AUNTIE: Wa'tkwanonhweráton Sewakwé:kon On this edition of The Aunties Dandelion – PART 2 of our visit with singer, composer, musicologist, Juno and Polaris prize winner, language carrier, and Indigi-queer futurist Jeremy Dutcher from Wolastoqiyik nation. Jeremy's prize-winning 2018 debut album Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa features duets with his ancestors recorded on wax cylinders by an anthropologist more than a century ago. PART ONE of our visit covered Jeremy’s journey from classically trained opera singer to the international success of his first album. Today, in PART 2 we begin with Jeremy’s work around language revitalization within his community. Later we talk about his collaboration with Yo-Yo Ma, his recent stint on Canada’s drag race and we delve deeper into the power and meaning of song. JEREMY: My mind was really expanded when I went out west for the first time and got to hear how they talk about songs. Because for them, they view song as law. That song is literally how we relate to one another. And so when we need to know how our people philosophize or what we think we bring out the songs. And other people for other people in the world I think this is a tradition from like Australia, the Indigenous people down there, songs are maps. They use song to navigate land. Song is not what we think it is. Song is not entertainment and something to be sold and bought. It is mneumonic, it is embodied, it is spiritual. So I think we gotta explore it at least together and I think what’s been, what’s been transformative. That secret sauce is the shared experience and we are coming together for the first time. AUNTIE: We are Yethinihsténha ne Tekaronyakánere - The Aunties Dandelion and we are focused on revitalizing our communities through stories of land, language and relationships. We invite you to make some time for these regenerative stories. And don't forget to listen to your Aunties.
Jeremy Dutcher and world renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma collaborate on the Mi'kmaw Honor Song
More background on Jeremy Dutcher from the Hamilton Philharmonic