Grade eight and nine students from the remote fly-in community of God’s Lake Narrows, Man. have released a powerful music video called ‘Back to us’, with the help of a non-profit production company.
N’we Jinan, which means “we live here” in Cree, is a non-profit organization that develops, implements, and executes artistic and educational programs in First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities and schools.
Six students from God’s Lake Narrows used this project to tell their stories.
“The students wrote the song themselves, it’s about reclaiming their culture, addressing addiction issues, asking their families to leave the addictions and come back to them, restoring relationships and reconciliation, there’s a lot of deep meaning within the lyrics,” said Heather Karin Mason, a teacher from God’s Lake Narrows.
Mason is responsible for making this project happen. She says it started two years ago when she first reached out to N’we Jinan to see if it would be open to it. She knew it would take some time, but felt these kids deserved the opportunity.
“These are a really great group of kids that need exposure to art, culture and travel,” said Mason.
“It feels like they’re forgotten, people in the south live their lives and they don’t really acknowledge the dire situation that’s happening in the north, housing crisis, addictions, abuse, the kids are left to deal with it on their own.”
The music video was released Friday, Mar. 8 and can be found on N’we Jinan’s YouTube channel.
Mason says the video tells three different stories.
“The first story is about two girls being attacked, and they have to report to the police, then the police bring them to the school. The second story is about a young boy with an alcohol addiction who is helped by his friends and brought back to school. The third story is about two boys in the school who are bored with the traditional learning environment and are taken out onto the land by one of our respected teacher’s assistance to do some land based training.”
She says it was great to see the students putting such deep thoughts together and putting them in writing.
“The song turned out incredible”.
Mason is planning a graduation trip for the students; she’s hoping to take them to Churchill to further their learning experiences and recognize their success.
-With files from CTV’s Megan Benedictson & Rachel Bergen
