Indigenous music of Canada facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Indigenous music of Canada is all the different kinds of music made by Indigenous people in Canada. Long ago, before European settlers arrived, many First Nations lived across Canada. These included the Salish and Haida on the West Coast. The Iroquois, Blackfoot, and Huron lived in central areas. The Dene were in the North, and the Innu and Mi'kmaq were in the East. The Cree also lived in the North.

Each of these Indigenous groups had (and still have) their own special musical traditions. Singing, often called chanting, is very popular. Most groups use many different musical instruments.

History of Indigenous Music

For hundreds of years, Indigenous Canadians made their instruments from things found in nature. They used gourds and animal horns to create rattles. Many rattles were beautifully carved and painted. In forest areas, people made horns from birchbark. They used carved antlers and wood for drumsticks.

Drums were usually made from carved wood and animal hides. Drums and rattles are percussion instruments. They are traditionally used by First Nations people. These instruments provide the rhythm for songs, and songs are often part of dances. Many traditional First Nations people see song and dance as very special and sacred.

For many years after Europeans came to Canada, First Nations people were not allowed to practice their ceremonies. This is why there isn't much old information about their music and instruments.

The Inuktitut language traditionally didn't have a word just for "music." The closest word, nipi, means music, speech sounds, and other noises.

Today, there is a strong return of pride in First Nations art and music. People are rediscovering the beauty of traditional First Nations art, music, and musical instruments. Drums are very important to First Nations people. Some say, "Drumming is the heartbeat of Mother Earth."

First Nations people made many different kinds of drums. Healers sometimes use small drums. There are also hand drums that look like tambourines. There are warrior drums, water drums, and very large ceremonial drums. Their size and shape depend on the First Nation's culture. They also depend on what the drummer wants to do with them. Many drums are decorated beautifully.

In many First Nations cultures, the circle is very important. It is the shape of the sun and moon. It is also the path they follow in the sky. Many First Nations objects, like tipis and wigwams, are circular. Traditional villages were often arranged in a circle. Even today, many First Nations people hold meetings sitting in a circle. These meetings often start with a prayer, with people standing in a circle holding hands.

Atikamekw musician Sakay Ottawa

Hand-carved wooden flutes and whistles are less common than drums. But they are also a part of First Nations traditional music. Chippewa men played flutes to serenade girlfriends. They also played them to comfort themselves and others during hard times. The Cree, Iroquois, and Maliseet made and used whistles.

Archaeologists have found proof that both wooden whistles and flutes were used by the Beothuk. This was a tribe that lived in Newfoundland long ago. The human voice is the main instrument for all First Nations. Singing is at the heart of First Nations traditions. Every song had an original owner. Songs belonged to a group, clan, rite, ceremony, or individual. In some cultures, you could buy the right to sing a song. The original owner would then teach the buyer the song. Many traditional songs are still sung today by First Nations people.

Many artists now mix First Nations and Inuit music with popular styles. These include pop, country, rock, hip hop, or electronic dance music. Between 2014 and 2018, the Polaris Music Prize was won three times by Indigenous musicians. Tanya Tagaq won in 2014 for Animism. Buffy Sainte-Marie won in 2015 for Power in the Blood. Jeremy Dutcher won in 2018 for Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa.

The album Native North America, Vol. 1 was released in 2014. It collected many rare songs by First Nations and Inuit musicians. These songs were from the time when rock, country, and folk music began to influence Indigenous music.

Music Areas of Canada

Northeast Woodlands Music

People in the Eastern Woodlands lived in a large area of Canada and the United States. Their music often uses a call and response style of singing. This is called antiphony. This style is not common in other areas. Their territory includes Maritime Canada, New England, and the Great Lakes regions.

Songs in this area have complex rhythms. They often change rhythm and are closely linked to ritual dance. Flutes and whistles are played alone. Many different drums, rattles, and striking sticks are also used. Melodies tend to move downwards. Singers use a moderate amount of vocal tension and pulsing.

Plains Music

Plains-area music stretches across the Canadian Prairies and into the American Midwest. The singing often sounds nasal, with high pitches. Singers often use falsetto (a high voice). The melodies have a terraced descent, meaning they step down an octave. Songs are usually sung in a single voice, called monophony.

Songs are divided into two parts. The second part is always repeated before returning to the beginning. Large, double-sided skin drums are common for Plains tribes. Solo end-blown flutes are also often played.

The music of the Arapaho and Cheyenne tribes is very intense. Their singing has extreme vocal tension and pulsing. Melodies often use perfect fourths and have a range of about ten notes. Rhythms are complex.

Northwest Coast Music

On the Pacific Northwest and in British Columbia, open vocals with monophony are common. Sometimes, polyphony (multiple voices singing different melodies at once) also happens. This is the only area in North America with native polyphony.

Melodies are long and use many different notes. Rhythms are complex and sound like speech. Instruments are more varied here than elsewhere in North America. They include many whistles, flutes, horns, and percussion instruments.

The music of the Kwakwaka'wakw, Nuu-chah-nulth, and Tsimshian is some of the most complex on the continent. Their melodies often leap in wide intervals. The rhythms are very detailed and separate from the singing. Vocals are very tense, with strong changes in sound and pulsing.

Arctic – Sub-Arctic Music

Inuit music often sounds like spoken words. It has complex rhythms and a small melodic range, usually about six notes. Major thirds and minor seconds are common in the melodies. The melodies often move in a wavy pattern.

Inuit Music

The Inuit are famous for Inuit throat singing or katajjaq. This is a special way of singing found in only a few cultures worldwide. Melodies with a narrow range and spoken-like effects are common. Repeated notes often mark the end of musical phrases.

Box drums are common, as are tambourine-like hand drums.

Cree Music

Much Cree music has repeated sections. These sections are separated by pauses and different melodic or rhythmic patterns. However, not all repetitions are exactly the same.

Important Indigenous Musicians

Edward Gamblin

Edward Gamblin was a country rock singer and songwriter. He is known as one of the most important artists in First Nations music. He was one of the first artists to build a successful career by focusing on First Nations audiences.

Donald Harvey Francks

Donald Harvey Francks, also known as Iron Buffalo, was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. He was a drummer, poet, and peace activist. He was interested in Tibet and supported Greenpeace. He often performed at jazz clubs in Toronto. He was also known to play drums at other jazz spots.

Robbie Robertson

Robbie Robertson was a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for being a member of The Band. Rolling Stone magazine ranked him 78th on their list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. Robertson's mother was Mohawk. He spent summers with her family at Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation. This is where he first experienced music. He learned guitar as a youth and started writing songs and performing as a teenager. From 1987 onwards, Robertson released four solo albums. These included Robbie Robertson, Storyville, Music for the Native Americans, and Contact from the Underworld of Redboy.

Jerry Alfred

First Nations singer and storyteller Jerry Alfred helps keep First Nations language and traditions alive. Jerry is the Northern Tutchone "Keeper of the Songs." He lives in Pelly Crossing, a village in central Yukon. Jerry managed to keep his Tutchone language even after many years in a residential school. Like his father, Jerry was named a Song Keeper at birth. A Song Keeper collects songs and sings them at potlatches and other First Nations ceremonies. Jerry taught himself guitar. He mixes modern guitar styles with his people's traditional music. His 1994 recording, "Etsi Shon" (EET-see-shawn) or "Grandfather Song," helps preserve his language and the spirit of his people.

Don Ross

Don Ross is a guitarist and composer. His mother is Mi'kmaq and his father was a Scottish immigrant. He is a member of the Mi'kmaq community at Millbrook, Nova Scotia. Don was born and grew up in Montreal. He speaks both French and English. He earned a degree in fine arts (music) from York University in Toronto. He is known as one of the top guitarists in the world. In 1996, Don won the U.S. National Fingerstyle Championship for the second time. He is the only guitarist to have done this. In 1988, Don was the first Canadian and first Indigenous person to win this prize.

Don is a master of "fingerstyle" technique, like classical guitar. His music is influenced by jazz, folk, rock, and classical music. He calls his unique style "heavy wood!"

Buffy Sainte-Marie

Buffy Sainte-Marie was born into the Cree community of Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan. She has a PhD in Fine Arts. She is a songwriter, performer, and artist. She wrote hit songs performed by famous artists like Elvis Presley, Barbra Streisand, and Neil Diamond. Her song, "Up Where We Belong," won an Academy Award. Buffy has won many other awards, including an Academy Award and a U.S. award for Lifetime Musical Achievement in the Arts. She also received a medal from Queen Elizabeth II. France named her "Best International Artist of 1993." Buffy still performs for large crowds. She has never forgotten her roots and her people. She often performs in small First Nations communities. In 1993, she helped create a special award category in the Juno Awards. This award recognizes the best recordings by Canadian Indigenous musicians. Buffy received a Lifetime Achievement Award in Arts in 1998.

Kashtin

The duo Kashtin quickly became popular in Quebec. In 1988, they were featured in a documentary about the Innu people. They soon went to Montreal to record their music. Their first album, released in 1989, was self-titled. Even though it was recorded in their native Innu-aimun language, spoken by only 12,000 people, the album became a big hit in Quebec. It then became popular in English Canada too, eventually selling double platinum. The songs "E Uassiuian" and "Tshinanu" were popular hits for the band.

Leela Gilday

Leela Gilday is a singer and songwriter. She was born and grew up in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. She is one of the North's well-known performing artists. Since starting her music career, Leela has been nominated for a Juno Award for "Best Music of Aboriginal Canada (2003)." In 2002, she won three Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards: Best Female Artist, Best Folk Album, and Best Songwriter. She won the 2007 Juno for Aboriginal Recording of the Year for Sedzé, her second album.

Glen Meadmore

Glen Meadmore is an actor and performance artist who lives in Los Angeles. He is known for his unique performances. He was part of the band Pedro, Muriel and Esther, also known as PME.

Derek Miller

Derek Miller, born in Six Nations on October 29, 1974, is an Indigenous Canadian singer-songwriter. He has won the Juno Award for Indigenous Music Album of the Year twice. He won for his albums Lovesick Blues and The Dirty Looks. Derek has gained the attention of respected musicians like Daniel Lanois and Buffy Sainte-Marie.

Black & Grey

Black & Grey is a Canadian pop rock and alternative band. They are from Membertou, Nova Scotia. The band members are Brandon Johnson, Daniel Paul, Michael Mellen, and Tyler Mellen. They released a self-titled EP in 2013. They also had three successful songs on the radio: "Goodbye Misery," "What Makes You Who You Are," and "Pretty Little Nightmare." They are currently working on a full-length album.