Close X
Monday, November 25, 2024
ADVT 
National

Gord Downie To Release Album And Graphic Novel Inspired By Residential Schools

The Canadian Press, 09 Sep, 2016 11:25 AM
    TORONTO — Just weeks after fans bid what they feared could be a final goodbye to beloved Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie, the terminally ill singer has revealed he will release a new solo album with an accompanying graphic novel and animated film inspired by the tragedy of Canada's residential school system.
     
    "Secret Path" tells the story of a 12-year-old First Nations boy in Ontario named Chanie Wenjack, who died in 1966 after running away from the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School near Kenora, Ont.
     
    The album and book will be released on Oct. 18 and the film will air on CBC on Oct. 23.
     
    "I never knew Chanie, but I will always love him," Downie said Friday in a statement. "Chanie haunts me. His story is Canada's story. This is about Canada. We are not the country we thought we were."
     
    In May, Downie made the shocking announcement that he has terminal brain cancer. Tickets for the band's "Man Machine Poem" summer tour, which many feared could be their last, sold out almost immediately, leading to CBC picking up a national broadcast of the final tour stop in Kingston last month. The concert quickly became a national event as millions tuned in across the country.
     
    During that final show, Downie called out to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who attended the concert, to help fix problems in northern Canada in his last scheduled live performance with his band.
     
     
    "It's maybe worse than it's ever been, so it's not on the improve. (But) we're going to get it fixed and we got the guy to do it, to start, to help," Downie said onstage.
     
    In Friday's statement, Downie said he learned the story of Chanie Wenjack, who was misnamed Charlie by his teachers, from a 1967 Maclean's magazine article.
     
    Downie recounted in Friday's release how the boy died beside railroad tracks after escaping the school and trying to walk to his home more than 600 kilometres away.
     
    "All of those governments, and all of those churches, for all of those years, misused themselves," Downie said. "They hurt many children. They broke up many families. They erased entire communities."
     
    For more than 100 years, the federal government funded church-run schools across the country to eliminate parental involvement in the intellectual, cultural, and spiritual development of Aboriginal children, according to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. The last school closed in 1996.
     
    More than 150,000 First Nations, Metis, and Inuit children were placed in these schools often against their parents' wishes, which led to an apology from then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2008.
     
     
    Downie began "Secret Path" as 10 poems that were turned into the 10 songs for the album, which was recorded over two sessions near Kingston in late 2013.
     
    Proceeds from the album and graphic novel will go to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation at the University of Manitoba, which is dedicated to preserving the history of the residential school system.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Toronto Doctor Neilank Jha Launches Concussion Hotline Staffed By Volunteer Specialists

    Toronto Doctor Neilank Jha Launches Concussion Hotline Staffed By Volunteer Specialists
    Dr. Neilank Jha says there's a serious need for more education and information on concussions, which occur when the outside of the brain is bruised by impact with the inner skull.

    Toronto Doctor Neilank Jha Launches Concussion Hotline Staffed By Volunteer Specialists

    'A Lot Of Excitement:' Canadian Schools Increasingly Embrace Outdoor Classrooms

    'A Lot Of Excitement:' Canadian Schools Increasingly Embrace Outdoor Classrooms
    A new classroom at Hazelwood Elementary School in St. John's, N.L., has no walls, windows or desks — in fact, it's not even inside the school.

    'A Lot Of Excitement:' Canadian Schools Increasingly Embrace Outdoor Classrooms

    Vancouver Police To Get Naloxone Nasal Spray In Case Of Toxic Opioids Exposure

    Vancouver police officers and support staff will soon have access to the nasal form of naloxone in case of accidental exposure to toxic opioids such as fentanyl.

    Vancouver Police To Get Naloxone Nasal Spray In Case Of Toxic Opioids Exposure

    Justin Trudeau Makes Vanity Fair's Best Dressed List

    Justin Trudeau Makes Vanity Fair's Best Dressed List
    A photo spread on Vanity Fair's website shows a number of images of Trudeau wearing a business suit strolling down a street and others showing him working a crowd dressed in a casual shirt and white pants and wearing a blazer and jeans.

    Justin Trudeau Makes Vanity Fair's Best Dressed List

    Unique Rose Quartz Statues Stolen From Vancouver Tourist Attraction

    Unique Rose Quartz Statues Stolen From Vancouver Tourist Attraction
    Sometime between 6:00 p.m. on September 6th and 8:00 a.m. on September 7th, two large rose quartz lion statues were stolen from the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden located at 578 Carrall Street.

    Unique Rose Quartz Statues Stolen From Vancouver Tourist Attraction

    B.C. Schools Told To Include Sex Orientation And Gender ID In Anti-Bully Plans

    B.C. Schools Told To Include Sex Orientation And Gender ID In Anti-Bully Plans
    VANCOUVER — Anti-bullying policies in all schools in British Columbia will soon have to include explicit references to sexual orientation and gender identity.

    B.C. Schools Told To Include Sex Orientation And Gender ID In Anti-Bully Plans

    PrevNext