"Our strength is ourselves" : identity, status, and cultural revitalization among the Mi'kmaq in Newfoundland

• Main Author: Tulk, Janice Esther
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Memorial University of Newfoundland 2008
• Subjects: Newfoundland; Indian; Mi’kmaq; Mi’kmaw
• Online Access: https://research.library.mun.ca/9256/; https://research.library.mun.ca/9256/1/Tulk_JaniceEsther.pdf

Mi’kmaq in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador are currently divided interms of status under the Indian Act, a division which has had a significant and lasting impact on the sense of a Mi’kmaw community in the province. Through two case studies, this dissertation investigates differences in the practice of musical culture as a result of the status/non-status divide and questions what the localization strategies of each group can tell us about notions of identity, indigeneity, and community. It examines how Mi’kmaq in Newfoundland acknowledge, create, negotiate, embody, enact, and maintain a sense Mi’kmaw identity and community through the localization of "pan-Indian" powwow culture. -- The first case study focusses on a community of status Mi’kmaq in the province, located in Miawpukek, and encompasses the localization of powwow as curriculum in the band-run Se’t A’newey School, musical expression of the local drum group Sipu’ji’j Drummers, and annual community event. The second case study focusses on non-status Mi’kmaq in the province, specifically the drum group at the St. John's Native Friendship Centre. Musically, these two contexts display several differences, particularly in terms of the repertoire each performs (one "traditional" Mi’kmaq, the other northern powwow) and the singing style that is used. Related extra-musical elements, such as cultural dress, also display distinct approaches to participation in powwow as a representation of identity. However, in both case studies, similarities emerge in the use of recording technology as a didactic tool, the egalitarian structure of the drum, and the subversion (at times) of gender roles asserted as part of the powwow tradition. -- Comparative analysis of the two case studies at the centre of this dissertation demonstrates different strategies for the localization of powwow. Three primary means of localization emerge: 1) incorporating pre-existing Mi’kmaw or local songs (such as I’ko) and dance genres (such as Ko’jua) into the structure of the powwow, ...