Olympic show quashed for Mi'kmaq youth choir
'I could not look at them'
Last Updated: Friday, October 23, 2009 | 4:27 PM NT
CBC News
Young aboriginal singers in a choir from Conne River, on Newfoundland's south coast, have been told they won't perform at the Olympics in Vancouver in February.
Coming after two years of practising for possibly their biggest performance ever, choir director Brenda Jeddore said the news is devastating.
"I could not look at them," Jeddore said, describing the moment she had to tell the choir the gig was off. "I was sitting at the round table there, and I just couldn't bear to look, and there was nothing said for a while."
The Set'A'newey Performance Choir is made up of 15 young Mi'kmaq singers and drummers who are trying to keep their language and culture alive through music.
Two years ago, after a performance at the National Aboriginal Women's Summit in Corner Brook, on Newfoundland's west coast, the choir said it was invited by British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell to perform at the Olympic opening ceremony.
But this week, the invitation was suddenly withdrawn, said Jeddore, and she was given no reason for the change.
Choir member Shannon Jo Hinks, a Grade 12 student, said she and her fellow choir members can't believe their planned Olympic performance has been cancelled.
'Why would they do that to us?'—Chorister Shannon Jo Hinks
"I was really, really upset," she said. "A lot of us … just looked at each other and we're like, 'What, we're not going now? Why would they do that to us?'"
Hinks said she and her friends have been practising traditional songs and preparing ceremonial native clothing to wear for the performance.
She said the group, which has performed as far away as Japan, deserves an explanation.
"If we're good enough to go across the world and sing, then we're good enough to go across the country and sing."
Jeddore said she will write to the B.C. premier to find out why they are no longer welcome.
Campbell's office said the premier has no say over who performs at the Olympic ceremonies.
The organizing committee of the Vancouver Games said it is looking into the matter; however a spokesperson told CBC News the committee has no knowledge of a scheduled performance by the Conne River singers.
In the meantime, Jeddore says the choir, in existence since 1993, still has some high-profile performances scheduled. In two weeks they'll perform during the royal visit to St. John's by Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.
