Greetings of love sung across river

Normally around this time Ann Margaret Paul drives her mother, Passamaquoddy Elder Maggie Paul, down from the St. Mary's First Nation near Fredericton for a visit with family and friends at Sipayik. With the New Brunswick and Maine border closed because of the pandemic, Ann Margaret came up with another way for her mother to have a visit. She'd heard the song "Christmas Wish" and realized that she could offer one to her mother with a special road trip.
On November 9 mother and daughter drove down to St. Stephen and stood at a waterfront section that looks across at the Calais marina. The St. Croix River is fairly narrow at the spot, and with the streets quiet and the water carrying sound, Maggie Paul began to drum and sing the "Humble Song" to her sister, Passamaquoddy Elder Gracie Paul, who was standing on the opposite shore. Ann Margaret joined in the singing. Maggie Paul is internationally known for her drumming, and it certainly showed as the sound of the mother and daughter singing with the drum sailed across the water, rising in crescendo as they reached the end.
Cyril Francis, cousin to Ann Margaret, explains the that "Humble Song" "honors everything around us, families, with each named individually. Everyone is honored in each verse." She adds that there is a part of the song that says to bend your head. "It's a way to humble oneself." The two sisters greeted each other, "waving and hollering and sending Passamaquoddy messages of love" across the water, says Francis.
And with the story being shared with others it is spreading a little bit of joy during a time when it is much needed.