The new Miywasin Singers are, from left, Julia Cairns, Chasity Cairns, JoLynn Parenteau, Rae-Ann Godfrey, Brenda Mercer, Carlee EaglePlume, Carol Syrette and Ken Turner.--Photo courtesy Audra Rath
How deeply can one’s heritage be felt in everyday life? For those whose ancestral roots reach back to the original inhabitants of Turtle Island (North America), the Elders say many of our ways of knowing have been lost.
When the very fabric of who we are has been torn away, how do we begin to stitch back together what was once a rich cultural tapestry across these lands? Can our ancestors reach through our shared history to speak to us? Could we hear them?
For thousands of years and across as many miles, the drum has been a storyteller. Now it is lending its voice to the new Miywasin Singers.
On the last evening in August, drums in hand, Miywasin Friendship Centre staff raise their voices, singing the Strong Woman Song, which asks the Creator for strength to continue our journey, no matter the challenges we face. The song lends hope to Hatters gathered together that evening to honour lives lost to overdose. Whether it be from addiction, a pandemic, or residential schools, it leaves a tremendous void when loved ones are lost. So how do we collectively reclaim our traditions if those who would have taught us are gone?
The Miywasin Singers are learning from an unusual teacher: YouTube.
“We kept waiting for years for someone to teach us these drum songs,” explains Chasity Cairns, Miywasin’s caregiver parenting education counsellor. “Then I realized we can teach ourselves.”
Cairns’ team began following online videos and overcoming stage fright to sing and drum together.
“I can hardly clap to a beat, so learning to keep a beat with the drum has been a challenge,” says Carol Syrette, 32, Miywasin’s youth program manager. “This is an important lesson, to show up and try, even if it isn’t perfect. No one has kicked me out of the group yet, hey?”
Joking aside, membership in the drum group holds deep personal meaning for each singer.
“Being part of the Miywasin Singers has helped me fill in more of my identity,” says Carlee EaglePlume, 26, Miywasin’s youth program co-ordinator, whose spirit name is Saamisikiya, ‘Medicine Hat Woman.’
“In the last year I was gifted my spirit name by Elder Charlie Fox, I recently started dancing women’s fancy shawl at events, and now the drum group. All this has given me so much confidence. I can say I am a proud Blackfoot woman.
“I cannot wait for other opportunities that I will have and offer the community.”
Those opportunities are coming her way. In addition to last week’s International Overdose Awareness Day, the Miywasin Singers performed for audiences on International Youth Day in Kin Coulee Park, and now have bookings through October. Hatters can catch a performance at 4:30 p.m. this Saturday at Medalta for Alberta Culture Days.
Group members are growing their musical repertoire, and in doing so, gaining more traditional knowledge.
“Joining the Miywasin Singers and feeling included, paying tribute to our culture – that until now had been lost in my ancestry – empowered me to do something I could never believe myself doing,”says Rae-Ann Godfrey, 38, family liaison and COVID-19 support worker. “Getting up there and singing and playing drums!
“I am proud of myself and the new connection I am building with this beautiful culture.”
Syrette made her first drum with the help of Lance Scout from Kainai First Nation.
“The drum is an important part of First Nations cultures,” she says. “Without it we can’t host events such as Pow Wows or Round Dances. He transferred the knowledge to me so that I could teach others how to make drums.”
Though Syrette was not raised with her Anishinaabe traditions, she explains that working at Miywasin “helps to fill a void in my life.”
“I feel honoured to be able to reclaim my culture, and as always our goal is to pass the knowledge on to the next generations,” says Syrette. “One day I will run that drum-making workshop. As I have been told by Elders, the knowledge is within us all.”
Perhaps we can hear the voices of our ancestors. They sound like a drumbeat.
JoLynn Parenteau is a Metis writer out of Miywasin Friendship Centre. Column feedback can be sent to jolynn.parenteau@gmail.com
