ICTMD Pre - Conference Symposium: Kepmite'tmnej ta'n teli L'nuwulti'kw

Kepmite'tmnej ta'n teli L'nuwulti'kw Let us greatly respect being L'nu

Speakers: Graham Marshall, Austin Christmas, Starr Paul, Maisyn Sock
Leim Joe.

Presenters share ways in which L’nu or Mi’kmaw music, dance, arts and language-based creative practices support healing, health and wellbeing. Graham Marshall and Austin Christmas of the Sons of Membertou traditional drum group, dancer Maisyn Sock, and Mi’kmaw language scholar StarrPaul, are joined by Mi’kmaw music and education student Liem Joe, to share songs, stories and dances. They discuss how these cultural practices are intertwined with Mi’kmaw values, and ways of knowing and being in the world. These include respect for Elders; the vitality of youth; how people, traditions and creative practices connect in/from place to place and through generations; how creative practices support language (re)vitalization, sustainability, and language-related rights, resilience, regeneration, and the reclamation (of lands, and cultural practices); and how creative practices support pathways to heal ongoing impacts of colonialism.


Healing, Health and Wellbeing: Indigenous Perspectives on Music and Dance was held fully online on 27-28 September 2024 as advance sessions to the upcoming 48 th ICTMD World Conference in Wellington, New Zealand. Engaging with the conference theme of Indigenous Music and Dance, the pre-conference symposium focused on: Healing, Health, and Wellbeing: Indigenous Perspectives on Music and Dance. The symposium featured presentations by music and dance practitioners from Unama’ki (First Nations Canada), Taiwan, South Africa, Australia, and Aotearoa New Zealand. The symposium was organized by the 2025 programme committee co-chairs Marcia Ostashewski and Kirsty Gillespie, and the chair of local arrangements Brian Diettrich. The Centre for Sound Communities (Cape Breton University) hosted the symposium for ICTMD on Zoom.