Try these by yourself, with family, or with friends. These are some of our favourites!

In honour of National Indigenous History Month and in celebration of National Indigenous Peoples’ Day coming up on June 21, 2020, all lessons shared this week (scroll down to find links to lessons) will have an Indigenous focus. We want to honour and recognize the beautiful First Nations, Métis, and Inuit cultures here in Canada. In doing so, we also want to share with you a special song called “A Place Like This.”

This song, created by a number of years ago by elementary music teachers within Elk Island Public Schools and Elder Wilson Bearhead is the story of where our Elk Island Schools lie in Treaty 6 Territory. It is a story of the people and the land on which we all live. And, it is meant to carry a message moving forward.

We learned from Elder Wilson Bearhead that we are building a relationship within our own territory by creating a song that is meant to honour all of us. Traditionally, when someone did something heroic, a song would be created for him with his name in it. Through creating this song, we are following this same tradition but recognizing all of us here in Treaty 6.

With the guidance of Elder Wilson Bearhead, we learned about the importance of rivers as traveling routes for the First Nations people. We learned of the importance of the land and everything upon it. We learned that we should respect the land on which we live and also who we share this land with. And so, our song is a representation of these elements.

The lyrics are as follows:
**Please note that the Nakota verses for this song were taught to us orally by Elder Wilson. They are written below to the best of our ability to capture and record these teachings.

• Verse 1 (Nakota - meaning “Love each other”): Gui chi bah me, you hah be chin

• Verse 2 (Nakota - meaning “Be there for each other”): Bah-ay ee, hah me chin

• Verse 3 (Nakota - meaning “Have a kind heart”): Cha-day wash-tay ingo hah be chin

• Verse 4 (English or French): Nowhere in the world has a place like this / Nulle part peut on trouvé un tel endroit

• Chorus (English or French):

  • Swiftly the river flows through this land
    Rich back dirt I feel in my hand
    Our heart, our home, it’s where we dwell
    We all stand together, a story we tell

  • La rivière voyage à travers champs.
    Terre noire, riche au creux de ma main.
    Mon Coeur, ma maison, c’est là que j’habite.
    Ensemble partageons cette histoire.

Click on these links to listen to the Nakota pronunciations for verse 1, verse 2, and verse 3.

Click here to listen to the song and sing along.

Click here to learn more about the song and its creation.

Click below to listen to two other versions of the song that have extended the teachings and presented the song in a new way.

• This version showcases a band arrangement (composed by Simone Villetard and Maureen Yule) of the song.

• Listen for original melodic themes in this version arranged by Stephen Stone and played by Sticks and Stone Percussion.

We hope you connect with, learn from, and enjoy this song as much as we do!