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On February 21, Smithsonian Folkways will reissue Wapna'kik: The People of the Dawn, an album by Mi'kmaw group Sons of Membertou that revitalized the Indigenous community’s music, culture, and language upon its initial release in 1995. The album has been out of print for years, and will be re-released on CD for its 30th anniversary with previously unreleased tracks and made available digitally for the first time. The group incorporates contemporary instrumentation and songwriting with traditional drumming techniques and lyrics sung almost entirely in Mi'kmaw, showcasing the vibrant presence of the community’s artistry and heritage.
The reissue is offered in a spirit of welcoming and friendship to those experiencing this music and culture for the first time. “I’m going to let you in on a little secret,” Graham Marshall, drummer and singer, says. “You know what we like? We like relationships. Come into our communities. Come visit us. Come see who we are. Let’s break bread together. Let’s get to know one another.”
Liner notes by Sons of Membertou founder Darrell Bernard introduce the story behind the album. In 1992, Elders of the Membertou community gave Darrell and Sharon Bernard a drum and asked them to revitalize the ceremonies, music, and language that had been outlawed by settlers for many years. With the help and support of many Elders, in particular the neighboring Mi'kmaw community member George Paul, they immersed themselves in their previously outlawed cultural heritage, learning traditional songs and the stories behind them. They began calling themselves the Sons of Membertou.
Membertou is a community in Unama'kik (Cape Breton), which forms part of Mi'kma'kik (including Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, The Gaspe Peninsula, and parts of New England), the ancestral and unceded lands of the Mi'kmaw Nation. As Marshall likes to remind people, the Mi'kmaq have a unique historical connection with the United States. With the Treaty of Watertown, the Mi'kmaw Nation became the first to recognize the United States, establishing an alliance that both nations still uphold today. The album’s title, Wapna'kik, means “the People of the Dawn,” and refers to the fact that, for thousands of years, the Mi'kmaq have been the first people on Turtle Island to see the sunrise.
Many tracks on Wapna'kik resonate with powwow music from across Turtle Island, featuring call-and-response in strong, soaring, unison vocals undergirded by group drumming with periodic honor beats acknowledging leaders and Ancestors who dance and sing with the musicians. Two of these songs are “Kwan'to'te',” a group round dance featuring Kiju' Ka'wi’s poetry, and “Kwa'nu'te',” a song historically sung from boats when passing through Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) territory.
One standout of the album, the previously unreleased “Mi'kmaq Honour Song,” sometimes referred to as the Mi'kmaq national anthem, diverges from unison vocals as each member sings the melody in their own interpretation. Often the opening song at official events, “Mi'kmaq Honour Song” professes a deep respect for the Nation of Mi'kma'kik and focuses on bringing people together and “remembering the reasons that The Creator has placed us on this land,” as Bernard writes in the liner notes.
“I can feel that our ancestors are smiling and looking down on us today at what we have accomplished,” Marshall reflects on the album. “That we were able to digitize the recordings means that the next generations ahead can always go back and learn from that. As Mi'kmaw people, we are always thinking ahead seven generations. We tell our audience and our people, ‘What legacy would you leave behind?’ When we do a project like this, when we go into the next world, we can feel that our hearts are complete and our mind is complete, that we’ve done our job, of passing it down to the next generations”
Wapna'kik: The People of the Dawn is the first release in the Sound Communities recording series, a collaboration between the Centre for Sound Communities at Cape Breton University and Smithsonian Folkways that highlights artists who tell stories of the lands, waters, and peoples of Turtle Island and focusing on the territories known as Canada.
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