weight! (The animations are well done, and the stories are simply but reverently told.)

Mattie Mitchell Poster

A commemorative poster featuring Mattie

Newfoundland's Greatest Frontiersman

This Christmas, my Mom gave me a copy of the book "Mattie Mitchell: Newfoundland's Greatest Frontiersman." Actually, I should say she got everyone a copy: my brother, his kids, and my kids. The book is a collection of reminiscences of Marie Sparkes, grand-daughter to this remarkable Mi’kmaw. As it says in the book's description: "Now, for the first time, Mattie Mitchell's legendary deeds are revealed in full, comprehensive detail." I've already flipped through it a bit, and I'm looking forward to sitting down and learning more about him.

Mi'kmaq Dance Tradition

The Native Dance website has some great video and audio files of Mi'kmaq dances and drum music. Listen to some very traditional sounding tunes that will take you back centuries. (Another interesting thing about this site is that you can translate the dance page into Mi'kmaw with a single click.)

Learning the history

Memorial University has some interesting background info for people looking to find out more about Mi'kmaq culture and history. Categories include Traditional Mi'kmaq Culture, Mi'kmaq History, Pre-Contact Mi'kmaq Land Use, Groups and Land Claims, and Impacts of Non-Aboriginal Activities. Visit their site HERE.

"I go by canoe" - gwitna'm

I've always loved to canoe. There is something quintessentially Canadian about the dip and splash of a paddle on a clear, glassy lake. Early morning or at dusk, it just seems to peaceful. I find myself humming French-Canadian paddle songs (C'est l'aviron") or wishing I knew an appropriate native tune. Every summer, we go to a lake in the interior, and I have great memories of paddling around with my kids. Lately, my wife and I have been kayaking. (The photo is us!) Reading about Mi'kmaq culture, and Mattie's canoe makes me think this love of water is somehow in my genes! (Canoes and culture, Mi'kmaq canoe )

mia'wj - the cat

My son Nathanael and his wife have two cats. When casting about for names, Nathan thought it would be fun to give one of them a Mi'kmaq name, just so he could use at least one traditional word everyday! They decided simply to call her "cat" which is the word mia'wj She's quite adorable and very smart too! (She's the dark one in the photo.)