Songs of the Land

In the exceptional year of 2020, the project-defining book “Under the Northern Lights: Indians from Canada tell of their country” by the Lucerne historian Manuel Menrath was published.
The book provides an impressive and strikingly detailed picture of the life of Canada's indigenous population. A story of uprooting and cultural loss. 

Parallel to this publication, the intercontinental project SONGS OF THE LAND was created – through a combination of happy coincidences at a Canadian airport – with the poet and former Cree Chief Mike Metatawabin from the Fort Albany First Nation (CAN), the author Manuel Menrath and the Graubünden musicians Simon Ambühl, Daniel Sailer, Mattias Zindel and the music producer Simon Jäger.

In co-production with the Chur Theater, SONGS OF THE LAND is a musical spoken word installation that provides an in-depth insight into the history of the Cree. In his poems, Mike Metatawabin refers to aspects of Indian reality that remain hidden from the dominant Canadian society and the rest of the world. He sensitively illuminates everyday problems, links them with autobiographical experiences and describes what the land means to the First Nations and how inseparably it is linked to their understanding of identity. With his poems, Mike Metatawabin overcomes the intercultural barrier of understanding and shows in an impressive way what it means to live indigenous culture in the modern world.

With the kind support of the City of Chur, Canton of Graubünden, Graubündner Kantonalbank, Ernst Göhner Foundation, Zauberberg Foundation and Dr. Valentin Malamoud Foundation 

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