Exhibition: NIMITAAU Let's Dance - Fiddle Dancing Through Scots and Eeyou Cultures

This exhibition explores the fiddle dancing tradition of the indigenous people of northern Quebec and their links with Scottish culture. Translated into English, Cree Syllabics and Gaelic, visitors will learn about the individual stories from Eeyouch, Moose Cree, and Scots performers, and take an audio-visual journey into the world of Eeyou fiddle-dance performance. Nimitaau. Let's Dance!

Music has long played an important role in the lives of the indigenous peoples in northern Quebec. Music, particularly drumming and singing, has been a part of Eeyouch culture for the thousands of years in which they have inhabited the land. Fiddle music and fiddle-dancing were adopted into Eeyouch social life as the people of Eeyou Istchee came into contact with British fur traders from the early 1700s. The Eeyouch fashioned their own form of fiddle music and dance from the traditions of their past and new influences from across the sea.

Come and find out more about this fiddle-dancing tradition. And why not dance or play along whilst you are in the gallery? There are musical instruments for you to try and space for you to dance!

"We only had one fiddle but everybody played. We used to sit down all around the living room, sit down all around, and one guy played fiddle, and the next one and next one, sharing that one fiddle."

James Cheechoo, Moose Factory, 2011 

Hosted by

Special Collections Centre

Venue

The Sir Duncan Rice Library