Filmmaker, singer-songwriter and activist of Miq'mac descent Willie Dunn died in Ottawa on the 5th of August. I'm linking to a trailblazing work he did, along with a group of talented young Aboriginal people, a montage-film titled "Ballad of Crowfoot", made in ... 1968!
http://www.nfb.ca/film/ballad_of_crowfoot
Sadly, the situation he decries hasn't changed much in the subsequent 5 decades.
More on Willie Dunn: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/story/2013/08/09/obit-dunn-willie...
Singer-songwriter and First Nations activist Willie Dunn has died at the age of 71.
(...)
"I was really proud of him: proud of his musical ability and how much people seemed to look up to his lyrics and his poetry. A lot of it was very poignant for people dealing with the issues they were dealing with. He was one of the only people saying these things," his son told CBC Radio's All in a Day.
"He was definitely a man for the people."
Thanks for posting this, Lagatta. Very powerful song and one of the most awesome music videos I've ever seen. A true gem of a folksong that deserves a much wider audience.
When I was growing up, the group of young Anishinabek that I hung around with used to listen to Willie's music all the time. Willie, David Campbell, Floyd Westerman, and Buffy Sainte Marie were the artists that were able to express our feelings as young indigenous people, the things we thought about, the pride in our culture, and the ideals we tried to live by. They helped us.
There is one of Willie's songs, that to this day, always invokes strong feelings in me, because my husband is a survivor of residential school. That song is called Charlie Wenjack, and it is available on the intenet. I encourage you to listen to this song. There is so much talk about residential school and its impact on our people, but this song will help you understand, emotionally, how it was.
Miigwech for the songs, Willie.
