Hundreds gathered in Chisasibi’s Jobs Memorial Gardens July 19 for what many described as celebration of Indigenous unity. The Mamoweedow Committee hosted an Innu concert featuring legendary duo Kashtin alongside Bryan André, Ninan, Scott Pien-Picard and Maten.
According to Mamoweedow president James Napash, this family-friendly gathering brought people together “to share that feeling of a renewed spirit where we enjoy games and activities.”
The annual Mamoweedow event attracts visitors from across Eeyou Istchee and beyond. Although rooted in Cree tradition, Napash emphasized the gathering welcomes everyone.
“We had visitors coming in from the States,” he said. “They made a trip to the North, and they came all the way by motorcycles. There are always visitors from anywhere and everywhere.”
Napash said bringing Kashstin back to Chisasibi was the highlight of the gathering. “For us, it was amazing to see them,” he said. “It’s what caught so many people’s attention.”
For Napash, the reunion of Kashtin was the emotional centrepiece of the evening.
“I grew up listening to them,” he recalled. “Being Indigenous, they opened doors to many Indigenous people across Quebec and Canada.”
The younger Innu performers also received an enthusiastic response from the audience.
“Brian André, Scott Pien-Picard and Maten and those other singers were also a hit,” Napash said. “I could see people singing along with them when I went behind the stage to observe.”
The atmosphere inside the packed arena reflected that excitement. “People were happy, they were smiling,” Napash said. “They were having a great time. Some were even dancing.”
It was more than three decades ago that William Bearskin first time saw Kashtin perform in the community. He said this year’s concert carried special meaning because it reunited the duo whose influence extended beyond the Innu Nation.
“Back then they were just starting,” he remembered. “They got their first album out in the late 1980s.”
Kashtin was formed in 1984 by Claude McKenzie and Florent Vollant from Maliotenam First Nation near Sept-Îles, and their songs reached audiences around the world before the two separated in the mid-1990s.
For Bearskin and his daughter Felicia, seeing the two singers on stage was emotional, because their music has been part of Bearskin’s family history.
“Back then, Felicia was just a little girl, I think she was one or two,” he said. “Now, she’s in her 30s, and she was standing in front of me when they played the song ‘Nitanish’, which means ‘my daughter’ – it was emotional.”
Beyond nostalgia, Bearskin says Kashtin changed the landscape for Indigenous musicians by proving that the artists could achieve national recognition performing songs in their own language.
“They paved the way for other Indigenous artists,” he said. “They captured the hearts of mainstream audiences. I had goosebumps listening to them, it was a sense of pride, it was cool.”
Despite mobility issues, the two singers were in top form, Bearskin said, and they reminded him why their music has been so meaningful.
“When they played one of their famous tunes, the reception was awesome,” he said.
Bearskin says Kashtin’s success was a source of pride not only for the Innu Nation but also for Cree people and Indigenous communities across Canada, and the duo’s legacy continues to inspire new generations of Indigenous performers.
For many in Chisasibi, the concert was a reminder of how music can preserve language, celebrate culture and strengthen relationships between Indigenous nations.