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The Muskrat Singers reflect on 30 years of drumming

Drumming with the Muskrat Singers helped Percy Sacobie stay sober. Three decades later, he's still drumming.

Sitansisk drumming group has been together since 1994

CBC News ·
An old photograph shows three young men standing in front of a drum that says Muskrat in red lettering.
The Muskrat Singers have been drumming together since the early 1990s. (Ann Paul/CBC)

This is part of a series called Ann's Eye, featuring the work of Ann Paul, a Wolastoqey content creator. You can see more Ann's Eye pieces by clicking here.

Percy Sacobie quit drinking in the early nineties. Singing and drumming helped him stay sober.

He joined up with a few other drummers and singers on Sitansisk First Nation (St. Mary's), and 30 years later, the Muskrat Singers are still together.

The group is popular at powwows.

WATCH | See a performance by the Muskrat Singers: 

Thirty years later, he still sings with the group that helped him quit drinking

8 months ago
Duration 1:32
The Muskrat Singers of Sitansisk (St. Mary’s First Nation) have been singing and drumming together since the early ‘90s.

Ann Paul said the drummers have a "sound that goes straight into your core and draws you right to the drum." 

Scroll through the photos and watch the video to see more of the Muskrat Singers.

A group of men wearing grey sweaters walk through a white tent over grass. A man at the front holds a giant drum.
The storied drumming group performed at the Sitansisk pow wow in June. (Ann Paul/CBC)
A group of men sit inside a white tent around a drum, each beating it with a stick and singing.
The Muskrat Singers sing songs that have been passed down, Ann Paul said, but members write their own songs, too. (Ann Paul/CBC)
A photo on the left shows a man wearing traditional dress singing and banging a drum. A photo on the right shows a man with brown hair and glasses and wearing a white shirt also banging a drum and singing.
The Muskrat Singers are a powwow drumming group with a mix of traditional and contemporary styles, Ann Paul said. (Ann Paul/CBC)
A graphic drawing shows an Indigenous woman holding a camera up to her eye.
(CBC News Graphics)

Ann's Eye

Photographer Ann Paul brings an Indigenous lens to stories from First Nations communities across New Brunswick. Click here or on the image below to see more of her work. 

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