A few weeks ago I featured Raven's Quest, the TVO series which does a beautiful job showcasing the lives of Indigenous young people across Canada in a fun way which is accessible to young students. But how can you capture the attention and interest of your older students?
In the same spirit of finding contemporary portraits of Indigenous young people telling their own story in resources great for the classroom, I want to turn your attention to the AMAZING music videos whose creation was facilitated by N'we Jinan, a non-profit from Quebec.
Initiated by David Hodges and Joshua Iserhoff, N'we Jinan travels to Indigenous communities across Canada to provide music education to young people. The end product is a video which showcase the community, and features a song written and preformed by the youth.
I love how in each video, the performers seem invested in sharing the strengths and the struggles of their lives and share immense pride in their home. The videos all offer important messages about connection to culture and dedication to community, and the lyrics are rich and honest takes on the everyday experiences of the youth.
How can you incorporate these videos into your classroom?
If you scroll down this page on the website, you can find a map of the communities that N'we Jinan has worked with. You might choose to show the video from the community closest to where you teach, or nearby a specific issue or history you are teaching about. Or, you could watch a number of the videos to see if any touch on a topic or theme which you are covering in your class. Better yet, take an inquiry approach, and see what questions your students have after viewing.
See below for a small selection of videos, and my descriptions.
This song from the youth of Kitsumkalum First Nation, British Columbia is about the infamous highway in Canada where many Indigenous women and men have gone missing or have been murdered.
In this video youth from Klemtu, BC, speak about their connection to their traditions, including the teachings connected to the Spirit Bear.
The middle of Many Paths by youth from Kawacatoose First Nation in SK, features a story about a young boy who feels devastated after his grandmother passes away.