I’m officially on leave from the CBC for the summer to work on a writing project funded by the Canada Council for the Arts. I applied for one of their Creative Writing grants about a year ago, and found out last fall that I got it. I told my boss at CBC Manitoba about it and he was very supportive. The only stipulation was I’d have to go on leave for a couple of months to get the project done. We agreed back then that June and July would be the best months to take the leave. I planned on doing it back home in Ontario.

As spring rolled around, it became clearer to me that if I spent those two months back home, I wouldn’t want to return to Winnipeg. I’d been in the city for four years at that point, and although I loved it, I was getting very homesick. I missed my family and friends a lot. So at the end of May I packed up my life in Winnipeg, rented a cargo van, and drove it back to central Ontario with the help of my brother Musky.

Now I spend my days writing. I’m doing it mostly in my home community of Wasauksing, with small stints in Toronto and Ottawa. Without going into too much detail, I’m working on a novel about an Anishinaabe family on the reserve who turns to the traditional ways to deal with a tragedy. Vague, I know, but I’m still developing the story so I don’t want to give too much away. It’s the second book I’ve worked on funded by the CCA. I received my first grant from them in 2004 to write The Midnight Sweatlodge, a collection of short stories that will be published early next year by Theytus Books and will be available everywhere.

Storytelling and writing have always been my biggest passion, so I guess right now I’m basically “living the dream”. I hope to return to CBC later this summer (I can’t say exactly where yet either because we’re still working out the details) because broadcast journalism is another huge passion of mine, and I love that field of work. Plus I’ll need to pay the bills somehow. Haha.

I want to say chi-miigwetch to everyone who has been so supportive with this decision. It’s not easy leaving a full-time job in a city you love, but it’s something I had to do to move on with the next chapter of my life. It’s very exciting and I’m looking forward to what happens next. I will keep you posted on when exactly you can buy The Midnight Sweatlodge. Hopefully this new novel will someday see the light of day as well.

Peace and Love,
Waubgeshig

Share/Save

I swiped my buddy Mic’s feet from my face. He was passed out on the bunk just above the couch I slept on. I sat up, grabbed the nearest bottle of water, and got back on the long road of cooling and rehydration. I turned on the RV’s generator to crank up the air conditioner. I wasn’t ready to put a shirt on yet though. I opened the side door and stepped back into the heat and sun. I looked around at all the other RVs, and wondered how many of them foolishly shut off their air conditioners in the middle of the night.

It was a long trip getting to that sweaty and foul Saturday morning. I got a Facebook message at the end of the winter from one of my lifelong friends Matt, who was serving in Afghanistan. He was due back in Canada at the start of June, and was looking for something to do to celebrate. He suggested the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Tennessee. I took a quick look at the lineup and said hell yes. It sounded like a great reason for a road trip, and I was in.

We planned to take an RV on the 1300 km trip from southern Ontario. We tried recruiting lots of friends and family, and ended up five people altogether: Matt, his wife Ruby, his brother Mic, Mic’s girlfriend Paula, and yours truly. The planning was all worked out on Facebook, and as soon as June 9 rolled around we were picking up an RV from a rental joint in Hamilton.

What followed was a long haul through one province and four states that involved stops in the middle of nowhere to park and sleep in Walmart parking lots. The heat intensified the farther south we went. It peaked once we reached the outskirts of Manchester. Although we were mere miles from the festival site, we had to line up with thousands of other RVs arriving at the same time.

After a four hour wait, we were in.

The beauty of an RV is we had nothing to set up once we parked. We were driving our camp. We cracked a few cold ones and made our way to the site, eager to see the festival setup and whatever bands we could see.

11:15PM – Blitzen Trapper – The Other Tent

The first venue upon entering the festival grounds is The Other Tent. It was already packed with thousands of people. Blitzen Trapper is gaining steam on the indie scene, and whenever I hear something through the hipster grapevine I’m always a little apprehensive. But these guys played really solid folk-rock, a revival of sorts of some of the folkier rock acts of the 1970s. I was pretty impressed.

12:30AM – The xx – That Tent

Again, more hipster hype pulled me toward That Tent to check out The xx, but it also pushed me away. I’d seen these guys on Letterman before and was a little underwhelmed, but this set was a little more psychedelic and interesting. Pretty decent, but this venture was more valuable for getting our bearings among the festival’s dozen or so music stages.

1:00 AM – Wale – This Tent

Psychedlic indie rock only goes so far, so luckily This Tent was just across from That Tent. We pulled out of The xx to see Wale play a pretty bangin’ set of hip-hop. Rap music is always better with a live band behind it, and that’s further elevated when the dude rapping is an exceptional showman. Wale kept the party going for another hour.

Beat after a long day of driving, we headed back to the RV to have a few more beverages and crash. We had a heavy schedule of music and partying in the three days ahead of us. Little did we know how heavy it’d be.

FRIDAY

The lineup into the festival site Friday at noon

The 30 degree heat woke us up bright and early. We were getting used to it, and ignored it as a minor nuisance because we were all stoked to get the day on the go. We got started right away, planning on seeing Conan O’Brien open the day’s festivities.

1:00 PM – Conan O’Brien – Comedy Theatre

Little did we know, Team Coco lined up as early as 5AM to ensure they got into the theatre. Those of us who showed up at 12:30 had to watch it on a screen just outside. While it would have been killer to see his set “live”, the next best thing still sufficed. Conan tore through a 90 minute set of standup, music, guest appearances (Deon Cole and Andy Richter) and bitter but hilarious anecdotes of his departure from the Tonight Show.

3:15 PM – The Gossip – This Tent

We all had our own agendas for music, so this is when I parted from the group. We toured the festival grounds in the daylight for a bit, then I checked out the eclectic punk/soul/rock of the Gossip. It was a fantastic set and Beth Ditto is a really charismatic and talented singer.

Although we didn't get to "see" his show, Conan hosted the What Stage all day

4:00 PM – Damian Marley & Nas – What Stage

We reconvened back at the What Stage for one of the most anticipated sets of the weekend – Damian Marley and Nas. Their Distant Relatives collaboration had dropped just weeks before the festival; an album combining Marley’s soulful reggae and Nas’ gritty classic hip hop. They opened with a few off that, before trading off on their own solo classics – notably cuts from Nas’ Illmatic and Marley’s Welcome to Jamrock. They closed the set with father Bob’s “Could You Be Loved”. It was one of Bonnaroo’s best shows.

5:00 PM – She & Him – This Tent

I rushed back over to This Tent to check out another celebrity collaboration. She & Him are actress Zooey Deschanel and folk hero M. Ward. They’ve put out two albums of sultry, soulful ballads and they treated the crowd to note-perfect versions of those songs here. I think every single person in the audience fell in love with Deschanel after this set.

6:00ish – The National – Which Stage

I had to eventually make my way back over to the What Stage to see my beloved Tenacious D. I had about half an hour to kill, so I stopped by the Which Stage to see what all the hype around the National was about. In short, I wasn’t too impressed. Catchy tunes, but nothing original.

6:30 PM – Tenacious D – What Stage

Back in the late 1990s a friend showed me a clip he found on what was then called the “Internet” of a duo called Tenacious D. It was an acoustic performance unlike anything I’d seen before and I fell in love. The only time I saw them live was in 2002 so I was extremely stoked for this Bonnaroo set. They played all the classics like “Tribute” and “Double Team”, along with some apparently new ones. Hopefully there’s a new album and a tour in the works.

The D totally had us rocked out. By this point in the day, that rock combined with the heat, sun, lack of water and food, and small amounts of beer began to take a toll. A few of us needed a little nap, and sadly we missed out on a few stellar acts like Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers, Les Claypool, and Michael Franti. But we were up and back at it for Kings of Leon.

9:30 PM – Kings of Leon – What Stage

These dudes are huge pop stars now, but few who know them in the mainstream realize they have their roots in southern rock and began their journey to stardom here at Bonnaroo. This set was a bit of a homecoming for them as big stars. I won’t pretend I’m a big fan (hence the lack of good pictures from their set) but it was nice to hear some good southern rock next to their current hits.

Midnight – The Flaming Lips performing Dark Side of the Moon featuring Stardeath and White Dwarfs – Which Stage

This is one of the shows I was specifically looking forward to all weekend. I’ve been a fan of the Flaming Lips‘ poppy weirdness for a long time, but I’d missed out on a few chances to see them live over the years. I was happy to hear they were gonna play a greatest hits set, followed by their take on Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. Although I loved songs like “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots” and “She Don’t Use Jelly”, the DSOTM set didn’t totally thrill me. But the stage show was a massive spectacle.

And since I was pretty sure I was suffering from heat stroke, I went back to the RV to crash. Too bad, because I missed out on Kid Cudi, one of the rap acts I really wanted to see.

SATURDAY

And now we come to that rude awakening with the feet. The heat (and beer) did this set of Canadians in, and we were much slower getting up Saturday. I got up earlier than the others to try, in vain, to get into the Comedy Tent for Conan’s second show. No dice. I returned to find my festival friends slowly getting everything together to get back to the site for the second full day of music. Saturday was the day I was looking forward to the most.

2:30 PM – Norah Jones – Which Stage

Paula, Ruby and I went to check out this superstar who I thought had a pretty early set for someone of her stature. I only know about an album’s worth of her material, but I was delighted to see her open up playing guitar before sitting down for her trademark piano chops. It was a really sweet set. Then I parted from the ladies to dig some metal.

3:30 – ISIS – This Tent

ISIS play a unique style of epic, psychedelic metal that really defies any sort of specific label. Their shows are immense and powerful, and when I heard this was their last tour, I was especially thrilled they were on the Bonnaroo bill. They played an emotionally monumental set and although the fans will miss them, we’re glad they shared their stellar music with us over the past decade.

4:45 PM – Clutch – Sonic Stage

This was one of two Clutch sets at Bonnaroo, and since I had time to kill I wanted to check them out on the shorter more intimate Sonic Stage. It was nice to hear more stripped-down versions of their songs.

5:15 PM – The Melvins – This Tent

The living metal legends were one of the main reasons I wanted to go to Bonnaroo. They’ve been around for decades and have released some of the most kickass heavy music ever. Their new album also recently dropped and I loved it right away. They devoted about half of their set to it, but also played recent gems like “Billy Fish” and the “Civilized Worm”. Not much older stuff, but I love this current lineup so playing a set heavy on newer material was cool with me.

6:30 PM – The Dead Weather – What Stage

Anything Jack White touches is gold. This newest band is my least favourite of his projects, but since they’ve released two solid albums in two years, I’m loving them more with each spin. This was a raw rock set that firmly established my love for singer Allison Mosshart. What a stage presence.

7:30 PM – Weezer – Which Stage

Everyone knows their hit songs and their hardcore fans will annoy you at any show. Still, this was a really enjoyable set by a band that should be really admired for its longevity. The other highlight from their set was randomly running into Matt and Ruby again. I’d been on my own for hours, and to see them there was like Christmas.

8:30 PM – Stevie Wonder – What Stage

I’ve always believed you need to respect and experience the music that flourished in the generations before yours, and continue to echo throughout your life. That’s what Stevie Wonder is to me, and seeing a living legend like him in this setting was unbelievable. Hits like “Higher Ground” and “Superstition” were amazing, but hearing “Another Star” in the encore blew my mind.

11:30 PM – Jay-Z – What Stage

These were probably the two most anticipated consecutive headlining acts of the whole festival. Jay-Z put on the show of the weekend, hands down. He is already a legendary showman who dipped deep into his catalogue to craft a set unrivalled by anyone else at Bonnaroo. Almost all 80,000 people were there to see him at the What Stage, and he thoroughly impressed.

Again, our asses were kicked and we couldn’t handle anymore. We went to chill by the mushroom fountain, grabbed a bite, and went back. Sadly, this meant we missed another highly anticipated band – GWAR – but I wasn’t too sad because I’ve seen them before. It took all my will and strength to handle another day.

SUNDAY

Gimme shelter

Sunday was by far the hottest day and fortunately the most lax. There was only a handful of bands I really wanted to check out so luckily we could take it a bit easier, with more time to chill in the shade. The heat was seriously that bad.

So I went to watch my first game of this year’s World Cup – Germany vs. Australia. The Germans won handily and I was pleased.

From there I checked out a band called Lucero who played a pretty cool style of country music.

Then it was off to see Against Me! and then Blues Traveler for a couple quick tunes, before moving on to the bulk of what we wanted to see.

Blues Traveler at the Sonic Stage

4:00 PM – John Fogerty – What Stage

This was pretty much just a set of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s greatest hits. The former CCR frontman milked nostalgia, but it was still pretty fun listening to some of the tunes I grew up hearing from my parents. “Ramble Tamble” was the standout.

5:00 PM – Ween – Which Stage

Anyone who knows me knows Ween is my favourite band. I love their ability to play almost any kind of music and how well those studio gems translate live. This was a pretty standard show of lots of songs I’d seen them play live before, but that’s nothing to complain about. Also, a water balloon hit me right in the face before the show started. It was just what the doctor ordered.

6:30 PM – Zac Brown Band – What Stage

It seemed authentic to wind down our first Bonnaroo experience down with some seemingly authentic country music. The Zac Brown Band fit the bill so their tunes more than sufficed.

9:30 – Dave Matthews Band – What Stage

One of the few DMB songs I like is “Don’t Drink the Water”. He opened with it, so there wasn’t much else for me to see. I stuck around for about half of the set and dug it. His fans love him and most of the crowd was there to see him, so you gotta give him props for that.

And that was my first experience at Bonnaroo. It was truly the most eclectic music festival I’ve ever been to, and that was just the music. There was a lot of comedy and other artistic performances I didn’t check out. We’re already planning next year’s trip. The people of Tennessee were truly kind and hospitable, and the 80,000 other music fans there were fun and open-minded. Next year is the 10th edition of Bonnaroo, so you can expect something huge.

If you wanna see more of my pics, check out this facebook album.

Share/Save

It was the winter of 2006 and I had just flown in for a job interview at Canada’s public broadcaster. I was scheduled to leave the next day, hence the eagerness to see as much as possible. I walked westward on Portage, and within minutes saw a bundled-up Aboriginal couple coming my way. I nodded at them in acknowledgement, but they gave me an awkward glance in return. I didn’t think much of it and carried on. Within seconds I noticed another young Aboriginal dude in a leather jacked with long hair. Again, a nod, and no reciprocation. This continued for blocks. I saw Natives, and nodded at them. This is what we did in Toronto, because Aboriginal people rarely crossed paths on those massive streets. Some nodded back, some didn’t. After a few minutes I realized I must have looked like an Ojibway bobblehead. Feeling ridiculous, I stopped.

It took walking just a few blocks along Portage to understand why people call Winnipeg “Capital Rez”. Aboriginal people are an especially visible and increasingly crucial part of the social fabric in the city and across the province of Manitoba. Up to that point, I lived most of my adult life in Toronto, where Aboriginal people are the biggest in numbers compared to other Canadian cities, but largely invisible, diluted across thousands of neighbourhoods. So whenever First Nations people crossed paths on the street, it was a big deal. But experiencing this presence on Winnipeg’s streets was invigorating. I ended up getting the job, and over the next four years I learned why Winnipeg is the most culturally important city in North America.

That large Aboriginal population means many non-Aboriginal people in Winnipeg are more familiar with the culture and background of First Peoples than in other much larger North American cities. The odds are more people have gone to school, worked or at least socialized with someone who’s Cree, Ojibway, Dene, Metis, or Inuit (and et cetera). It’s naive to think all these encounters have been positive. But I’ve come across people in other bigger cities who didn’t know “Indians” even existed. Even just knowing someone different than you is the first step to building a bridge between cultures. Because of all this shoulder-rubbing in Winnipeg, there’s a stronger foundation than anywhere else.

Winnipeg is also one of the most diverse and culturally-rich places in the world. It’s home to the largest concentration of people from the Philippines than anywhere outside of that country. Many neighbourhoods have strong connections to waves of immigration from the Ukraine and other eastern European countries. Subsequent waves from southeast Asia and many African countries have left the city with a colourful face that on the surface, is strikingly beautiful. That diversity is rooted in the positive relationships spawned by the fur trade, resulting in a powerful Francophone community.

However, putting those facts and the rose-coloured glasses aside reveal a city that is struggling with a cultural transition. This is reflected mostly in what we see in the media. Stories of gang warfare on downtown streets, violence against sex trade workers, racially motivated attacks, and random beatings and killings. Sadly, most people immediately assume the characters in these stories are Aborginal. And a lot of the time that’s true. Therefore, stereotypes are still very alive, floating through the air. But on the ground, there’s hope, and it’s pretty easy to find.

I was fortunate enough to have a job that kept me on the ground and introduced me to dozens of people who taught me about that hope. Like a former prominent gang member who learned about his Metis culture and storytelling to escape that life. Like the two teenaged sex trade workers who surprisingly gave us an interview on Manitoba Avenue. Their sole reason was to warn others about the dangers of the life and how they wanted help out of it but worried they were trapped. Like the residential school survivor who told me that despite all of our problems, he’s the most hopeful he’s ever been in his life because now he finally feels at home in Winnipeg among other Anishinaabe people.

I felt immediately at home upon my arrival in Winnipeg. Not only thanks to the diverse and welcoming Aboriginal communities in the city, but also to the innate warmth of everyone else. All those colourful open arms embraced me. I fell in love with the city and the province and I firmly believe nothing can tarnish that. I’m proud to have called it home for four years and I think everyone who lives there should be even prouder of the great things that are coming. Winnipeg will be an example of cultural harmony that other North American cities will follow.

I walked down Yonge Street in Toronto yesterday. It felt like the first time again because it has changed so much. The city is alive, colourful, and vibrant and I will always love that. But I already can’t wait for my next stroll down Portage Avenue. If you see me, just try to nod back.

Share/Save

High on Fire
Snakes for the Divine

The adrenal gland needs its own theme music. When that rush of adrenaline is pumping through your body, there are very few fitting genres of music. High on Fire has been specializing in brutally powerful riff metal for a long time, and their formula will have the meekest music enthusiasts ready to pound down brick walls. Matt Pike and his band have honed a very distinct brand of metal that’s based entirely on fast, loud, and ethereal guitar chops, rounded out by growling vocals and the tightest and heaviest rhythm section in the genre.

As usual, the album comes out swinging with the title track. A searing finger-tapping opening riff reminiscent of a cross between Black Sabbath and Van Halen. But it’s Pike’s expansion on that seemingly basic theme along with the ferocious bass licks and pounding drums that elevate this music well above that basic comparison. The riffs also begin simply on other standout tracks like “Frost Hammer” and “How Dark We Pray”, but as the cornerstones of most High on Fire songs, they unravel into beautifully complex heavy metal melodies. It’s an evolution that’s thrilling to trace within each track.

That’s the trademark High on Fire sound, and it’s a formula they’ve stuck to since 2005′s Blessed Black Wings. Fans won’t hear much of a departure from that album. But if there’s anything metal fans appreciate, it’s consistency, and you can count on these guys to get your adrenal gland pumping album after album.

Blakroc

Aerosmith and Run-DMC thought it’d be a good idea back in 1986 to record a rap/rock collaboration of “Walk this Way” and bring it to the mainstream. Then Anthrax and Public Enemy did a better job with a heavier “Bring the Noise” in 1991. Then a couple years later, the Judgment Night soundtrack came out, a full album’s worth of rap/rock/metal collaborations from the most popular artists of the time. But as the 1990s progressed, bands devoted their whole careers to mashing rap and rock, and with each copycat the music got progressively worse and we listeners got dumber for hearing it.

But finally in 2010, Blackroc has reversed that trend. The brainchild of Akron, Ohio’s The Black Keys, this album captures the original spirit of that partnership of making revolutionary music and building bridges. Here you have soulful melodies and beats rapped and sung over by some of today’s best artists in rap and R & B, like Raekwon, the RZA, Mos Def, Pharoahe Monch, Ludacris, Q-Tip and Nicole Wray. They even dug up some old Ol’ Dirty Bastard vocal tracks and made a song around them.

It’s a very energetic and eclectic project, due largely to the obvious enthusiasm and dedication of everyone involved. The Black Keys have always played stripped-down and soulful blues-rock – something that’s very translatable to hip-hop. Almost any of their older albums could have easily become Blakroc, because of the universal riffs and rhythms. Perhaps they waited until now to release it because of the saturation in the rap/rock genre earlier in their careers. Regardless, this album has restored the faith of music fans who had to endure the all the garbage of the late 1990s.

Joanna Newsom
Have One on Me

One of my all-time favourite albums is Joanna Newsom’s Ys. I bought it on a whim after reading a few glowing reviews shortly after it was released at the end of 2006, and it totally blew me away. It was unlike anything I had ever heard and whenever it came on I became so captivated that I’d have to listen to it right to the end. One of the main reasons is she plays the harp, and there’s not much I listen to based on that ancient and bizarre instrument. On top of that, she weaves intricate and epic narratives into her massive songs. Some may find her lyrics a little strange and perhaps esoteric, but after a few listens they totally suck you in.

So to follow up that masterpiece, she just released a TRIPLE album. If the last one wasn’t enough of a mindblast, she decided to bring it threefold on this one. But before giving it a spin, I went into this one a little cautiously. In contemporary music, excess and eccentricity don’t necessarily make good albums. Quality over quantity, less is more, blah blah blah. I was delightfully surprised to hear an album of focused, shorter songs that flow rather seamlessly. Have One on Me is also a journey, but a slightly less intense and equally enjoyable one as Ys.

The unconventional instruments are still there, along with her nasally voice delivering sometimes bizarre ballads. But there’s also a lot more percussion – something totally missing on her last album. That should make these songs more accessible to newer fans. At over two hours of music, I’m still digesting it, but I’ll always appreciate the new path she’s trying to chart for modern music.

Do you have any new music recommendations? Leave them in the comments!

Share/Save

I bought tickets for the Winnipeg show at MTS Centre right when they went on sale. My fervor paid off – I scored floors. So right away I was counting down the days until the show. When the tour finally kicked off, though, that excitement simmered to a steady boil. The day of their show in Whitehorse, a buddy who lives there texted me to say they played a surprise afternoon show at a downtown park.

Meg and Jack in Whitehorse - photo courtesy Rob Stalkie

Finally, the day came for their Winnipeg show. It was the holiday Monday after Canada Day. I was lucky enough to have it off, and it was a gorgeous, vibrant sunny afternoon. Everyone knew they were gonna show up somewhere, but I really had no clue where. I was out for coffee with a friend when the phone rang. It was another buddy who heard from someone else that the White Stripes were gonna play an afternoon show, and that if fans wanted to try to catch them, they had to show up at the street corner across from Canwest Park. We rushed down there.

About 30 other fans heard the same buzz. Everyone was milling about, not really sure what to expect or where the band would actually be playing. This was, after all, just a random street corner on the outskirts of downtown Winnipeg. A couple dozen more showed up as text messages starting flying about. There were also three dudes dressed up in black suits with red ties and fedoras just standing on the opposite corner. They were clearly part of the White Stripes’ entourage, but they weren’t offering up any details. Finally, after about half an hour, a bus showed up, and two of them got on. One signaled to the crowd to get on too. However, only about half of the fans were able to, and the bus left. The rest of us stood there, confused. In a few minutes, text messages started coming back to us who missed the bus, saying Jack and Meg got on at the next stop, and played a few songs for the lucky bus riders.

Naturally, we were bummed. But one of the black-clad handlers told us to sit tight. After a few more minutes he told us to follow him, and led us to the end of the Provencher bridge. Again, more waiting, but we were much more optimistic we’d catch one of these rare community shows fans in other cities had been so lucky to experience. Suddenly, we saw two familiar figures emerge from the Salisbury House restaurant that’s on the bridge. Luckily, I remembered my camera.

They stood on the concrete edge of the railing, and serenaded us with three acoustic songs.

It was over in under 15 minutes, but it was one of the greatest little sets of music I’ve ever witnessed. It wasn’t just the intimacy and calibre of the experience that totally warmed my heart – it was the effort. Not only did this band defy the odds by playing every single corner of this country that summer, they made sure their fans got the most of their visit. There are few other bands who would go out of their way to make a tour such a complete experience for their fans. I was always really into them after they broke out with White Blood Cells, but this firmly established them in the canon of legendary bands for me. The show at MTS Centre later that night was epic as well. Picking up that documentary this week will be a sweet reminder and lifelong souvenir. I’ll always be grateful for being able to spend that day with them.

Share/Save

There’s an ominous statistic that keeps getting kicked around whenever the topic of Aboriginal languages comes up: of the 55 native languages spoken in Canada, only three – Ojibway, Cree, and Inuktitut – are expected to survive into the 22nd Century. Linguists, anthropologists, and Aboriginal leaders and elders argue about how legit this speculation is. Regardless, a lot of languages are hanging by a thread and it’s really up to us to make sure they survive. Hearing them broadcast during the biggest sporting event in the world will go a long way in keeping that pride and ambition alive.

That pride was scrubbed from a lot of our elders a long time ago. Generations before us were beaten for speaking their language. Canada established residential schools to make sure these languages were killed. Even people who didn’t have to endure that nightmare were shamed to forget the words they grew up speaking – their closest tie to their heritage. In my family, my grandmother and her siblings grew up speaking primarily Anishinaabemowin. My dad and his siblings grew up speaking both that and English. My brothers and I grew up speaking primarily English, with a few traditional words and phrases peppered throughout our conversations. In just a few generations, Anishinaabemowin could have completely disappeared from our family and our community.

But over the last 20 years there’s been a linguistic revival in communities across the country. And this new Olympic initiative should be a rallying cry to make sure the languages don’t die. I can’t imagine what it’s like for our elders to be witnessing these games in their traditional tongues. It’s almost like a total vindication of who they are and why they’ve never forgotten those timeless words at the core of their spirits. They’ll never have to be ashamed of what they say – or who they are – anymore. Now it’s up to us to make sure these words never die.

For a translation of the title of this blog post, visit Anishinaabemowin and follow @Anishinabemowin on Twitter.