The Canadianization of Newfoundland Folksong; or the Newfoundlandization of Canadian Folksong

Abstract

The idea that folksong is an important source of national identity has been a tenant of cultural politics in Newfoundland for a century. During the years prior to Confederation this idea led to the creation of a national folksong canon by Gerald S. Doyle and others. Following Confederation, central Canadian researchers, educators, and entertainers drew upon this canon in celebrating Newfoundland folksong as Canadian folksong. Subsequently, Newfoundlanders have responded in a variety of ways to these acts of incorporation.

ANewfoundland Ethnicity? The Political Implications of Post‐Confederation Nationalism inNewfoundland

“…Ruth King and Sandra Clarke (:539–40) argue that the term Newfie ‘serves as a highly salient marker of a particular stereotype of Newfoundland identity … [though it] is at odds with Newfoundlanders' pre‐Confederation images of themselves as a people with a long history of survival against all odds, and of outsiders' images of Newfoundlanders as “simple” fisher folk’. Neil Rosenberg (:64) argues a similar point, noting that through the popularization of traditional Newfoundland songs in the 1940s, mainland Canadians were presented with the stereotypical outport Newfie, which ‘would emerge full‐blown in the 1960s in the form of “Newfie” jokes’.…”

Shifting Voices and Changing Cultural Identities: Threats and Effects of Dominant Authorities on Newfoundland Traditional Folk Music 1910-1965

“…solo vocalist. 34 Kenneth Peacock, a Canadian composer and music collector employed by the National Museum of Canada (now the Canadian Museum of Civilization) to collect for Newfoundland, published his songbook entitled Songs of the Newfoundland Outports in 1955, post-confederation. Because Doyle's songbook was distributed and used across Canada, Canadians interpreted the music they read in Old-Time Songs and Poetry of Newfoundland as representative of the province's traditional music.…”

“…Canada normalized and indigenized this music as its own; a sound far from the original traditional folk music of Newfoundland. 35 Peacock collected through the summers of 1951-52 and 1958-61, 36 his final collection totaling over 700 songs from most regions of the island. 37 Peacock's vision of Newfoundland as a community based around romanticized old-world traditions and lifestyles affected the kinds of songs he chose for collection.…”