By now, you may have heard or learned in your class about the horrible news of a mass grave discovered at a former residential school in Kamloops. To honour the 215 children and show support for our Indigenous communities, our school (and many other buildings) is lowering our flag at half mast, and encouraging everyone to wear orange this week. Music has helped people express and manage emotions that are too strong for words, and it’s one way some people can find healing in situations like this. Therefore, this week we’re featuring N’we Jinan, a nonprofit Canadian record label that gives First Nations students their voice back by allowing them to create their own music in mobile recording studios.” Their name means “We Live Here” in James Bay (Eastern) Cree, and HERE is how they came to be and what they do.
Some of the songs recorded by N’we Jinan:
– We Won’t Forget You: written, recorded and filmed with students from Sk’elep School of Excellence in Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc, Kamloops, British Columbia
– Why Us: written, recorded and filmed with youth from Tachie of Tl’azt’en Nation in British Columbia
– Hide & Seek: written, recorded and filmed with high school students selected from the Surrey School District Board in Surrey, British Columbia (do you recognize Guildford Mall?)
– Our Journey Home: written, recorded and filmed with students from Sardis Secondary School in Chilliwack, British Columbia
– We Are Medicine: written, recorded and filmed with Nuxalk students of Acwsalcta School in Bella Coola, British Columbia
– Let Us Not Worry: written, recorded and filmed with youth from Ditidaht First Nation, British Columbia
– Where Happiness Dwells: written, recorded and filmed with youth from Blueberry River First Nations, British Columbia
– Worthy: written, recorded and filmed with youth from in Adams Lake Indian Band, British Columbia
– The Highway: written, recorded and filmed with students of ‘Na Aksa Gyilak’yoo School in Kitsumkalum First Nation, British Columbia
You can find other Indigenous artists and their music here.
My other connection is that I studied a First Nations language called Kwakwala as part of my linguistics degree at UBC, and we had a chance to learn it from a native speaker then analyze and document it. Unfortunately, many languages and songs are now lost or endangered.