Uploaded February 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Listen to an excerpt of Sons of Membertou's "Kepmite'tmnej (Mi'kmaq Honour song)," performed live at the 48th World Conference of the International Council for Traditions of Music and Dance, on January 10, 2025. Listen to the full song here: youtu.be/iB5yzUoze7c and on their album Wapna'kik: The People of the Dawn.
About the song, community leader and drum keeper Darrell Bernard writes:
"The “Mi'kmaq Honour Song” has become the national anthem of the Mi'kmaw Nation. This beautiful song, written by George Paul, is about a deep respect for the Nation of Mi'kma'kik. It is about bringing our people together, and about respecting and remembering the reasons that the Creator has placed us on this land."
Produced by Centre for Sound Communities, Cape Breton University
Edited by Nick Baldwin
© 2025, Centre for Sound Communities, Cape Breton University
Purchase/Stream:
Smithsonian Folkways: https://folkways.si.edu/sons-of-membertou/wapnakik-the-people-of-the-dawn
Bandcamp: sonsofmembertou.bandcamp.com/album/wapnakik-the-people-of-the-dawn
All other platforms: orcd.co/sons-of-membertou
Wapna'kik (The People of the Dawn) by the Mi'kmaw musical group Sons of Membertou foregrounds the powerful voices of their people. First released in 1995, Wapna'kik documents a vital resurgence of the Membertou community’s music practices. The 2025 updated edition by Smithsonian Folkways includes "Mi'kmaq Honour Song" and "500 Years," introducing a new generation of singers and musicians. Their addition to the album exemplifies the diversity of Mi’kmaw sonic and poetic expressions, which continue, as they have for centuries, to incorporate global influences. Drums play a central role throughout the album, uniting generations of those who strengthen Mi’kmaw language and culture through these songs.
Sons of Membertou:
Facebook: facebook.com/p/Sons-of-Membertou-100086511765949
Instagram: instagram.com/sons_of_membertou
Smithsonian Folkways: https://folkways.si.edu
Facebook: facebook.com/smithsonianfolkwaysrecordings
Twitter: twitter.com/Folkways
Instagram: instagram.com/smithsonianfolkways
Support our work! Become a Friend of Folkways: https://folkways.si.edu/friends-of-folkways
The content and comments posted here are subject to the Smithsonian Institution copyright and privacy policy (www.si.edu/copyright). Smithsonian reserves the right in its sole discretion to remove any content at any time.
Listen to an excerpt of Sons of Membertou's "Kepmite'tmnej (Mi'kmaq Honour song)," performed live at the 48th World Conference of the International Council for Traditions of Music and Dance, on January 10, 2025. Listen to the full song here: youtu.be/iB5yzUoze7c and on their album Wapna'kik: The People of the Dawn.
About the song, community leader and drum keeper Darrell Bernard writes:
"The “Mi'kmaq Honour Song” has become the national anthem of the Mi'kmaw Nation. This beautiful song, written by George Paul, is about a deep respect for the Nation of Mi'kma'kik. It is about bringing our people together, and about respecting and remembering the reasons that the Creator has placed us on this land."
Produced by Centre for Sound Communities, Cape Breton University
Edited by Nick Baldwin
© 2025, Centre for Sound Communities, Cape Breton University
Purchase/Stream:
Smithsonian Folkways: https://folkways.si.edu/sons-of-membertou/wapnakik-the-people-of-the-dawn
Bandcamp: sonsofmembertou.bandcamp.com/album/wapnakik-the-people-of-the-dawn
All other platforms: orcd.co/sons-of-membertou
Wapna'kik (The People of the Dawn) by the Mi'kmaw musical group Sons of Membertou foregrounds the powerful voices of their people. First released in 1995, Wapna'kik documents a vital resurgence of the Membertou community’s music practices. The 2025 updated edition by Smithsonian Folkways includes "Mi'kmaq Honour Song" and "500 Years," introducing a new generation of singers and musicians. Their addition to the album exemplifies the diversity of Mi’kmaw sonic and poetic expressions, which continue, as they have for centuries, to incorporate global influences. Drums play a central role throughout the album, uniting generations of those who strengthen Mi’kmaw language and culture through these songs.
Sons of Membertou:
Facebook: facebook.com/p/Sons-of-Membertou-100086511765949
Instagram: instagram.com/sons_of_membertou
Smithsonian Folkways: https://folkways.si.edu
Facebook: facebook.com/smithsonianfolkwaysrecordings
Twitter: twitter.com/Folkways
Instagram: instagram.com/smithsonianfolkways
Support our work! Become a Friend of Folkways: https://folkways.si.edu/friends-of-folkways
The content and comments posted here are subject to the Smithsonian Institution copyright and privacy policy (www.si.edu/copyright). Smithsonian reserves the right in its sole discretion to remove any content at any time.
