by Gabrielle Izaguirré-Falardeau
This Summer, the regional cultural offer gets richer with a brand new musical festival because of the first edition of the Mama8i Nikamo festival, on June 13th and 14th, 2025. On top of vibrating to the rhythm of the day celebrations of the Pow Wow, the Anishinaabe community of Pikogan invites the public to continue the festivities until night to discover a whole range of native artists on stage. The Mama8i Nikamo festival promises to be an intense experience.
"(...) We decided to go with a music festival that is more complete, an even bigger project, but an even more beautiful one too."
Jérémie Kistabish - Communication agent as well as planning and logistics manager of the festival
A Gift of Gathering
Motivated by the idea of offering a gift to the population for the 10th edition of their traditional Pow Wow, the culture, leisure and sports sector team of Pikogan brought forth the festival project: "We wondered if we should bring more decorations or even more events in the Pow Wow. Finally, we opted for a complete music festival, an even bigger project, but an even more beautiful one too," Jérémie Kistabish explains as the communication agent and the planning and logistics manager of the Mama8i Nikamo festival.
The team collaborated with the Théâtre des Eskers d’Amos in order to elaborate a program that is as rich as varied. Also, many native and non-native partners both from and from outside of the community worked together. "It’s truly a collective effort that has been made", Mr Kistabish emphasizes. This will to join the visions, the expertise and the nations together to create a gathering event is at the heart of the identity of the Mama8i Nikamo festival. In fact, Mama8i Nikamo means "Let’s sing together".
A Natural Visual Signature
The event distinguishes itself even by its visual brand. The integration of the turtle as the animal theme was natural."The turtle appeared as an animal that gathers everything together. In the Native legends, it carries the world on its back, which has the shape of the Earth," Mr Kistabish explains.
The turtle as well as the colors and the other visual elements of the Mama8i Nikamo festival will also be carried by a decor that was elaborated by Emmanuelle Morin, teacher at the Migwan primary school: "She is really talented. Every year, she would do the end of year galas and it would be absolutely amazing. When she presented her proposal for the festival, it was truly beautiful and we were amazed," Jérémie Kistabish recounts.
A Program for Every Taste
Always with the goal to create a unique and gathering event, the Mama8i Nikamo festival’s team elaborated a varied program. Whether you look at the musical styles presented, the nations of origin of the artists or even of the public it’s planned for, variety is key. Indeed, besides the headliner Samian, who is of the Anishinaabe from Pikogan, there are other regional artists such as Alicia Kaylee, from Long Point First Nation, Ivan Boivin-Flammand, Atikamekw from Manawan and the Wendake artist Anyma Ora, for example. The Mama8i Nikamo festival proposes a scene for everyone.
From rap to folk-rock, exploring also electro-pop, Jérémie promises that everyone will find something to please them: "We aim to attract every age group, and also the general population, from the whole province. Not only Indigenous people, but also Quebecers and Ontarians. We wish to facilitate intercultural exchanges by presenting the Native culture with quality shows that will please the music-lovers and the general public."
"We wish to facilitate intercultural exchanges by presenting the Native culture with quality shows that will please the music-lovers and the general public."
Jérémie Kistabish
A Long Term Investment
The festival committee has been working since last October to elaborate the necessary infrastructures and logistics to set up the site for the Mama8i Nikamo festival. The event will take place only a few meters away from the Pow Wow location. The space is accessible to people with reduced mobility. There will also be a reserved area for those who wish to bring their own chairs to attend the event. The fruits of this labor will be reaped over many years, because the Mama8i Nikamo festival is destined to come back annually. (How amazing!) Thus, it’s only the beginning for this great celebration of Native music.
The complete program and the tickets for the event are available on the festival website.
