Teachings of the Season

2006

Role of a Song-maker

by Art Napoleon

In the world of the “American Indian”, music is a means of connecting with the spirit-world and bringing supernatural power into everyday life. Traditional songs tell stories, pass on history, express reverence and bring protection to the people. Some traditional songs are thousands of years old and newer ones come from people known as song-makers. New songs often come to these individuals in dreams or in moments of reflective or inspirational solitude.

In First Nations country there are strict protocols regarding the use of sacred songs. Songs from the Sundance, Sweat-lodge or Dreamer-songs are considered to hold power and cannot be used outside of the ceremonial context. To record this music or use it for entertainment purposes is to commit a blatant sacrilege.

There are now some traditionalists who are breaking from custom and recording sacred ceremonial songs that belong to their nations and not to them as individuals. While I personally believe this to be inappropriate, there is a difference between recording a ceremonial song and a social song. Traditional social songs from the prairies and woodlands are meant to be fun and people are encouraged to share these songs as long as the singers acknowledge where the songs come from. Other nations may have stricter beliefs about song ownership but this is the custom I grew up with in my Cree/Dene homeland of Treaty 8. It has been this way for countless generations.

As for my own journey in becoming a song-maker, it was something I grew into after having spent much time with the drum and around ceremonies learning a countless number of prayer songs. Now the songs just come, sometimes in dreams, sometimes while just driving down the road. I believe that sharing these songs is a personal responsibility. Even though these dream-songs sound like sacred songs and come from a sacred place, they are not truly ceremonial songs and therefore do not breech protocol. I can share these songs with whoever will listen and doing so has helped people gain an interest in traditional ways. In fact, song-makers from the pow-wow scene have been recording such songs for some time now and have even inserted English verses in many of their “traditional” songs.

What I do with many of the chants and songs that come to me is modernize them a bit with harmonies and various contemporary instruments but it’s still very important to me that they retain their traditional sound. It’s important not to destroy the essence of traditional music with arrangements that take over or simply don’t work.