London high school students connect with their Indigenous culture through song

Kendra Seguin · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 20, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: June 20

A radical of teenagers is utilizing euphony to link with their Indigenous civilization and each different astatine a southwest London precocious school.

A fistful of graduating girls astatine Saunders Secondary School started a societal singing radical astatine the commencement of the schoolhouse twelvemonth and person spent the past 8 months getting successful tune with the Haudenosaunee tradition. 

"I'm precise grateful that I americium portion of this," said Grade 12 pupil Ava Summers. "It makes maine precise arrogant to person this radical of girls present that privation to enactment successful this, and I'm gladsome they joined with maine truthful we tin amusement the remainder of the schoolhouse however almighty and meaningful it is to beryllium Haudenosaunee and clasp our civilization and traditions."

The radical is supervised by Saunders modulation manager Trisha Whiteye, who is portion of a societal singing nine herself.

"Songs are the amusive portion of it, but there's a batch of benevolence that goes on with being portion of a singing society," said Whiteye, adding that astir groups besides walk clip giving backmost to their assemblage done helping elders oregon feeding those successful need.

The schoolhouse group, which is called the Young Women Singers, accidental they are presently focused connected gathering their philharmonic skills. So far, they person performed astatine Saunders' Multicultural Day lawsuit and for the schoolhouse board.

For immoderate of the girls, the singing radical is an accidental to larn much astir their Indigenous background. 

"I ne'er grew up ace adjacent with my culture," said Gr. 12 pupil Emma Smith. "I grew up distant from the reservation, I went to schools wherever determination were hardly immoderate Indigenous radical [so] it's conscionable a mode for maine to connect."

"It's besides important for america to clasp our civilization anyhow due to the fact that we fought truthful hard to support it," Smith said. 

For others, it's a representation of their families and increasing up: "I utilized to sing with my sisters erstwhile I was smaller and spell to the longhouse, truthful it makes maine deliberation of that," said vocalist Emma Doxtator. 

Alongside learning singing skills similar rhythms and harmonies, the students said it's besides been a accidental to fortify their friendships earlier they graduate. 

"It showed maine the friendships that tin beryllium created erstwhile you person a group, and you bash thing truthful large similar that for your school," pupil Taylin Doxtater said. 

"I'll beryllium doing this for the remainder of my life"

Another brace of Saunders students are embracing philharmonic traditions that they learned from their families increasing up.

Grade 12 pupil Liam Peters and Grade 11 pupil Zaidis Deleary have brought drumming and singing to schoolhouse performances this year.

"I learned it from my dad, and helium learned it increasing up arsenic a kid … from being successful an situation of radical who cognize however to sing and usage those drums correctly," Deleary said. "He conscionable passed it down to us, and present we're learning arsenic well."

Both the girls and boys chiefly sing circular creation songs, which are societal songs to beryllium shared with the nationalist for entertainment, alternatively than ceremonial songs, which are lone utilized among the assemblage during ceremonies.

"The circular creation songs that we sing were from the Cree people," Deleary said. "They were their memorial songs and they utilized it for ceremonies, but aboriginal successful history, they gave it to much communities and started utilizing it arsenic a societal creation and societal song."

Peters and Deleary said performing helps assistance their spirits, recognize stories of their civilization and link with the community.

"You're singing for people, much than yourself," Peters said. "You anticipation that it does marque them consciousness good. It's healing. It's much than conscionable singing."

With graduation little than a week away, Peters said helium doesn't program connected stopping euphony immoderate clip soon.

"I deliberation I'll beryllium doing this for the remainder of my life, forever," helium said. "As agelong arsenic I tin sing, I'll support singing."

Whiteye said she is bittersweet to spot truthful galore of the students graduating this year, but hopes they volition transportation connected the philharmonic traditions into their adjacent chapter.

"They capable my heart," Whiteye said of the students. "When I perceive them sing, I cognize that these things are going to beryllium carried retired for our aboriginal generations, and erstwhile they person kids, they're going to thatch them the songs."