Every video on this page was created by Indigenous students... written in their words, filmed in their communities, and performed in their voices. Some include traditional language. All of them belong to the communities that made them.
Students and staff from Netamisakomik Centre for Education spent a week writing, recording, and performing this original song, and filming everything featured in this video. The Ojibwe language made its way from the posters in the hallway into the song thanks to Ms Howell, the Grade 3 to 5 teacher who co-wrote the lyrics with Rik.
Three junior high school girls, one page of lyrics, and the power of finding your voice. Inside a cabin at Sandy Creek, out on the land in traditional Dene territory, the girls worked with Rik on melody and harmony... and when Auntie Diane, the traditional language elder, helped them add Dene Yatié to the song, everything came together.
Kaska language teacher Alexis Spencer collaborated with Rik Leaf to help students write and perform a school anthem in Kaska. The video takes you behind the scenes: co-writing, translation, pronunciation, and finally performance... a complete picture of what language-centred songwriting looks like in practice.
Grade 7 and 8 students from Netamisakomik Centre for Education hosted the 1st Annual Mini Pow Wow... a vibrant celebration of culture, drumming, dancing, laughter, and community pride. When two students grabbed a camera and an empty pop bottle and turned themselves into roaming reporters, they captured something the media almost never shows: the joy, humour, and deep connection that exists in this community.
Veronica, Sophia, and Carley worked with Rik to write, record, and perform this original song after their class recently received guitars. Auntie Diane, the traditional Dene Yatié teacher, leads each class in a prayer in their language at the start of every session. The students wove that prayer into the song as a meditation... a way to find calm in moments of stress or anxiety.
An original song written and performed by students and staff from Netamisakomik Centre for Education, created in collaboration with Rik Leaf. The project celebrates the safe, inclusive, and empowering school culture these young people are building every day... through meaningful lyrics, heartfelt voices, and the full support of their community.
Students from Chief Sunrise Education Centre wrote and recorded this song with Rik Leaf as part of a Drop the Pop health initiative. Working with their traditional language teacher Diane Tourangeau, they incorporated Dene Yatié into the lyrics. Tu Segha Nezų means water is good for you... and now an entire school knows how to say it.
Every school has a song waiting to be written. Every community has a story worth telling. Reach out and let's talk about what a residency could look like for yours.
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