![]() ![]() Within two weeks, Rita had recorded another eleven songs and gave me the tape. The text was ominous for me, a non-native, and the experience of participating in this work took on an extraordinary kind of honour. The text was especially moving, given the recent events at Oka it described, as well as the theme of gentle protest that is present in much of Rita's poetry. I (G.S.) transcribed the Oka song first in a literal, note-for-note, word-for-word fashion. I taped the other dozen songs with my old woman voice, hoping that the words were understandable, my disbelief still in mind at the turn of events. Gordon asked if he could take the song to his students at Queen's University, and later asked if I had other songs. My reaction of disbelief expressed in Micmac and English was laughable to say the least. He took my song ("Oka Song") on a cassette tape and the typed words, and returned in a day or so with the transcribed song sheet. I asked, "How in the world did he know?" as I had told only one individual. I saw this white-haired person walk up to me near my craft shop and ask if I was Rita Joe and did I want a song written on a song sheet. She told Professor Gordon Smith of Queen's University about the Oka Song when he was visiting Mr. I asked Elizabeth Cremo, the daughter of the famous fiddle champ, Lee Cremo, from Eskasoni. The Oka song became a popular, often-requested melody, so I thought I had better find someone who would transcribe it to the songsheet. I always try to move my audience in poetry and song, making fun of myself at times but always emphasizing the wronged nation, and the teachings of my cultural background. Most of the people in our country see the Native viewpoint as hearing the other side of the story. Many times I received a standing ovation. Usually when I am speaking to the audience I point out the inconsistent attitude of what happened at the time, then end my speech with the Oka song. 2 I wrote the verse from a Native viewpoint, an attempt to touch my audience and their heartstrings. The reaction was the creation of the Oka poem and the Oka song (Ex. The reaction on her part was beautiful-she understood my song and as the saying goes, "She made my day."ĭuring the Oka crisis, the incidents that happened affected me tremendously. I remember I sang it with the help of a translator doing the hand signs. ![]() Most of the tunes were for special performances of some sort, such as "The Wishing Game." I created that one for a speaking engagement at the Province House for literacy. I am a shy native so the songs were put away and I sang only when I was speaking at a school or a gathering. not knowing if I picked them up as hymn songs, the roll of an incoming wave, or wind sounds. 1 From the time I was a little girl I was what you would call a hummer. ![]() I (R.J.) was a songwriter before I became a poet. The intersection of words and music in Rita's work-an aspect we find extremely fascinating (if at times difficult for transcribing)-is at the core of the repertory of songs we have participated in "making" together. Poetry and conversation mingle in ways that are artful, and also part of the way the Spirit guides and inspires the creative instinct. 1 In conversations with Rita, I gradually came to understand that poetry is her way of expressing her story and what she considers important current themes in First Nations' culture. At that time I had the opportunity to meet and chat with Rita Joe, who was known to me as a "famous" Micmac poet. This project continued field research I (G.S.) was conducting in the summer of 1992 in Eskasoni, a Micmac reserve on the Bras d'Or Lakes about 50 kilometres from Sydney on Cape Breton Island. ![]() (Initials refer to one of the authors or to Rita Joe). To facilitate the discussion, and to emphasize the dialogic aspect of this research, we shift voices in our narrative. The article is loosely structured to hear the different voices we believe bind the work together. Our intention is to not to privilege any parts of this work over others rather, it is to share our experiences and our work in the creative spirit within which it evolved. These led to a productive association among three individuals: ourselves (Kevin Alstrup and Gordon Smith) and Micmac poet Rita Joe. Canadian Journal for Traditional Music (1995) Words and Music by Rita Joe: Dialogic EthnomusicologyĪs often in field research, this project was born out of several coincidences. ![]()
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