This article is a contribution to reconciliation between Indigenous and Settler peoples in Canada through the creation of space for Indigenous voices within the practice of community music. Colonization and policies to assimilate Indigenous peoples have had devastating impacts and have served to undermine their communal way of life and cultural identities. Many urban Indigenous peoples are searching for ways to ‘re-member,’ ‘re-connect,’ and ‘re-claim’ a sense of community and connection to their traditions. This article takes anchor in the stories of urban Indigenous youth and women and what their drum circle means to them.
The establishment of community music courses and degree programs in universities gives rise to discourse about the fundamental principles of community music. Can community music flourish in the complexity of academia, where disciplines are regulated, researched, and examined systematically? This chapter will argue that community music principles are synergistic with higher education goals, and, in fact, traditional music education has much to learn and gain from community music practices. How can schools of music be more civic minded, community friendly, and enhance the cultural life of the regions they serve? How can rigour exist (artistic and scholarly) in a culture of empathy, inclusivity, and hospitality where nonformal pedagogies are practiced, and where intergenerational and lifelong learning—along with activism, health, and wholeness—are foundational? These questions are addressed and measured against a tradition where audition standards and progression pathways are becoming increasingly multivalent.
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