Presentation Summary
This paper delves into the current traditional holidays and celebrations of First Nation cultures in Canada and how they have been subsequently influenced and altered as a direct result of colonial (i.e. during the period when Canada was first being colonized) and modern-day mechanisms of cultural imposition (i.e. modern day culture changing the traditional practices of native cultures).
For example, as a result of cultural imposition in the form of Catholicism during the period of the colonial settlement of Canada, the Mi’kmaq people actually began celebrating St. Anne’s day which was never part of their belief system. Not only that, but the Haida people have also been invariably been influenced with ceremonies such as the Potlatches gift-giving ceremony in effect being “overwritten” by popular commercial holidays such as Christmas.
This paper thus explores the changes that have occurred to the traditional holidays and celebrations of native cultures and attempts to trace how such alterations occurred. Through the various facts provided, the researcher thus makes the reader wonder how the traditional celebrations of the First Nation people in Canada might have been if external influences had not altered them from their original format.
Introduction
Native populations such as the Haida and Mi’kmaq in Canada had developed numerous cultural celebrations and holidays over the course of their existence. This is a normal aspect of most cultures on Earth as seen in the context of European, Chinese, and Arabic cultures having their own respective religious and cultural celebrations that have been brought about as a result of the development of their own unique cultural histories.
However, it is interesting to note that in the case of the Haida and Mi’kmaq in Canada, their cultural celebrations as they are at the present reflect the influences of the colonial powers that subjugated the region and altered their traditions, at times forcefully, in order to better conform to what was the norm for the colonists at the time.
In the case of colonialism, what occurred was a state of cultural imposition wherein cultural predilections, values, behaviors, cultural celebrations, holidays and even methods of speaking were imposed on a local populace resulting in a deterioration of the local culture.
Of particular interest is the concept of “the White Man’s Burden” and how the white culture had in effect superimposed itself on various native Canadian cultures resulting in a strange blending of the two.
This was done within the context of local indigenous cultures being considered as far inferior to that of the colonists and thus not truly being within the same level of “humanity” as their own. As a result, religious missionaries took it upon themselves to “civilize” the natives resulting in the combination First nation cultural traditions with that of the Roman Catholic religion.
Taking this into consideration, it can be seen that cultural subjugation can be likened to the near-death experience of a First nation culture wherein through imposition and subsequent assimilation old cultural behaviors, values, and various aspects unique to that particular culture are in effect repressed or removed in favor of the ideas, notions and cultural styling of the colonial power at the time.
This was noted within the context of the Haida and Mi’kmaq First Nations in Canada wherein their respective cultural celebrations and holidays were “altered” in order to better incorporate the values and cultural styling of the missionaries that attempted to “bring them over” so to speak towards a more “civilized” type of society.
From a certain perspective it can be seen that through cultural mechanisms of change and imposition, this in effect makes cultures more “in line” with the global perspective of how the world chooses to view them.
However, the sheer cultural decay brought about by such imposition through the loss of traditional methods of celebration in favor of the imposed methods calls into question whether such methods helped the native First Nation people of Canada or irreparably damaged their culture beyond repair.
It is based on this that this paper will explore the changes in the traditional holidays and celebrations of first native cultures in Canada through colonial and modern-day mechanisms of change and cultural imposition.
Canadian Society and its Impact on Traditional Celebrations of First Nation People
The Mi’kmaq and Haida have subsequently changed over the years to cope with new settlers in the region. This was seen in the development of various types of social traditions as well as creating their niche within Canadian society as a whole.
One of the traditional celebrations practiced by the Haida people was the potlatch which can be considered as a type of “gift giving” so to speak wherein people are invited to partake of a celebration where there would be dancing, speeches, food and various types of celebratory events meant to commemorate people who had died, giving people special names and to generally disperse gifts that the chief of the tribe had collected over the course of the year.
Potlatches are quite similar to the end of the year gift giving during gift giving that is seen in present-day society. However, it is interesting to note that given the aggressive and violent nature of the Haida people towards other natives and even to the settlers at the time, they were able to preserve their native traditions to a certain extent before the mass expansion of settlers during the 1700s.
After the expansion of settlers and European influences entering the Haida culture, aspects related to Potlatches were eroded in favor of the customs of European settlers to the point that the Potlatches of the past were replaced by the Christmas traditions of the present.
Similar to the case of other First Nation tribes at the time, the Haida did place a considerable degree of importance on dance as a means of communing with the animal and nature spirits that they worshipped.
Unfortunately, within the past decades there have been fewer examples of Haida dances and cultural practices that can be stated as being within the original context of that tribe’s traditions given the fact that most of its members have been integrated so much into the present day civilization that only aspects related to arts, crafts, and a few oral traditions continue to survive at the present.
What this shows is that modern day society at present has been one of the leading causes behind the deterioration of traditional cultures as a result of cultural imposition.
Studies such as those by Parnaby (2008) explains that to survive in present-day society given the extensive limitations that First Nation tribes have to deal with, it was almost a necessity to become more “civilized” at the expense of native celebrations and traditional holidays (Parnaby, 69-98).
This was also seen within the context of European colonization of Canada and the U.S. wherein imposing their culture on the Haida people was originally thought of as “helping them”.
While it can be stated that through cultural subjugation colonialism actually “helped” native cultures to become more “in line” with the global perspective of what culture should be, this was seen through advances in architecture and technology that came about as a result of subjugation, the fact remains that these native cultures never asked to be “updated” on how the world works.
This apparent need to “update” native cultures towards a more European way of thinking was in part due to how European settlers viewed their way of life as being distinctly superior due to their rich cultural history which they equated into racial superiority (Parnaby, 69-98).
However, the sheer cultural decay that at times occurred as a result of cultural subjugation does not seem to be quite as worth it as history has made it out to be. It is based on this that it can be seen that there are benefits accrued as a result of subjugation but such benefits are often clouded by the adverse cultural effects that colonization have on local areas and people.
This can be seen within the present wherein nearly all vestiges of Haida culture have been reduced to small populations of the tribe’s descendants that have little knowledge of their culture’s full heritage given the fact that their oral heritage was lost as a result of the European colonizers (Parnaby, 69-98).
Another of these changes that are reflected in the Mi’kmaq people can be seen in changes in their traditional celebrations. This was as seen in the case of Pestie’ wa’taqtimk or Naming Ceremony that originated due to Roman Catholic influences on the Mi’kmaq people.
Dance has been an integral aspect of Mi’kmaq traditional celebrations since it is a representation of their spirituality and naturalism wherein they invoke the spirits of nature and their ancestors via their traditional dances. What is unique within the context of the Mi’kmaq people is that they had reinterpreted the 12 days of Christmas to include the Pestie wa’taqtimk (The Celebration of Names).
While Roman Catholic tradition has its Christmas carolers, the Mi’kmaq people developed their version of caroling wherein during the 12 days of Christmas they would honor people who had been given a unique Catholic name by going from house to house, give the person a cross which the people considered as a flower and then subsequently performed a series of dances with fiddle music in the background.
After the dance was over, the people would be invited in and given food that the host had prepared beforehand. When examining this tradition of the Mi’kmaq people, it bears a striking similarity to the Christmas caroling tradition popularized by Roman Catholic society yet changed to better reflect the Mi’kmaq culture (Narine, 10).
In fact, this level of emulation is not limited to caroling but even extends to the celebrations on Christmas day itself wherein people within a tribal community would gather during Christmas day and with some members of the tribe dressing up as devils, priests, animals and other such characters in what Narine (2013) states is a strange imitation of Christmas plays involving Jesus, Mary, Joseph and other characters from the bible yet interpreted in such a manner that it was within the naturalistic (i.e., spirits of nature) focus of the Mi’kmaq people (Narine, 10).
Patterson (2009) explains that the reason behind the development of such traditions was that when Catholic missionaries arrived within Canada, they combined Roman Catholic religious traditions with the traditions of the local First Nation culture to create a unique blend of the two (Patterson, 25-52).
This was done to better indoctrinate the local populace by presenting cultural traditions that they would be more familiar with as compared to an “unfiltered” version of Catholicism that they would have considered as far too “alien” to internalize.
Unfortunately, while there were few overt antagonistic events between European settlers and the Mi’kmaq indigenous population, the fact remains that it was due to the expansion of European settlements in the region that eventually limited the ability of the Mi’kmaq to sufficiently gather enough food for their populations (Patterson, 25-52).
This led to a slow decline of the population to only 500 were left by the late 1800s. This led to the decline of the Pestie wa’taqtimk cultural tradition to the extent that it “died” after the Mi’kmaq people were placed into reserves.
However, some vestiges of this particular cultural celebration exist to this day in the form of the feasts and various visits among people of different reserves on the days following Christmas, which emulate the name day celebrations that used to be prevalent among the Mi’kmaq during the mid-1700s.
Though such celebrations at the present lack the elaborate costumes, traditional dances, and oral traditions that were an integral aspect of the Pestie wa’taqtimk tradition.
Impact of European Colonialism on the Tradition of Holidays and Celebrations
It is interesting to note that European colonization of Canada has had an impact on the types of holiday celebrations of the Mi’kmaq and Haida people. Despite their belief in the spirit world and how the spirits of their ancestors can at times contact them through various signs and dreams, the Mi’kmaq have a tradition of celebrating Saint Anne’s day in Canada.
This is particularly interesting since it represents a celebration that was originally “outside” of traditional Mi’kmaq society and was only included after a significant degree of European influence over the Mi’kmaq religion. Such incorporation was a direct result of the conversion of the Indians to the Christian religion. However, it must be questioned whether it was right for such a change to have been instituted in the first place.
What you have to understand is that the process of adopting a new religion by an indigenous culture often results in a certain degree of “overwriting,” which at times erases all vestiges of the former religion. For anthropologists, the Mi’kmaq people celebrating Saint Anne’s day can be considered as a great cultural loss since it significantly changes the native traditions that used to exist with this once rich culture.
Since there are contextual differences between the structure of the Eucharistic celebration and the original naturalistic spirituality of the Mi’kmaq, it cannot be stated that St. Anne’s day would have developed naturally in this type of native population.
This is indicative of a combination of old traditions with a new religion yet also signifies and indelible alteration of a native culture that cannot be “fixed” since it has already been integrated into Mi’kmaq society as a whole. However, given the various examples that have been presented in this paper so far, it can be stated that the culture that defines a particular society tends to change over time into something completely different.
Despite this, the people, the society, and what can be defined as “cultural traditions” are still considered part of the original culture despite the drastic changes that occurred. For example, when looking at England at present the society that embodies it within the current era is drastically different from what it was during the 1800s, the 1400s and even far before that.
The society that defined itself as “British” during the 10th to 17th century is no longer present what exists in its place is an entirely new culture, a far different society and a population that for all intents and purpose is far more diverse than it was in the past yet such a population still considers itself as “British” despite the fact that it is in no way similar to what was defined as “British” in the past.
The same can be said of the Mi’kmaq and Haida people as well as other First Nation people within Canada wherein despite the alterations in their native celebrations they are still defined as belonging to their respective cultures. St. Anne’s day is not the only Catholic holiday that has found its way in the traditions of native First Nation populations.
Krmpotich (2011) explains that the native population of Canada is not immune from the rampant commercialization of the holiday season resulting in Christmas and New Year’s celebrations finding its way into the annual celebrations of the First Nation people (Krmpotich, 145-160).
The reason behind this is despite being defined as belonging to a local ethnic population; they still belong to Canadian society and, as such, are exposed to the various influences this comes with.
The influence of commercialism in influencing the local holidays and celebratory traditions of local populations applies to nearly all modern societies at present wherein traditional celebrations of native populations in Germany, America, Italy, and Japan have gone through various iterations and changes due to the influence of the commercial holiday season.
It is based on this that this paper has developed the notion that to consider culture traditions and holidays as static events that are isolated to particular periods is fallacious (Krmpotich, 145-160).
Rather, what is known as cultural celebrations and holidays to most people is a dynamic process that constantly changes over the years into different iterations. To a certain extent, it can be stated that the different cultural celebrations and holidays throughout history are nothing more than stages in a development cycle that never truly ends.
It is based on this perspective that the cultural celebrations and holidays that the Mi’kmaq and Haida people, as well as other First Nation tribes, have at present will very likely undergo even more changes in the coming years into something completely different to their present-day set of cultural celebrations and holidays yet the society of this future iteration will still define themselves belonging to a traditional ethnic people that were here prior to the first Canadian settlers.
Conclusion
At the end of this paper, it must be asked how the traditional celebrations of the First Nation people in Canada might have been if external influences had not altered them from their original format. To survive in modern day society, one of the initiatives of the Mi’kmaq and Haida people has been to provide regular tourist trips to their settlements to give tourists a firsthand view on the daily existence of their cultures.
However, while such tours also happen to provide general historical overviews over how the First Nation people have changed over time as a direct result of external influences, it also subjects these cultures into altering their lifestyles to depict a way of living that people would like to see.
This means that the dances, celebrations, and other aspects of First Nation culture are often choreographed based on rehearsals and not done out of a spiritual need that characterized such displays in the past.
Present day celebrations and events have often been altered to be more in line with surviving in this new age of society resulting in a deterioration of First Nation cultural celebrations into something meant for tourists instead of for the people themselves.
What can be learned from the influences of the colonial powers in the past was that an appreciation for racial and cultural diversity simply did not exist during the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, at least within the context of populations that did not fall within the category of the “European model” of civilization.
In its place rose the capitalist agendas where the focus was not the preservation of native cultures, rather, the expansion of commercial interests in the form of agriculture, mining, and the slave trade.
While it may be true that that various European powers, such as the English and the French attempted to implement beneficial institutions (i.e., religious, educational, agricultural practices), the use and benefits of such institutions were largely isolated towards the colonial powers and religious orders.
What this shows was that the imposition of European culture and institutions onto native populations resulted in a deterioration rather than an improvement of the local culture. This was true in the past as it is in the present wherein cultural holidays and celebrations of native First Nation cultures have either been monetized to attract tourists or have been altered considerably due to foreign influence.
This can arguably be considered as a significant cultural loss for Canada because aspects of its native population have deteriorated considerably to the point that the concept of “traditional cultural celebrations” are now heavily diluted through external influences.
What this paper attempted to accomplish was to show the changes that occurred to the cultural celebrations and holidays of the Mi’kmaw and Haida people and showcase just how much the concept of “traditional” has been altered considerably as a result of external influences on First Nation cultures within Canada.
Through the presentation of the various facts and arguments in this paper, the author hopes that the preservation of indigenous cultures and histories can be achieved while at the same time increasing the awareness of the general public towards the necessity of preserving one of Canada’s lasting reminders of its past.
Works Cited
Krmpotich, Cara. “Repatriation And The Generation Of Material Culture.” Mortality 16.2 (2011): 145-160. Print
Narine, Shari. “Pole Commemorates Two Decades Of Collaboration.” Windspeaker 31.6 (2013): 10. Print
Parnaby, Andrew. “The Cultural Economy Of Survival: The Mi’kmaq Of Cape Breton In The Mid-19Th Century.” Labour / Le Travail 61.(2008): 69-98. Print
Patterson, Stephen. “Eighteenth-Century Treaties: The Mi’kmaq, Maliseet, And Passamaquoddy Experience.” Native Studies Review 18.1 (2009): 25-52. Print