Ntoliwis Nil Wolastoq: ‘As a nation, the river’s name is who we are’

A new film featuring local elders makes a case for river’s name change.

Nate Gaffney has made a magnificent film explaining the centrality of Wolastoq to Wolastoqey culture and reiterating the crucial nature of the name change that advocates have been asking for. In 2017-18, Wolastoq Grand Council formally asked for the change to be made and, in spring of 2023, the Higgs government announced that this change would not be going forward.

My Name is Wolastoq’s opening intervention by Madawaska First Nation Patricia Bernard outlines the central message of the film: “As a nation, the river’s name is who we are.”  In July 2023, Bernard’s sister was named interim National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations.

The film centers around one young person living in Fredericton, Riley Gaffney, who is looking to reconnect with his ancestral culture. Riley explains the curiosity he feels towards his culture, especially due to the ambivalence of people’s reactions to him identifying this origin.

The film is a very touching and intimate portrait as Riley’s family members —his father and grandmother— share their experiences of being Wolastoqiyik at distinct historical moments.

My Name is Wolastoq includes interventions by prominent Elders and members of Wolastoqey communities that dot the province’s longest river, at 673 kilometres.

The viewer is taken on a journey through Wolastoqey culture with Riley going searching for artifacts, drumming, visiting an old-growth forest, and other activities, with Elders and community members who are passionate about the topic.

The film features David Perley, Opolahsomuwehs (Imelda Perley), Cecelia and Anthony Brooks, Shane Perley-Dutcher, Wolastoqewi Kci-Sakom spasaqsit possesom – Chief Ron Tremblay, among other figures explaining and commenting aspects of Wolastoqey culture to Riley.

All the people included in the film make a strong case for the importance of changing the name of the river in an official way, as a first step to meeting the Calls to Action issued by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada in 2015.

Desmond Simon and Lauchlan Ough’s cinematography is stunning. The beautiful meandering river and surrounding countryside is shown in all its splendour with extensive drone shots and aerial views, through a variety of seasons. An beautifully-animated origin story, narrated by Opolahsomuwehs, explains the creation of Wolastoq.

During Riley’s drumming lesson, the film showcases the Muskrat Singer’s drumming, a group from Sitansisk. The film also incorporates four of Jeremy Dutcher’s haunting hybrid compositions from the Wolastoqi artist’s first album, Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa (The Songs of the People of the Beautiful River) in its soundtrack. The recorded voices of the ancestors from the turn of the twentieth century are therefore present in the film, creating a rich layering.

This is Nate Gaffney’s first film but it bodes well for the young director who previously worked as a photographer. Nate is cofounder of a media company called Wabanaki Media, based in Fredericton.

The film ends with a call to action to its viewers to support the movement to change the river’s name to Wolastoq. A documentary with a similar aim, called ‘This River is Our Relative’ was released in 2023 by the Penobscot First Nations in Maine.

My Name is Wolastoq can be viewed on Gem, the CBC streaming service, since the documentary was selected for the curated series called Absolutely Canadian.

Sophie M. Lavoie writes about arts and culture for the NB Media Co-op and is a member of the NB Media Co-op’s editorial board.

We corrected this article at approximately 1:25 p.m. on Oct. 5, 2023 to reflect the correct date when the Wolastoq Grand Council formally requested the name change, i.e., 2017-18. We previously updated the article at approximately 10 p.m. on Oct. 4, 2023 to correctly identify the interim National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, who is, in fact, Joanna Bernard, and to clarify that the name change was requested by the Wolastoq Grand Council.