“🎶This is how we grow
This is how we get to know
This is family
This is sacred” 🌱
A beyond incredible experience last night at the Downie Wenjack Secret Path concert. It was a space where ALL the best parts of care and love were celebrated. A space for hope to grow for Canada, for connection, and for reconciliation. The people in that room were special enough to give you hope just looking at them and feeling their strength. It is a strength that is SO strong it encourages the same in others. You must (MUST!!!) follow this link to watch the video– Buffy Sainte-Marie is inspiration itself💫.#secretpathlive
It was an event to raise money for the Downie-Wenjack foundation. This is a foundation that seeks to establish connection and understanding between indigenous and non-indigenous communities. Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip worked with the Wenjack family to establish this route of hope after hearing of Chanie Wenjack. Chanie was a 12 year old boy who was placed in a residential school in 1966. He ran away. He tried to get home. He’d been taken over 600km away from his family. He wanted to be in a place where he was accepted and safe. So he began walking. He’d been taken away from safety and because of that, he walked alone through Canada’s wilderness and never made it home.
When singer Gord Downie heard of this, he was sparked by Chanie’s resilience and bravery. Gord wrote 10 songs/poems to help spread this story.
Here is a link to a song paired with images from a graphic novel about this journey.
Canada has been sparked by this story and by this poetic expression of the will to find home. It is a spark of momentum that is essential for the future of our country. It is essential because our entire country must have the will to find a home where we all acknowledge the horrific history of tragedy on this stolen land. This momentum holds angerand energy and propells us forward into action. The action required involves active listening. Acknowleging the truth can effect change. This night held a core flame of hope at its heart. It's a hope that is weighted with the dense history that had come together to create a force of empowered, collective direction.