Music, power, and relations: fiddling as a meeting place between re-settlers and indigenous nations in Manitoba
dc.contributor.advisor | Wrazen, Louise J. | |
dc.contributor.advisor | Johnson, Sherry A. | |
dc.contributor.advisor | Witmer, Robert | |
dc.creator | Giroux, Monique Celine | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2016-08-03T16:52:09Z | |
dc.date.available | 2016-08-03T16:52:09Z | |
dc.date.copyright | 2013-06 | |
dc.degree.discipline | Music | |
dc.degree.level | Doctoral | |
dc.degree.name | PhD - Doctor of Philosophy | |
dc.description.abstract | This dissertation examines fiddling as a meeting place between Turtle Island's Indigenous nations and Manitoba's re-settler population. Based on archival research, interviews, and fieldwork in Manitoba, it argues that fiddling both reflects the broader relationship between Indigenous nations and re-settlers (which is marked by an unequal distribution of power) and is used to remake this relationship. The first section focuses on Indigenous fiddling. Using mainstream (re-settler) newspaper articles from the early twentieth century to the present day, it examines re-settler representations of Indigenous fiddlers and fiddling; it also explores Metisfest, a contemporary Metis rendezvous that functions as a space for Metis cultural resurgence, using fiddling as a central 'draw'. The next section considers the old-time scene by providing a working definition of the style, exploring fiddle contests, and addressing a number of key tensions in the old-time fiddle community. It argues that old-time fiddling functions as an unmarked centre that reinforces an unequal relationship between nations; at the same time, it acknowledges the significant contributions made by Indigenous fiddlers to Manitoba's old-time scene. The final section focuses on the Manitoba Open Old Time Fiddle Championships, a fiddle competition that explicitly brings old-time and Metis (style) fiddling together through the inclusion of a Metis-style category. This final section points to the tension between mainstream and Metis understandings of Metis fiddling and how Metis-style fiddling (at the competition) ultimately serves to affirm the dominance of an unmarked (i.e., old-time) style of fiddling. By exploring the Indigenous and old-time fiddle scenes from varied perspectives, this dissertation uncovers the complex relationships between central Turtle Island's two main fiddle styles. It also fills a significant lacuna in the research on Manitoba's fiddle scenes and recognizes that the burden to decolonize Turtle Island should not be placed (solely) on the shoulders of Indigenous nations. | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10315/31736 | |
dc.rights | Author owns copyright, except where explicitly noted. Please contact the author directly with licensing requests. | |
dc.subject.keywords | fiddling | |
dc.subject.keywords | re-settlers | |
dc.subject.keywords | Indigenous nations | |
dc.subject.keywords | Metis | |
dc.subject.keywords | music | |
dc.subject.keywords | Manitoba | |
dc.title | Music, power, and relations: fiddling as a meeting place between re-settlers and indigenous nations in Manitoba | |
dc.type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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