Ikwäas, we sing, nous chantons

Huron-Wendat musician Nathalie Picard participated in the NMAI's Artist Leadership Program in 2014 to do research on the traditional Iroquoian songs and musical instruments in order to bring back some of this knowledge to the teenagers of her community in Wendake, Québec, Canada. Nathalie believes that the Wendat people will need more Song Keepers in future generations to perpetuate the traditions, language and Longhouse ceremonies. Nathalie gave music workshops to the Wendat youth teaching them how to work with this heritage to encourage them to become guardians of their traditions. This video was produced by Shendaehwas Nathalie Picard and Luc Vincent-Savard.

[@doreendaykin6693]

Visited this beautiful community in 2014 and have been looking forward to returning ever since. ...amazing place and experience. Beautiful people and culture.

[@bzsmith4420]

Je suis une Americaine, qui habite en Californie. Et je suis une femme Wendat. Merci beaucoup, Tizameh, pour cet opportunité d'apprendre votre information de ma culture.

[@chrislindsay7707]

Great work and video, Nathalie! So nice to see all your work come to musical fruition. Love the kids here, you really capture their enthusiasm, both in the workshops and on the video. I'd say you really are the 'Guardian of the songs'!! It was a great privilege to work with you, and glad you incorporated the story of your great-grandfather's headpiece!

[@patricktherrien7046]

Bravo! Bravo! Bravo! Mihwetch!

[@genevievelf1880]

Wow Nathalie c'est fantastique! Je partage ça avec mes élèves ici à Vancouver.

[@bradencharley8125]

The history here, how the French language thrives in Huron communities. Just like other colonizer influences, the coushatta people on Louisiana speak Cajun French. Other tribes speak English, Alaskan tribes have Russian speakers, southwest and Central America tribes have Spanish, Brazilian tribes speak Portuguese.

[@kimfleury]

It's admirable to teach traditions to preserve culture, and you had me until the line "controlled by the missionaries." That line says the ancestors were too stupid to hold on to their native beliefs - it's a very disrespectful view of our elders, especially those who gave their lives rather than be forced to change their beliefs, either after conversion, or having been brought up in the Faith of the missionaries and holding to it. If the Holy Spirit is leading you to the old pagan practices, so be it, but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, and goodwill, not angst, anger, self-pity, and love only for those who share your beliefs. Beliefs are a choice, and a right. This isn't an argument to convince anyone to believe a certain doctrine. I'm only noting that the culture is multifaceted. If it's presented as one-sided, then it's mythical, idealistic romanticism.

[@natpic5486]

Sorry but I don’t agree at all with your negative comment. This is the first song this kid was writting in his ancestral language and it is not my place or yours to tell him what he should write in his own song, believe, think or express here... Every nation has it’s own history and for the Huron-wendat, it is a true historical fact that the coming and conversion efforts of the Jesuit Missionaries was devastating and dividing to our communities... And I still think that the best way to continue to honor my ancestors is to attend the longhouse ancestral ceremonies to pray in the traditional way and not buy into that conversion manipulation that was imposed on us, and speak our ancestral language. At the time of contact, in the missions, they converted, they would receive food, etc, they didn’t and sticked to their traditions and beliefs, they would not... Our wise ancestors could see this too and did what was needed to survive... In my opinion, and as a longhouse person, the only helpful thing that Jesuits did to our nation was taking written records of our language. So, to keep in the Spirit of joy like you mentioned, it might have been more constructive on your part, to focus here on the fact that this kid is composing a modern rap song in his tribal language for the first time, and in so, is contributing to the revitalization of his tribal language and safeguarding of his ancestral culture and honoring his ancestors, whatever he believes and expresses with his art, even if that doesn’t suit your own beliefs...! Especially if you consider and judge our ancestral ways of praying, as « old pagan practices », as you « kindly » wrote here!
This is all I will answer to you. Tho ïohtih! Ahskennonnia’ ! Shendaehwas Nathalie Picard

[@delwynmarcoux1523]

@@natpic5486 hello Shendaewhas. I'm Wendat of the turtle Clan as well, grandchild of Edith Picard. I yearn to connect with our culture but live in BC. I'm in Wendake rn till Tuesday, but leave after that. I will ofc be back again tho. is there any way for me to participate in the transfer of culture while not here, or must I wait until I can spend many months here in Wendake? Tsiawhenk