Student-directed music program helps Indigenous youth follow their passions

A new music programthat lets students guide their lessonsis offering a pressure-free way for Indigenous youth to engage with music classes.

Eleven-year-old Erykah Cletheroe-Blackjack, for example, has been writing, recording and mixing her own songs on an iPad, with the help of her instructors during the after-school program.

"It's really cool and they helped make me feel really good. And it made me feel like it's another way of sharing my feelings," she said.

New Music Education North started in November and runs four nights per week out of the Yukon Transportation Museum in Whitehorse. Classes are taught by some of the territory's most recognized musicians.

"I noticed there was a real gap in terms of kids' access to education, so I started the program," said founder Andy Slade, who's also a pianist, composer and music teacher.

The program is funded with a grant from Jordan's Principle, a federal program that, in the Yukon, helps fund First Nations services related to health, culture, recreation, education and social supports. The classes are free, and meals and transportation are also provided.

"It's the most rewarding work I've ever done in my life. It's astonishing," Slade said.

Sarah Hamilton, a folk musician and program instructor, said the student-directed teaching philosophy they use lets kids explore their passions.

"The main thing is that they are always coming to us because there's no pressure to learn a specific thing, and so they come with what it is that they're actually passionate about," she said.

"It really works well for the students."

Those running the program say they've seen a shift in the kids they're working with, in a matter of weeks.

Gary Bailie, elder in residence of New Music Education North, who also produces the Blue Feather Music Festival, said the program is helping youth to express themselves.

"What I see here since we started is, when they come, they're kind of rather reserved and then they, you know, they get going," he said.

"I've just seen them really open up. I've seen that the progress is like, you know, really amazing."

The program is currently set to continue until May, but organizers say they hope they can continue it beyond the spring.