Latest news with #CBCIndigenous
CBC
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Inside the creation of a ji'kmaqn
CBC Indigenous reporter Sis'moqon goes to Eskasoni First Nation in Nova Scotia to learn about the ji'kmaqn and why this traditional musical instrument has been vital to the Mi'kmaw culture.
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
Fiddling and jigging: 2 inseparable Indigenous traditions that run in families
This story is part of Resonate: Songs of Resilience in recognition of National Indigenous History Month and National Indigenous Peoples Day. CBC Indigenous with CBC Unreserved celebrates communities and families through music. When Brianna Lizotte was growing up, she would watch home movies recorded by her grandfather of 1970s kitchen parties. In them, she'd see family members playing the fiddle and guitar and dancing to the music. There was a huge era of kitchen parties and music in our family for lots and lots of generations, said Lizotte. Lizotte is Métis and grew up in Sylvan Lake, Alta., about 140 kilometres south of Edmonton. But the last fiddle player in her family died when she was about 10, and then there was a drift. That was like a huge culture shock, I'd say, to not have any music anymore, said Lizotte. Then Lizotte had a dream where she was playing the fiddle at a kitchen party like the ones she would see in the home movies. I woke up the next day and told my mom, 'Hey, can I get a fiddle?' Fiddling is synonymous with Métis music, and has been part of Métis, First Nations and Inuit culture since the Europeans brought the instrument to North America. Fiddling and jigging go together, and many people say you can't have one without the other. The thing that makes fiddle music in the Métis music world different from bluegrass or Irish or Scottish is that horse gallop rhythm, said Lizotte. You could hear that rhythm pretty much in every tune that you play. She started getting paying gigs at about 13 years old with the Métis Nation of Alberta (now called the Otipemisiwak Métis Government), and by the age of 16 she had won the rising star award from the Alberta Men and Women of Country Music in 2016. It just came very naturally, said Lizotte. Looking back at it now, it definitely feels like some maybe ancestors and some blood memory kind of flowed in there while I was learning. WATCH | Brianna Lizotte and Ethan Graves play a tune: Début du widget Widget. Passer le widget ? Fin du widget Widget. Retourner au début du widget ? Lizotte and her husband teach workshops on Métis music, dance and history and this year, her second album Winston and I was nominated for a Juno award in the traditional Indigenous artist or group of the year category. Being able to bring forward Métis music in that traditional category, it's really important to highlight that because that is a form of traditional Indigenous music, said Lizotte. On the walls of Lizotte's home in Sherwood Park, just outside of Edmonton, hangs her grandfather's fiddle alongside one made by one of Canada's most decorated fiddle players, John Arcand. Runs in families Arcand, known as the master of the Métis fiddle, is from near Debden, Sask., and now lives in Saskatoon. He founded the Emma Lake Fiddle Camp in 1988, teaching children and youth to fiddle, and started the John Arcand Fiddle Fest in 1998, which ran for 22 years. Arcand comes from nine generations of fiddle players and learned playing by ear from his uncles using fiddles around the house. Music runs in families; everybody that's got music in them will eventually show up and pass it on without them knowing it a lot of times, said Arcand. John Arcand is known as the 'master of the Métis fiddle' and is decorated in awards for his dedication to the craft and teaching others. Photo: Gracieuseté John Arcand / Gracieuseté de l'artiste Arcand said he's likely taught more than 10,000 fiddle players over the years between the Emma Lake camp and his fiddle festival. He helped revitalize the tradition after a period when the instrument became less popular, which he attributes to the rise of rock and roll and people learning to play guitar instead of fiddle. Prior to [the camp and festival], fiddling were just about non-existent in Saskatchewan, said Arcand. He's received the Order of Canada, a Queen's Jubilee Medal and two lifetime achievement awards: one for Outstanding Contribution to Old Time Fiddling from the Canadian Grand Masters, and one from the inaugural Lieutenant Governor's Saskatchewan Arts Awards. Now 83, he plays the fiddle every day saying, If you don't play, you'll lose it. He also says when it comes to fiddle playing, you can't separate it from dancing. You've got to learn to dance to be a good fiddle player, said Arcand. You learn to play fiddle while watching people dance. You've got to follow the people taking their steps and play along with them kind of thing. Arcand said once at a Back to Batoche festival in the 1970s he played the fiddle for 18 hours straight while people danced. Without the two components, one of them will die off and people won't know what they're playing for, said Arcand. The joy of jigging "The way to drive a Métis crazy is to nail his moccasins to the floor and play the Red River Jig ," is a folk saying recorded by musicologist Lynn Whidden. This saying might be true for the members of United Thunder, a square dance and jigging group in Manitoba. The eight-member group formed in 2017 and has had great success winning competitions like the Norway House Cree Nation Treaty and York Boat Days competition for a $20,000 prize. When I'm dancing, I forget about absolutely everything, and I'm just in that moment, and it's a very pure feeling for me, said Brandon Courchene, a member of United Thunder from Sagkeeng First Nation. Brandon Courchene, a member of United Thunder from Sagkeeng First Nation in Manitoba. Photo: CBC / Jackie McKay Courchene was formerly part of the jigging group Sagkeeng's Finest that won Canada's Got Talent in 2012. Now he dances for United Thunder when he isn't working as a school bus driver and educational assistant and teaching kids how to jig for a dance group called Sagkeeng Anicinabe Dancers. I'll dance till the wheels fall off, said Courchene. According to the Manitoba Métis Federation, Métis jigging was created in the Red River area around Winnipeg in the mid-1800s and the most famous dance is the Red River Jig . Stories differ about exactly how the tune came to be but there are three main stories. Some say it came from a fiddler imitating a Scottish bagpiper playing by the Forks, where the Red and Assiniboine Rivers meet in Winnipeg, according to an account from the Winnipeg Free Press published in Drops of Brandy: An Anthology of Metis Music . Bagpipers would play on the west bank and Métis and French would listen on the east bank. One evening a Métis fiddler imitated a bagpiper across the river and played a melody that became the Red River Jig . Enlarge image (new window) United Thunder and their fiddle player Kieran Maytwayashing from Lake Manitoba First Nation. Photo: CBC / Jackie McKay Another story is that the Red River Jig came from Québec in the early 1800s and was originally called La Jig du Bas Canada or La Grande Gigue Simple . The most widely accepted account of the origin of the Red River Jig is that it was played as a wedding dance for a Métis couple at Red River in 1860. The fiddler composed a new tune for the wedding and the priest at the wedding called it the Red River Jig . Ashley Harris, a member of United Thunder from Ebb and Flow First Nation, comes from a family of champion jiggers, and taught herself to dance after years of watching her family perform. Ashley Harris, a member of United Thunder from Ebb and Flow First Nation, comes from a family of champion jiggers. Photo: CBC / Jackie McKay Her favourite dance is the Red River Jig . It just comes naturally, said Harris. I just think it's the Métis anthem. Harris said jigging is an important part of celebrating Métis and First Nations culture, and is part of who she is. I feel like the Métis dance is just a powerful, powerful dance and it brings people together, said Harris. Watch Resonate: Songs of Resilience starting National Indigenous Peoples Day, June 21 on CBC News streaming channels, CBC Ge (new window) m (new window) , and YouTube. (new window) Jackie McKay (new window) · CBC News · Reporter Jackie McKay is a Métis journalist working for CBC Indigenous covering B.C., and winner of a 2025 Canadian Screen Award for best local reporter. She was a reporter for CBC North for more than five years spending the majority of her time in Nunavut. McKay has also worked in Whitehorse, Thunder Bay, and Yellowknife.
CBC
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Fiddling and jigging: 2 inseparable Indigenous traditions that run in families
Social Sharing This story is part of Resonate: Songs of Resilience in recognition of National Indigenous History Month and National Indigenous Peoples Day. CBC Indigenous with CBC Unreserved celebrates communities and families through music. When Brianna Lizotte was growing up, she would watch home movies recorded by her grandfather of 1970s kitchen parties. In them, she'd see family members playing the fiddle and guitar and dancing to the music. "There was a huge era of kitchen parties and music in our family for lots and lots of generations," said Lizotte. Lizotte is Métis and grew up in Sylvan Lake, Alta., about 140 kilometres south of Edmonton. But the last fiddle player in her family died when she was about 10, and then there was a drift. "That was like a huge culture shock, I'd say, to not have any music anymore," said Lizotte. Then Lizotte had a dream where she was playing the fiddle at a kitchen party like the ones she would see in the home movies. "I woke up the next day and told my mom, 'Hey, can I get a fiddle?'" Fiddling is synonymous with Métis music, and has been part of Métis, First Nations and Inuit culture since the Europeans brought the instrument to North America. Fiddling and jigging go together, and many people say you can't have one without the other. "The thing that makes fiddle music in the Métis music world different from bluegrass or Irish or Scottish is that horse gallop rhythm," said Lizotte. "You could hear that rhythm pretty much in every tune that you play." She started getting paying gigs at about 13 years old with the Métis Nation of Alberta (now called the Otipemisiwak Métis Government), and by the age of 16 she had won the rising star award from the Alberta Men and Women of Country Music in 2016. "It just came very naturally," said Lizotte. "Looking back at it now, it definitely feels like some maybe ancestors and some blood memory kind of flowed in there while I was learning." WATCH | Brianna Lizotte and Ethan Graves play a tune: Watch Métis fiddle legend Brianna Lizotte perform 10 hours ago Duration 2:24 Lizotte and her husband teach workshops on Métis music, dance and history and this year, her second album Winston and I was nominated for a Juno award in the traditional Indigenous artist or group of the year category. "Being able to bring forward Métis music in that traditional category, it's really important to highlight that because that is a form of traditional Indigenous music," said Lizotte. On the walls of Lizotte's home in Sherwood Park, just outside of Edmonton, hangs her grandfather's fiddle alongside one made by one of Canada's most decorated fiddle players, John Arcand. Runs in families Arcand, known as the "master of the Métis fiddle," is from near Debden, Sask., and now lives in Saskatoon. He founded the Emma Lake Fiddle Camp in 1988, teaching children and youth to fiddle, and started the John Arcand Fiddle Fest in 1998, which ran for 22 years. Arcand comes from nine generations of fiddle players and learned playing by ear from his uncles using fiddles around the house. "Music runs in families; everybody that's got music in them will eventually show up and pass it on without them knowing it a lot of times," said Arcand. Arcand said he's likely taught more than 10,000 fiddle players over the years between the Emma Lake camp and his fiddle festival. He helped revitalize the tradition after a period when the instrument became less popular, which he attributes to the rise of rock and roll and people learning to play guitar instead of fiddle. "Prior to [the camp and festival], fiddling were just about non-existent in Saskatchewan," said Arcand. He's received the Order of Canada, a Queen's Jubilee Medal and two lifetime achievement awards: one for Outstanding Contribution to Old Time Fiddling from the Canadian Grand Masters, and one from the inaugural Lieutenant Governor's Saskatchewan Arts Awards. Now 83, he plays the fiddle every day saying, "If you don't play, you'll lose it." He also says when it comes to fiddle playing, you can't separate it from dancing. "You've got to learn to dance to be a good fiddle player," said Arcand. "You learn to play fiddle while watching people dance. You've got to follow the people taking their steps and play along with them kind of thing." Arcand said once at a Back to Batoche festival in the 1970s he played the fiddle for 18 hours straight while people danced. "Without the two components, one of them will die off and people won't know what they're playing for," said Arcand. The joy of jigging "The way to drive a Métis crazy is to nail his moccasins to the floor and play the Red River Jig," is a folk saying recorded by musicologist Lynn Whidden. This saying might be true for the members of United Thunder, a square dance and jigging group in Manitoba. The eight-member group formed in 2017 and has had great success winning competitions like the Norway House Cree Nation Treaty and York Boat Days competition for a $20,000 prize. "When I'm dancing, I forget about absolutely everything, and I'm just in that moment, and it's a very pure feeling for me," said Brandon Courchene, a member of United Thunder from Sagkeeng First Nation. Courchene was formerly part of the jigging group Sagkeeng's Finest that won Canada's Got Talent in 2012. Now he dances for United Thunder when he isn't working as a school bus driver and educational assistant and teaching kids how to jig for a dance group called Sagkeeng Anicinabe Dancers. "I'll dance till the wheels fall off," said Courchene. According to the Manitoba Métis Federation, Métis jigging was created in the Red River area around Winnipeg in the mid-1800s and the most famous dance is the Red River Jig. Stories differ about exactly how the tune came to be but there are three main stories. Some say it came from a fiddler imitating a Scottish bagpiper playing by the Forks, where the Red and Assiniboine Rivers meet in Winnipeg, according to an account from the Winnipeg Free Press published in Drops of Brandy: An Anthology of Metis Music. Bagpipers would play on the west bank and Métis and French would listen on the east bank. One evening a Métis fiddler imitated a bagpiper across the river and played a melody that became the Red River Jig. Another story is that the Red River Jig came from Québec in the early 1800s and was originally called La Jig du Bas Canada or La Grande Gigue Simple. The most widely accepted account of the origin of the Red River Jig is that it was played as a wedding dance for a Métis couple at Red River in 1860. The fiddler composed a new tune for the wedding and the priest at the wedding called it the Red River Jig. Ashley Harris, a member of United Thunder from Ebb and Flow First Nation, comes from a family of champion jiggers, and taught herself to dance after years of watching her family perform. Her favourite dance is the Red River Jig. "It just comes naturally," said Harris. "I just think it's the Métis anthem." Harris said jigging is an important part of celebrating Métis and First Nations culture, and is part of who she is. "I feel like the Métis dance is just a powerful, powerful dance and it brings people together," said Harris.
CBC
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
He's learning to dance powwow and it led to much more
CBC Indigenous reporter Stefan Richard gets ready to dance in his first powwow, Manito Ahbee, in Winnipeg.
Cision Canada
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Cision Canada
CJF Announces Indigenous Journalism Fellow
TORONTO, April 29, 2025 /CNW/ - The Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF) announced today that Joy SpearChief-Morris is the recipient of the 2025 CJF-CBC Indigenous Journalism Fellowship, established to amplify Indigenous voices and foster better comprehension of Indigenous issues. Says CJF President and CEO Natalie Turvey: "This year, the CJF has strategically reimagined its Indigenous Fellowship program, transitioning from a one-month experience to an immersive four-month placement for a single fellow. This enhanced format reflects the CJF's commitment to providing deeper, more meaningful professional development opportunities that allow Indigenous journalists to fully integrate into newsroom operations and develop richer, more impactful stories. "By extending the fellowship period, the program now offers recipients the time needed to build lasting professional relationships, undertake complex journalistic projects and gain comprehensive experience that will have a more significant impact on their careers and the Canadian media landscape." SpearChief-Morris is an Indigenous Black Canadian journalist and former athlete from Lethbridge, Alta., who specializes in print news and long-form features. "I'm excited about the opportunity to be working with the CBC Indigenous team in Ottawa," she says, "and I'm looking forward to expanding coverage of Indigenous healthcare issues." The story or series resulting from the fellowship experience will be considered for publication or broadcast by CBC News. "This year, Joy SpearChief-Morris will become part of the CBC Indigenous team and have the chance to really integrate into the CBC," says Selection Committee member Meagan Fiddler, a senior producer with CBC Indigenous. "I look forward to working with Joy to really hone her already considerable skills and develop her exciting pitch." SpearChief-Morris will be recognized at the CJF Awards ceremony on June 12 at the Royal York Hotel. For tickets, tables and sponsorship opportunities, see contact information below or visit the CJF Awards page. The CJF-CBC Indigenous Journalism Fellowships jury members are: Duncan McCue (chair), former host of CBC's Cross Country Check Up, now associate professor at Carleton University's School of Journalism and Communication; Meagan Fiddler, senior producer, CBC Indigenous; Eden Fineday, publisher, IndigiNews; Lenard Monkman, reporter with CBC Indigenous and recipient of a 2017 CJF-CBC Indigenous Journalism Fellowship; Tanya Talaga, author, journalist and president and CEO of Makwa Creative; and Maggie Wente, Indigenous rights lawyer at Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP in Toronto. These fellowship opportunities are made possible thanks to the generous support of Sobeys Inc. CIBC is the presenting sponsor of the 2025 CJF Awards. The 2025 CJF Awards are also supported by Google News Initiative, Labatt Breweries of Canada, McCain Foods, Intact, TD Bank Group, CBC/Radio-Canada, Aritzia, BMO Financial Group, Canada Life, Sobeys, Scotiabank, RBC, FGS Longview Communications, KPMG, Canadian Bankers Association, Canadian Medical Association, Accenture, Aga Khan Development Network, Apple Canada News, Bennett Jones LLP, Blakes, Canadian Women's Foundation, CPP Investments, Loblaw Companies Ltd., Maple Leaf Foods, OLG, Rishi Nolan Strategies, TD Securities, Uber, WSP. In-kind sponsorship is provided by Beehive Design, The Canadian Press, Bespoke Audio Visual, MLSE and Porter Airlines. About The Canadian Journalism Foundation Founded in 1990, The Canadian Journalism Foundation promotes, celebrates and facilitates excellence in journalism. The foundation runs a prestigious awards and fellowships program featuring an industry gala where news leaders, journalists and corporate Canada gather to celebrate outstanding journalistic achievement and the value of professional journalism. Through monthly J-Talks, a public speakers' series, the CJF facilitates dialogue among journalists, business people, academics and students about the role of the media in Canadian society and the ongoing challenges for media in the digital era. The foundation also fosters opportunities for journalism education, training and research.
