'I do it for the children': Maggie Paul wins prestigious music award
CBC
This is part of a series called Ann's Eye, featuring the work of Ann Paul, a Wolastoqey content creator. You can see more Ann's Eye pieces by clicking here.
On the drive to Halifax, Elder Maggie Paul wasn't practising her acceptance speech for the East Coast Music Awards.
Driving through New Brunswick and into Nova Scotia, she was pointing out the dandelions, the sunshine and the blue sky.
"Look at this beautiful day," she told her daughter Ann Paul, who was going to the ceremony with her.
It's part of their culture, Ann later told CBC News.
In her family, they live for and appreciate the present moment so they can build their gratitude each day, giving it to others.
A lifetime of giving to others is what helped Maggie Paul win the Stompin' Tom Award.
Known as a song carrier, Paul started her music career in 1974. She's put out "three or four" albums, Paul said, which capture the traditional songs of the Passamaquoddy and Wolastoqiyik/Maliseet people.
It takes more than a few albums, though, to win the award named for Stompin' Tom Connors, the renowned Canadian musician who turned songs about everyday life into Canadian anthems.
The award is for individuals or groups who've made long-term contributions to the music industry on the East Coast, paving the way for other artists.
Musicians in her community have long sought out Maggie Paul for guidance, Ann Paul said. Juno-award winner Jeremy Dutcher of Neqotkuk First Nation took Maggie's advice to find inspiration in the traditional Wolastoq songs of their people. People go to her house and ask for her songs. Ann's own group, Sisters of the Drum, has benefited from Maggie's guidance.
More than that, and what's most important to Maggie, is the children who sing her songs, carrying forward their language before they go to bed and when they wake up in the morning.
"When you have a song, when you have something that you have that you cherish, give it away, because it'll never do you any good when you keep it to yourself," she said while accepting her award.
Photographer Ann Paul brings an Indigenous lens to stories from First Nations communities across New Brunswick. Click here or on the image below to see more of her work.
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