Sainte-Marie epitomizes Membertou 400 celebration
http://thechronicleherald.ca/ArtsLife/1189077.html
By STEPHEN COOKE
Jun 26, 2010
It was hard to resist the feeling of a multi-layered flashback while
strolling the grounds of the Grand Chief Membertou 400 celebration on
the Halifax Commons on Friday night.
The sights of the giant teepees and a parade of traditional costumes,
the sounds of native drumming and song, and the smells of venison and
bannock bread at the Mawio'mi Powwow were like a ticket to another
time, one that many of those attending had never experienced.
And not all of the flashbacks were to ancient times before the first
meeting of North America's aboriginal people and European settlers.
"I come from a place called the '60s," smiled Buffy Sainte-Marie,
Friday's headline performer whose career coincided with the rise of
the American Indian Movement and a greater effort toward
self-sufficiency by natives across the continent.
Throughout the day, the emphasis was on community and heritage, with
members of tribes from across Canada and the United States taking
part in the largest First Nations gathering the area has ever seen,
and in the spirit of Grand Chief Membertou accepting baptism by the
French at Port Royal four centuries ago, bringing non-natives into
the circle to share in the festivities.
After a day of demonstrations by artisans, storytellers and powwow
dancers and drummers, Friday evening began with Mi'kmaq Nation: A
Musical Tribute, condensing centuries of culture into 45 minutes of
what singer and drummer Hubert Francis called "a musical journey
through history, from before the time of Chief Grand Membertou to today."
Moving from a slow and atmospheric chant by male and female singers
to the tribal beat and sharp cry of Kiju's Boyz, the ensemble gave an
impressionistic portrait of the birth of a nation, with lively
dancing by Holly Jay Sock and Savannah Simon in eye-popping fringed
costumes and Michael Denny in eagle feathers and embroidered fabric.
Following the figurative arrival of the Europeans, the music took a
sharp turn into accordion tunes and Scottish puirt a beul, or mouth
music, before moving on to country tunes like Kaw-Liga and Paul
Revere and the Raiders' Indian Reservation, with the vocal
substitution of Mi'kmaq for the original lyrics' Cherokee people.
In context, I guess it worked, but more interesting was a hip-hop
collaboration between singer Brandon Johnson and MC BNE about the
struggle for Mi'kmaq youth to find the balance between honouring
their heritage and establishing an identity in the present day.
"One love, one creation, give it up for the Mi'kmaq nation!" hollered
the rapper, and the audience was happy to oblige with cheers and clapping.
Following the vibrant pageantry of the Grand Entry with singing and
drumming by the Kingbird Singers of Minnesota and Nova Scotia's
Eastern Eagle, Sainte-Marie took the stage just after 8 p.m. and
instantly took charge of the Commons with Cho Cho Fire.
"You can see people gathering for miles around, to the pounding of
the drum," the 68-year-old songwriter, educator and activist sang to
a thundering rock beat inspired by years of appearances at similar gatherings.
The theme continued in Darling Don't Cry When I Leave the U.S.A.,
sung in her famous warble, about "a summer on the powwow trail,
crossing the U.S. border, you know what that's like."
When she let out a full-throated wail, the crowd cheered her on, and
when she and her band sang "I'll take you home when I go back to
Canada" in four-part a capella harmony, you could feel a collective
chill go up everyone's spine.
A riveting entertainer, Sainte-Marie can enthrall a crowd of
thousands with just a string and a piece of wood, as she did
performing Cripple Creek on the mouth bow, just like she did on
Sesame Street over 35 years ago.
"It figures it would take the musician of the tribe to make an
instrument out of a weapon," she said with a shrug, hinting at the
theme of her hit song Universal Soldier, which came later in the set,
and its message of taking personal responsibility for working toward
ending conflict in our own lives and in the world around us.
Some 45 years into her career, Sainte-Marie shows no sign of losing
her edge. She introduced a new song, Generation, a hard blues about
aboriginal youth trying to find their way while those in power do
everything they can to ignore their plight, and performed No No
Keshagesh, a stinging indictment of environmental greed from her Juno
Award-winning album Running for the Drum. That song has become
painfully prescient in light of the present catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico.
Sainte-Marie's ability to draw a large audience of all ages and
backgrounds makes her the epitome of what Grand Chief Membertou 400
hopes to achieve in terms of bridging gaps between First Nations
people and non-natives. Grand Chief Membertou 400 continues on the
Commons through Sunday. For more information, go online to
www.membertou400.com.
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Academy Award-winner Buffy Sainte-Marie to highlight musical
festivities in Membertou
June 24th, 2010
MEMBERTOU Music is set to take centre stage of the festivities
surrounding the 400th anniversary celebrations of the baptism of
Grand Chief Henri Membertou.
Celebrations have been taking place in Halifax and Membertou this
week to honour the historic baptism. Those celebrations will include
an outdoor Membertou Music and Arts Festival Saturday from 12-10 p.m.
at the Membertou Pow Wow Grounds. Admission is free.
The day will be hosted by Winston Wutunee with performances by a
number of renowned singers and musicians including Buffy
Sainte-Marie, Eagle & Hawk, Pura Fe and Jennifer Kriesberg, Lennie
Gallant, Sons of Membertou, Forever and many more.
Here's a brief look at a few of the artists set to perform in Membertou:
• Buffy Sainte-Marie: She has toured all over Europe, Canada,
Australia and Asia, and has made 18 albums of music, three of her own
television specials, scored movies, garnered international acclaim,
helped to found Canada's Music of Aboriginal Canada Juno category,
and won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for the song Up
Where We Belong. Her song, Universal Soldier, became the anthem of
the peace movement.
• Winston Wuttune: A singer, keynote speaker, and comedian, Winston
is fluent in Cree, English, French, and has working knowledge of
German. He has appeared in hundreds of newspaper articles and
interviews, on national television, on radio, and in three movies. In
2002, he became a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, an
honour bestowed upon him by the annual Aboriginal Awards. Winston
currently resides in Edmonton, Alta.
• Lennie Gallant: Recognized by his peers as one of Canada's best
performing songwriters, Gallant has recorded nine albums (seven in
English and two in French), which have won him a host of awards and
nominations from both the Juno Awards and East Coast Music Awards.
• Forever: Formed in 2001, the popular Cape Breton band features
drummer Keith Dawson, guitarist Bernie Eagles, bassist Peter
Christmas, and vocalist Mark Hawkins. Well known for their high
energy shows, Forever plays a mix of their own popular songs, along
with current hits and classics from other groups. Forever has
achieved popular success with regional top 10 hits like Here With Me
and Without Your Love, as well as critical success with several Music
Nova Scotia Awards, East Coast Music Awards, and Canadian Aboriginal
Music Awards to their name.
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