Essential Song: Three Decades of Northern Cree Music

1. Song and Ceremony

1 Song and Ceremony This study describes some of the contexts for the performance of the old Cree songs. Although I discuss two groups from two different provinces, Manitoba and Quebec, fundamental similarities of climate and geography permit discussion of the northern Cree as an aggregate. They share an ancestral home in the northern part of Canada known to geologists as the Precambrian Shield, which took shape after the retreat of the last glacier some ten thousand years ago. Archaeological evidence and local stories tell us that this has been Cree homeland for several thousand years. The coastal Cree live on the low, flat, muskeg-covered plains that border Hudson Bay. Farther inland, Cree live along the great rivers—La Grande in Quebec and the Nelson River in Manitoba—which flow into Hudson Bay. Many southerners view these fast-flowing rivers solely as a source of hydroelectric energy, but to the Cree they are talked about and experienced daily, a living heritage . The history of these rivers is ever-present, as the people recall their ancestors’ descriptions of the Frenchmen singing on the way down the Nelson. For a written account of this, we must turn to the diary of a Scot, Archibald McDonald, describing the journey of Governor George Simpson ’s men on their journey from York Factory to Norway House: As we wafted along under easy sail … the Highland bagpipes in the Governor ’s canoe, was echoed by the bugle in mine! Then these were laid aside, on nearer approach to port, to give free scope to the vocal organs of about eighteen Canadians [French] to chant one of those voyageur airs peculiar to them, and always so perfectly rendered. Our entry … was certainly more imposing than anything hitherto seen in this part of the Indian country.” (Nute 1955, 250) The term “Cree” is probably an English shortening of a seventeenth-century word, Kiristinon, which the French used to refer to a widespread group of people who spoke a similar language. Before contact with Europeans, each group of Cree named themselves according to geographic and ecological criteria; after contact, they were often identified by the post where they 13 traded. For example, the Albany River Indians called themselves Kastechewan, meaning “swift river.” Some groups today are resuming their original names, such as the James Bay Cree at Chisasibi, who now prefer to be called Iiyiyuu.1 At time of contact in the seventeenth century, the Cree had a population of between fifteen thousand and twenty thousand. Today their numbers are four times greater: in the 1996 census, 76,475 persons were identified as Cree. Other groups in this area are the northern Ojibwa, Montagnais, Naskapi, and Algonquin, but the Cree are the largest and most widespread group in Canada. As one would expect, the details of Cree life across this vast northern region of Canada vary substantially. Even neighbouring communities use different Algonquian languages and have unique local histories about migrations, family groupings, and non-Native contacts. The Cree homeland—the subarctic, which generally falls between latitudes 70° north and 90° north—is characterized by poor soil and extremes of climate. At Chisasibi, the average temperature is around 10°C during the warmest month, and for the coldest month it is less than –30°C. There are approximately eighty frost-free days each year, and 61cm of precipitation . Thus the Cree have been a people who rely upon the hunt for their subsistence , seeking out all available resources: animals, birds, fish, and plants. Their traditional strategies for survival were mobility, food storage, and 14 Song and Ceremony Thompson Chisasibi Nelson River La Grande River H u d s o n B a y J a m e s B a y ONTARIO QUEBEC MANITOBA SASKATCHEWAN ALBERTA BRITISH COLUMBIA NOVA SCOTIA NEWFOUNDLAND and LABRADOR NEW BRUNSWICK STUDY SITES: Thompson, Manitoba Chisasibi, Quebec Figure 1.1: Map of Canada, with study sites indicated sharing. Nonetheless, elders recall periods of privation, even starvation. There are few species (but large numbers of each species) in the boreal forest , and populations of these are subject to cyclic fluctuations. For example , seasonal shortages occur particularly at the end of winter, just before the geese arrive, so these cyclical patterns of animal life need to be considered . In traditional Cree life, planning was crucial and the knowledge of experienced hunters was highly valued. Skilled hunters, physically adept and knowledgeable about animal ways, have...