Indigenous music of Canada

Indigenous peoples of Canada have a variety of musical traditions. Indigenous peoples include the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples. They are the first people who lived in Canada and predate the European explorers. More than 1.6 million Canadians are members of these groups.

Early explorers and missionaries in Canada did not write much about the musical traditions of the indigenous people, so little is known. The Europeans who arrived in Canada prevented many peoples from continuing their traditions, including dance and music, so much was lost. Researchers have relied on musical instruments that have been preserved to learn more about the music of Indigenous peoples. These include membranophones, or drums, and idiophones, or spontaneously produced instruments, which include a variety of noisemakers such as rattles and clappers.

Background

From the sixteenth through the early eighteenth centuries, what in modern times is Canada, was the French colony of New France. Following the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), the area was under British rule. A number of missionaries lived in Canada, where they sought to convert the indigenous population to Christianity. Some Jesuit priests learned about the indigenous music during the seventeenth century. They described the use of music in healing the sick, including drumming, in an unfavorable light. In his diary in 1634, Father Paul Le Jeune says the people sing for recreation and devotion. He describes the songs sung for pleasure as generally serious, and the words repetitive. Many missionaries later rejoiced when they were able to use song to convert Indigenous people to Christianity.

Indigenous cultures in Canada differ widely by region. Their instruments vary as well, in part due to the variety of materials available to people, but for the most part include drums and rattles. Traditional instruments are made of natural materials, including animal products such as horns and hides, as well as wood, which is often carved. Common materials include gourds, animal horns, birchbark, wood, and hides. The Haudenosaunee use turtle carapaces for some instruments. Many rattles, which are often carved and painted, are made of animal horns and gourds and may contain seeds. The Algonquin in northern Ontario made a rattle using a moose hoof. Some peoples create whistles or flutes from wood or animal horns. Others have made stringed instruments; for example, the northern Cree used a caribou shoulder blade to create a fiddle-like instrument.

Many drums are made of animal hides stretched over carved wood. The sound of the drum is affected by the type of hide used—it may be buffalo, caribou, deer, or moose, or even bird or fish skin. Wood and carved antlers are used for making drumsticks. The sound produced by the drum can be altered by using a variety of drumsticks. Some may be padded. Others may have carved balls inside them that affect the sound, or the musician may strike the drum with a rattle containing pebbles, seeds, dried corn, or other objects.

Many Indigenous people regard traditional instruments of natural materials to be animate objects, and treat them with respect. These instruments may be decorated with symbols, and rituals may be associated with the crafting of the items.

Most traditional indigenous songs are generally distinguished by their purpose: ceremonial or social. Social music is often performed at gatherings accompanied by dance. It usually involves drums and rattles with song. Ceremonial music, which is also usually vocal with drums and rattles, consists of songs as part of ceremonies such as those used in healing ceremonies, sweat lodges, and sun dances. Ceremonial music is not performed for the public because it is regarded as sacred. At festivals and powwows that are open to the public, social music is performed. Dancers may also contribute to the music at such events; the Inuit added small bones to fringe to add an element of sound to dance movement. The women who perform the jingle dance at powwows add hundreds of small cones of tin to their outfits. The sound made by the cones reflects the cultural norm for the woman's region; it is affected by the shaping process and the selection of the metal, which often comes from tin can lids.

Modern indigenous music may be recorded for future generations. As in the past, however, it is largely passed down through oral transmission.

Overview

Indigenous songs are typically short. The lyrics are used in repetition—for example, the entire song may be repeated four or more times. Most include parts that are performed by men and other parts performed by women, and a melody sung at the same time by a group or individual. The lyrics of songs may be in an indigenous language, English, or French.

Many people are exposed to indigenous music through powwows. These are events that are often open to the public. Community powwows take place during the summer at different venues. These frequent gatherings allow people to travel and visit with friends and family. Although the music, dance, and costumes of powwows may be traditional, new songs and dance movements are introduced every year. Most powwow music is sung by men, who sit around a large drum that they strike. The drumming is usually a steady beat, a long-short pattern, or a steady beat alternating with a wavering effect known as a drum tremolo pattern. The beat of the drum represents the heartbeat of Mother Earth. Some people traditionally permit only men to drum, but in modern times, some women are challenging this role.

Many modern indigenous musicians have been influenced by a variety of genres, including country and pop music. A number have added non-indigenous instruments, such as guitars, to their performances. Some songs, particularly the music that developed during the 1960s and 1970s, reflect a social justice ideology. Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq of Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, recorded an award-winning album that focuses on issues including the effects of fracking and other damage to the environment. Some indigenous artists in the twenty-first century have also taken up rap music. The rap group War Party, of Hobbema, Alberta, has voiced the experiences of young indigenous people on reserves.

The Canadian government has helped to support the music of indigenous peoples. Some radio stations air programs that focus on indigenous music and culture. Some music production companies are Indigenous-owned, and produce and distribute traditional and contemporary Indigenous music.

A national awards program, the Indigenous Music Awards, annually recognizes the artists, music, and producers of indigenous music. An annual music festival, Aboriginal Music Week, has been held in Winnipeg since 2009. However, by 2018, the name had been changed to the S

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