Ontario First Nation showing 'a sense of pride' having more arts in school

A redoubled focus on the arts, particularly music, is being credited with making strides in supporting students' mental health in a northwestern Ontario First Nation.

That comes as a group of students at Lac La Croix's Zhingwako Zaiganing PublicSchool released a self-penned and performed song that tackles the "tragedies" in the community and vows, through using knowledge and information, to find a way forward. Lac La Croix is about 100 kilometres southwest of Atikokan, just north of the Ontario-Minnesota border.

"We know there are a lot of challenges in terms of mental health right now in the world we live in and we were seeing it with our kids," said Rachel White, a teacher in Lac La Croix who teaches Grades 7 and 8. "We have a lot of tragedies in the community and we can see the impact that that's having with the families and the students."

"About a year-and-a-half ago, we just said 'we need to do something, like, we need to do more.'"

Among other things, that meant taking the first steps toward establishing a full-time music program at the K-to-12 school. The program started in the fall, and offers instruction in clarinet, guitar and piano to students in Grades 7 to 12. White said senior elementary-aged kids can earn a Grade 9 credit through the program.

Music played a big role in White's own development through school, she said.

"I had a little bit of a challenge in Grade 9-ish, around going to school, doing what I need to be doing and I ended up being in the band program ... in Atikokan," she said. "I always say, those things kept me in school."

Funding through Jordan's Principle has also allowed the school in Lac La Croix to, working hand-in-hand with the new music program, bring in other specialized services for students, like a speech pathologist, an occupational therapist, a physiotherapist and other mental health workers. Because of the community's relative remoteness, White said those services haven't been available.

"We're starting to see a shift in the atmosphere in the school in the community."

The First Nation, like many others, has a history of trauma from colonialism, residential schools, as well as other challenges like housing and access to clean water, said Debbie Atatise, the principal at Zhingwako Zaiganing school, and who has been working there for over 40 years.

She said the culture, especially around the school, is changing.

"It's amazing when you have people come into your school that are here to speech, to do anything and they comment on the atmosphere in your school and how amazing our students are and how engaged they are," Atatise said. "It's just a beautiful place."

White said she sees it as "a sense of pride," from students' families.

Firemakers a 'powerful' song

Going hand-in-hand with the new music program was the opportunity this month for a group of students to work with the N'we JinanTour on a recording. N'we Jinan brings a mobile recording studio and video production to First Nations across Canada.

Titled, Firemakers, the song uses the metaphor that wood is information and the youth need to keep "feeding the fire information for it to grow" in order to overcome challenges they face, White said. Atatise added that the community's issues are "not going to stop them."

"The song is so powerful," White said, adding that the recording process really brought out the confidence in the students.

"I actually had a student that ... it was almost like she was hesitant to have a conversation or talk," White continued. "We needed one more person to sing a verse and I just thought I'd ask her ... and she said 'sure I'll do it,' which totally shocked me."

"She went in there ... sang that verse, nailed it, and everyone was just like 'holy smokes that was the most angelic voice we've ever heard.'"

"They're so proud of who they are as Anishinabe," Atatise said.