I started organizing Traditional Singing Practices for my community a few weeks ago. They happen every 5:30PM at the Old Youth Centre in Xwmelch’stn (Capilano) next to the Joe Mathias Centre. Every week we have more come. I teach some language first, then sing some songs, then play slahal. For those who don’t know, slahal is a traditional gambling game involving guessing and tally sticks. It is accompanied by music to support the team holding the “bones”, which are the sticks you use for the other team to guess. I can explain this in more detail another time.

The old youth centre is a fanatic space for the practices. We have couches, comfy chairs, and there is a big space to practice the dances. Unfortunately the people who can teach the dances haven’t been able to make it, or I need more singers who know the songs to come so I can teach people the dances. If the practices outgrow the centre, then we’ll see what we can do.

I’m really happy with the people coming to the practices. It’s been amazing to have little kids coming and listening to the songs. This is where it has to begin. When I was raised by my grandmother, she made me listen to the traditional songs on tapes for 30 minutes before I could play outside, or watch TV. I grew up around the singing, and it’s made me a stronger person today. There are many young people with latent talent, that could become really powerful singers.

Within Sḵwxwú7mesh culture, there are many different types of songs used for different things. The major distinction to be made is between wintertime songs, and summertimes songs. The songs we sing in the winter, connected to the longhouse, are ceremonial and spiritual. They are connected to individuals spirit dances, or mask dancing. Then there are summer time songs, used for public events, for community, for laughter or fun. These can be honor songs, feasts songs, paddle songs, animal songs, love songs, drinking/wisky songs, storytelling songs, and slahal songs. Since the early 90’s, there have been a major increase in these types of songs as my people become songcatchers and song composers. There is songs like these that people in my community have created or heard, but yet not brought them out yet. This means there are many songs still yet to be brought out and learned.

In 2003, my people hosted the West Coast Family Night, a celebration of indigenous cultures and the indigenous people from those cultures living in Vancouver. When it was in it’s prime, different nations would host one of the nights every month. My people hadn’t hosted it in a while, I organized it in 2002, then again in 2003. The 2003 event took place at our Joe Mathias Centre, instead of the usual Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre because of space. It was a major success, with upwards of 700 people attending, and hundreds of my own community attending. The thing that is memorable about the event was the support from my community, but also our sharing of our culture. For 3 hours we sang every song in our peoples repertoire for our guests. Hundreds of drummers and singers all grouped together roaring away at our most beautiful songs. Then 20-30 of our dancers on the floor presenting the dances to our culture. We had every song leader from my community in attendance, all coming together in ayateway or working together in harmony, to not only share our culture, but also come together as a community. I could be wrong, but my community hasn’t had anything like this since then.

Starting in 1993 in the Tribal Journey to Bella Bella, for the QATUWAS festival, my people took a major step forward in cultural revitalization. The group that formed for that trip were dedicated to our culture, our teachings, and worked hard to be strong in that. Many of the people who were apart of that trip, and that group, later become well respected leaders in their own regard in our community. The part I wanted to bring up about that group is how after they came together, increasingly of our traditional songs started to come back. That there was a resurgence of traditional music.

This summer is the Tribal Journey’s to Suquamish territory. This will be the 20th anniversary of the Paddle to Seattle, which started the whole canoe journey tradition. A good friend of mine asked me to join him (once he replaces my paddle that he broke in 2003!…haha) on one of the canoes he carved, and another canoe he’s carving. Then the Sḵwxwú7mesh Kxwu7lh Canoe family is bringing the Kxwu7lh canoe, and possibly the Ahikili (You’ll have to correct me on the spelling). I’m also hearing rumors that two families from my nation will be bringing their canoes. That is..what..4-6 canoes? It will take human power the move those canoes. This is why I’ve already started training for the canoe journey, and will start pulling practices when those start. I’m super excited because my mother, and my younger sister are joining me in this trip. Last summer I had my auntie, my younger sister, and my younger brother with me, and it was a blast. I’m also hearing many from the community who are interested in going on this trip. I can’t say enough how much I highly recommend this experience. You do not learn more about your identity, your people, or what it means to be indigenous until you’ve been on a journey in a sea-going canoe. Added to that, it looks like many of my people will be going, so that will make it that much more fun and exciting.

The reason I bring these up is because I know my people have amazing singers, have amazing songs, and are just amazing people. When we rock, we totally rock our songs. So I’m hoping that for those interested in coming on the journey, we can learn the songs and dances, and we can represent our people to the best our ancestors could ask of us. The fun in singing songs that go back hundreds of years, be surrounded by dozens of your friends and family, with large deer hide drummers and we just powerhouse our most sacred songs.

Traditional Singing Practices

Monday’s at 5:30pm

Old Youth Centre

(Next to the Joe Mathias Centre)