People say my music helps them heal': Canada's First Nations musicians revitalise the powwow

"On a sunny, breezy August afternoon in Mani-Utenam, a reservation on the Quebec coast for the Innu people, a powwow ceremony is under way. Two sets of drummers beat out a steady rhythm while chanting in tandem, as dancers sway in their traditional, colourful regalia, ringing with the sound of small bells attached to their clothing. It is part of Innu Nikamu, one of the largest Indigenous festivals in North America, but this joyful performance is taking place on troubled ground."

"Active from the 1800s, such schools were run by the Canadian state and the Catholic church, who would inflict severe punishments on children who spoke their Indigenous languages and practised their customs. Beyond the thousands of traumatised survivors, 3,200 children are documented to have died (unmarked graves have also been discovered), and in 2022, Pope Francis made a penitential pilgrimage to Canada to atone on behalf of the church."

"Today, there is music, dance and community spirit out in the open as First Nations artists try to preserve this hyper-diverse culture. People need to archive, record, and film their songs and dances as they are starting to lose them, to forget them, says Ivanie Aubin-Malo, a contemporary dancer and artist belonging to the Wolastoqiyik Nation. They don't have enough interest to gather people to maintain them, to keep them practised and alive."

On the Quebec coast at Mani-Utenam, a powwow brings drumming, chanting and dancers in traditional regalia, held on land that once hosted a residential school. Residential schools operated from the 1800s under the Canadian state and Catholic church, enforcing assimilation, punishing Indigenous languages and customs, and causing widespread trauma; 3,200 children are documented to have died and unmarked graves have been found. Powwow ceremonies were banned until 1951, forcing cultural practices into secrecy. Contemporary First Nations artists and communities are working openly to revitalize, archive and film songs, dances and traditions to prevent further cultural loss.

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