#8 - PT 2 - Native Social Order: Identity, other religions & songs - Guest: Jason HeavyRunner

Tribal Research Specialist: The Podcast

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In this episode, the IRC team discusses the infusion of other religious practices into important components of our Indigenous identity. The episode starts with a hymn called X̣alips Č̓awm (Daylights Prayer) sung by Joe Woodcock, Mary Ann Combs, Mary Finley & Joe Eneas (Salish & Pend d’Oreille). The hymn is used during the Salish wake service. The Hymn is sung after the night-long vigil ends and just before the first light of the day. Designated people would sit with the deceased through the night, praying and singing hymn to ensure that the ‘evil ones’ that move around at night don’t disrupt the prayers and offerings left for the family. The tune for this hymn is a traditional Salish song adapted by Father Mengarini to a Catholic prayer sometime between 1841 and 1850 during his time at St. Marys Mission in the Bitterroot Valley.

The IRC team is also joined by a special guest, Jason HeavyRunner (Salish/Piikani). Jason is serving on the IRC's advisory board and currently works for. He holds a Masters of Arts in Social Work from Walla Walla University. He is working as a Foster Care Permanency Planner for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. Jason has maintained a balance of participation in his tribal customs from both his parent and has gained knowledge from his travel to the Tribal communities across the West.
The IRC team continues the discussion after listening to a clip of Johnny Arlee (Salish) singing Qeqs nkʷneyi Sent Susep (Sing with us Saint Joseph) around 1997. This hymn was used for the feast days for Saint Joseph, the son of Jacob and descendent of King David. It is probably that this hymn was also arranged by Mengarini from a traditional Salish song. There is no records to prove it yet it has a sound that resembles that of the genre of Salish music. The first priests to encounter the Salish understood the importance of music and songs in daily life and used it as a tool to achieve their goals. It was noted that “for the Flathead, the most important single fact about music and its relationship to the total world is its origins in the supernatural sphere.” This fits well with the Catholic worldview and facilitated the learning and blending of Salish and Gregorian liturgical hymns.
The discussion centers around questions such as "Can these infused religious practices be replaced with traditions that existed before them?" "How is our current identity defined by part of other introduced practices?" "Will the next generation maintain these blended practices or will something else evolve?"

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Guest: Jason HeavyRunner
Hosts: Aaron Brien, Kamiah Dumontier, Brenda Shepard, Shandin Pete
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