Sakomawit is a song written by the Canadian Indigenous artist Jeremy Dutcher, from his debut album Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa (translated to Our Maliseets songs). The album is a fusion of his classical operatic training and traditional songs from his Wolastoq culture. Making this album, which took over five years, was a long but rewarding process for Dutcher. He found the inspiration when an elder told him about a collection of old glass cylinder recordings of traditional songs, sung by his ancestors, in the archives of the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec. Dutcher spent months sitting in the museum, transcribing the music, before arranging and writing accompaniment to the songs. He wanted to honour his ancestors and the history of the Wolastoq people. The album was ground-breaking, and won Dutcher a pulitzer prize. He was also asked to play Sakomawit at the 2019 Juno Awards. And it is only fitting that the first thing he said after his performance was “Psiw-te npomawsuwinuwok, kiluwaw yut! All of my people, this is for you!" Dutcher stressed that he was doing this for the Indigenous people, and pushing back against centuries of cultural genocide. In his speech, he went on to discuss the significance of reviving his Wolastoq culture in reincorporating his traditional music, honouring the songs of his ancestors, and pulling apart the stigma of Indigenous music being lesser. “I think it's important for people to understand a true history of what has actually happened, and what continues to happen in this country, around the systematic devaluing of indigenous languages and cultures," (Jeremy Dutcher).

I think that the song Sakomawit, as well as the entire album, captures the the resilience of the Indigenous people against centuries of cultural genocide. Written in the Wolastoq language, which is spoken by less than 100 people, the song revives the language and culture. As well, the song pays respect to the history of the Indigenous people, is a tribute to those who wrote it and, at the same time,  confronts ongoing stereotypes about Indigenous music.