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New Brunswick·Ann's Eye

Carrying the music forward: New book features songs written in Wolastoqey

A songbook called Mawintuhtine, with 20 Indigenous songs, was launched at Kehkimin, a Wolastoqey language immersion school.

Songbook Mawintuhtine includes 20 Indigenous songs

CBC News ·
A stack of spiral-bound books sit on a table.
'When you bring the songs back, you'll bring the dances back, and then you're going to bring the people back ... then everything will be back,' Elder Maggie Paul writes in the introduction to Mawintuhtine. (Ann Paul/CBC)

This is part of a series called Ann's Eye, featuring the work of Ann Paul, a Wolastoqey content creator. You can see more Ann's Eye pieces by clicking here.

In April, at a school tucked away in the woods where language comes back to life, a beautiful family memory was unfolding. 

There was music that night at Kehkimin, a Wolastoqey language immersion school for Indigenous children. Multiple generations had gathered for the launch of Mawintuhtine, a Wolastoqey songbook months in the making. 

Ann Paul, a content creator for CBC, was there alongside her mother, Elder Maggie Paul, and her daughter.

For the first time, all three drummed together, following along to the 20 songs compiled inside Mawintuhtine, which translates to "Let us sing together."

"It was a spiritual experience that happened that evening, when we were all singing together," Ann said. "It was amazing, and I was so proud. It was a proud moment."

WATCH | 'We've been singing these songs for a long time, but I never knew what I was saying':

Ann’s Eye: Hear the songs of Mawintuhtine, a newly launched Wolastoqey songbook

21 days ago
Duration 2:29
Twenty songs written in Wolastoqey are now available in a songbook, created by the staff of the language immersion school Kehkimin and other Indigenous community members.

Mawintuhtine is the result of the hard work of Kehkimin's curriculum team members Louis-Xavier, Lisa-Maude Aubin-Berube, Lisa Perley-Dutcher and Catherine Desjardins.

Language editor Roseanne Clark helped transcribe most of the songs, and the project was also helped along by linguist Robert Leavitt. 

Song carriers Elder Maggie Paul and Jeremy Dutcher also assisted in the book's development, and Stephen Dutcher served as editor. 

Watch the video and scroll through the photos to learn more about the music of Mawintuhtine.

Three women and a young girl stand in a classroom singing and beating hand drums with sticks.
The songbook notes this observation from Elder Maggie Paul: 'When singing these songs, you may experience a spiritual high (cipewokessit).' (Ann Paul/CBC)
A group of women stand together in a classroom, singing and beating hand drums.
The idea is for the songbooks to travel, Ann Paul says. Aside from just being used for the students of Kehkimin, people can buy the books and take them back to their own communities. (Ann Paul/CBC)
Spiral-bound booklets are fanned out across a table.
QR codes inside the books take singers to online video performances of the songs to help with melody and pronunciation. Ann's favourite song is the Honour Song. 'I know how to pronounce every word now, thanks to Kelsey Nash Solomon.' (Ann Paul/CBC)
An older woman with cropped, white hair and black glasses sits smiling at a table, her hands clasped below her chin.
'We were all together for the right purpose, and that’s to sing the songs and to carry them,' Ann said. 'We’re song carriers. We’re carrying them forward.' (Ann Paul/CBC)
Three women and a man stand in a classroom singing and beating hand drums.
Singer Jeremy Dutcher tuned in virtually for the book launch. (Ann Paul/CBC)

Ann's Eye

Photographer Ann Paul brings an Indigenous lens to stories from First Nations communities across New Brunswick. Click here or on the image below to see more of her work. 

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