Saturday, June 21
WORKSHOP:
Traditional Singing with Unity and Wshkiigamong Women's Hand Drummers
Free - everyone welcome
4:30 pm at Market Hall
336 George St. N. Peterborough
NOTE: This workshop is preparation for the Gathering of Voices, to close the 400 Block Party, at 6:00 pm. Please register: patti@publicenergy.ca or call (705) 745-1788

Come and sing your heart out with the Unity and Wshkiigimong Singers!

Members from the Unity Singers a Peterborough based Aboriginal womens a capella trio will facilitate a traditional song and hand drum workshop open to everyone.

Women from the Unity Singers will share songs, instruction and a brief history of traditional Anishnaabe musical styles. Voice and drum is central to many Aboriginal music forms across Turtle Island and it is symbolic of the heartbeat of mother earth. When the first settlers arrived to Turtle Island they were unfamiliar with Aboriginal singing and hand drumming music. This lead to an eventual outlaw of traditional singing and hand drumming by the Canadian government in 1924 (Section 140 of the Indian Act). Despite the criminalization of these traditional art forms, many musicians and cultural leaders took it underground to ensure the survival of the music. Over the last few decades there has been a strong resurgence of both traditional and fusion style hand drumming and singing. In some cases although the original words were lost the harmonies and beats remain intact resulting in a contemporary fusion of vocables and rhythms grounded in traditional knowledge and styles.

Workshop participants will also learn the Strong Woman Song - a captivating round style song that was brought north from the Dakotas by Tom Paul. The song has a long history that speaks to the survival and resilience of not only Aboriginal art forms but of Aboriginal peoples across Turtle Island. Participants are invited to participate to showcase the song on stage at the end of the workshop as a special co-presentation for the the Block 400 party. This is an open event open to everyone.

About the Unity Singers:
Unity is the collective talents of Barb Rivett, Brenda Maracle O'Toole, Heather Shpuniarsky, Paula Sherman and Joeann Argue. We are an Aboriginal a cappella women's group who perform both traditional songs and contemporary songs within the traditional genre. The group has performed at numerous venues: from education conferences to music festivals - both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal. We work in local public schools, offering Aboriginal awareness workshops for elementary students and their teachers. In these workshops we teach the songs and their meaning, and we often bring Elders as storytellers and Indigenous knowledge holders. At Trent University, where we all work and/or study in the Indigenous Studies Department, we are known as the "Trent University House Band".
It is important to us as Aboriginal educators to reach out into the communities and share with them the knowledge we have been given through song and story. Each of us, in addition to our public work, participates in traditional ceremonies and cultural life. We are working, albeit slowly, to regain our traditional languages as part of our own growth as Anishnaabe Kweg and to pass on to others what knowledge we have gained.

(l to r) Brenda Maracle O'Toole, Heather Shpuniarsky, Paula Sherman, Joeann Argue, Barb Rivett
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Barb Rivett (Waabishkomigaad Waaskone Kwe)
Barb is Odawa/Scots Canadian. She began singing and drumming in 1996 and has collaborated with a number of women over this time. She was a founding member of the Otonaabe Women's Hand Drum and recently formed Unity with Joeann Argue, Paula Sherman, Brenda Maracle O'Toole and Heather Shpuniarsky, a more contemporary-focused Aboriginal music group. She was co-facilitator for the Monday night singing circle at Trent University. According to Barb, "Drumming, singing and sharing the songs touches me in a way that is indescribable. All I can say is that is makes my heart happy." The songs she sings come from all over North America for the people, by the people, to be shared, handed down and enjoyed by all for generations to come. Barb's innate sense of timing, and her drumming skills have made her invaluable as Music Director of the group.

Barb helped produce Otonaabe's demo CD, Voices from the Heart, recorded in June of 2004 and was also one of the lead singers. In May of 2004, Barb was a featured singer on Spirit Wind's new CD, Awakening, recorded at Imaginit Studio in Toronto. This CD was released February 17, 2005.

Joeann Argue (Bimino Biidaajimo)
Joeann is Cree/Ojibway/Scottish and has been drumming and singing since 1998. She was a founding member of the Otonaabe Women's Hand Drum and is co-founder of the recently formed women's singing group, Unity. She co-facilitated the Monday night singing circle at Trent University and takes every opportunity to share songs with other women. Joeann has been involved with the performing arts for over thirty years. She has worked in theatre, dance and music, as well as in the visual arts. Since joining the Otonaabe Women's Hand Drum, she has expanded her work into Aboriginal performing and visual arts, exploring her cultural roots in both traditional and contemporary genres. She brings her artistic eye to the performances of the Hand Drum and her knowledge of music and harmonies to its sound. Joeann also teaches Traditional Singing workshops for the Centre for Indigenous Theatre's Summer Intensive Program.

It is through the music that Joeann found her voice and music continues to be the primary vehicle for her artistic output. She encourages her two boys to look to music to help them in their lives. Her oldest son is a bass player/singer in a hard rock band and is determined to make music his life.

In June of 2004, Joeann helped produce, and as also one of the lead singers for, Otonaabe's demo CD, Voices from the Heart. She is also a featured singer on Spirit Wind's new CD, Awakening, recorded at Imaginit Studio in Toronto, released on February 17, 2005.

Paula Sherman - Singer/Drummer
Paula is Algonquin and joined Unity in 2005, after several years singing with the Otonaabe Women's Hand Drum. She works along with other members to vocalize the importance of Indigenous drumming and singing as a mechanism to heal the wounds of physical and cognitive colonialism. Paula feels that this is an especially important message for Indigenous women who have suffered racism and sexism as a result of the colonial process. She has her PhD in Indigenous Studies and recently joined the Indigneous Studies faculty at Trent University. In her position, Paula works to create curriculum and scholarship that supports and articulates the autonomy of Indigenous peoples in Canada and around the world.

Paula also works as a Family Head for Ka-pishkewandemin, an Ardoch Algonquin community council that provides traditional leadership and guidance for the Ardoch Algonquin community. Ka-pishkewandemin is a traditional Algonquin governance structure that promotes decision-making based upon the consensus of Family Heads who are responsible for bringing the voices and wishes of their families forward into the Family Heads Council.

All of these responsibilities help to keep Paula focused on the importance of resurrecting and restoring the cultural, linguistic and spiritual autonomy of Indigenous peoples around the world. As a result, Paula, along with other members of Unity, spends a great deal of time creating workshops that promote the restoration of Aboriginal women's voices through traditional singing and drumming.

In June of 2004, Paula participated in the creation of the Otonaabe Women's Hand Drum demo CD, Voices from the Heart.

About Wshkiigamong
The Wshkiigamong Women Hand Drum group is from Curve Lake First Nation. They have been singing since 2005. They have developed a unique sound that has been described as beautiful and haunting. Many who listen to their music have declared their voices dramatic and ethnic sounding. The Wshkiigamong Drummers have been inspired by a drum group from Toronto called Spirit Wind.

Wshkiigamong have been asked to sing at many events in the community and surrounding area. Most noteable, they sang an honour song for His Royal Highness, Prince Andrew during his visit to the Canadian Canoe Museum. It is their honour to been asked by the Juno Beach Museum in Coureseulles sur Mer, France to perform during their annual ceremony commemorating the Canadians war action in the liberation of France during World War II. The ceremony is schedule for Friday, June 6, 2008. They will continue traveling on to Amsterdam to visit the Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery to pay homage to Curve Lake Veterans buried there.

(Left to right) Janet McCue, Dorothy (McCue) Taylor and Mary Taylor