Medicine Fiddle
$30.00
Official Trailer
Released in 1991, Medicine Fiddle is a deeply moving documentary directed by filmmaker and sociologist Michael Loukinen. The film explores the rich, often overlooked history of the unique hybrid fiddling and step-dancing traditions found among the Native American (primarily Anishinaabe/Ojibwe) and Métis peoples of the northern United States and Canada.
The Cultural Convergence
The film traces how this music came to life. In the 1600s and 1700s, French fur traders, followed by Irish and Scottish trappers and lumberjacks, brought their traditional fiddle tunes and step-dancing into the Lake Superior region and western wilderness.
Rather than simply adopting the European styles, Native communities adapted and fused them with their own spiritual and musical traditions. The result was a distinct, high-energy culture of “bush fiddling” and step-dancing—perhaps most famously embodied by the Red River Jig—that moved westward with the fur trade.
The Philosophy of “Medicine Fiddle”
The title captures a profound spiritual element. In the documentary, traditional musicians explain that the fiddle is far more than just a musical instrument; it carries a living spirit.
Music from the Woods: One storyteller, Maude Waupoose, shares how an old fiddler learned his music not from a teacher, but by taking his violin out into the forest to capture the “music in the air” and learn directly from the trees.
The “Medicine” Inside: Musicians recount how old-time fiddlers would physical “plus up” their instruments to alter the sound and imbue it with spiritual power. One family describes a grandfather who placed porcupine quills inside the sound box of his violin and carved a deer bone for the string rest. As he used to say, it “got Indian medicine on there.”
The Style and Structure
True to Loukinen’s style as a folklorist, the film avoids standard academic lecturing. Instead, it lets the tradition bearers speak, play, and dance for themselves. It features raw, intimate footages of musicians like Coleman Trudeau, Dick Gravell, and Rene Cote playing in kitchens, backyards, and local socials.
The documentary highlights how the music was passed down dynamically across generations—often learned implicitly by children watching their grandmothers step-dance in the kitchen while cooking, or being told by their fathers to get out on the floor and “jig.”
It’s an invaluable historical record of a beautiful, resilient cultural tapestry that honors both the European roots of the music and the powerful, enduring spirit of the Indigenous people who made it their own.
Awards:
National Educational Film Festival Gold Apple Award Special Merit Award,
American Indian Film Festival Society for Visual Anthropology honoree
American Anthropological Association selection
CINE Golden Eagle Award
American Folklore Society honoree
American Film and Video Festival honoree.
This film was released in 1992 and is 81 minutes long.
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