Kahnawà:ke, West Island students build a bridge through music

Grade 6 students from a Kanien'kehà:ka (Mohawk) school and a Montreal-area school have combined their love for singing with lessons on truth and reconciliation by co-writing a song called A Bridge to Last Forever.

Alyssa Rice and 35 of her classmates from Kateri School in Kahnawà:ke, south of Montreal, visited St. Edmund Elementary School in Beaconsfield, in Montreal's West Island area, on Monday to record the song they've been working on together since April.

"Some of the words are really powerful," said Rice.

The song was sung in English, Kanien'kéha (the Mohawk language) and French.

One verse was written from the perspective of Kateri students about hard truths Indigenous people experienced, while another verse from the perspective of St. Edmund students championed the need to work toward reconciliation. 

Together, they wrote a chorus with the help of Montreal-based singer-songwriter Rob Lutes.

"Using music to learn this instead of a history book, the learning is just so much more meaningful," said St. Edmund School music teacher Jennifer Hayden.

Students from Hayden's class visited Kateri School earlier in the school year, where they learned about the Ohén:ton Karihwatéhkwen (Thanksgiving address) and traditional Kanien'kehá:ka social songs.

"I like sharing about our culture and once the song is out, people will know what happened more and more," said Peyton Diabo, a Grade 6 student at Kateri.

"It's good for people to know about our language, what we speak and our past."

The lyrics don't shy away from difficult subjects like residential schools and the 1990 Oka Crisis.

The 78-day standoff that began on July 11, 1990, between the Kanien'kehà:ka community of Kanesatake, the Sûréte du Québec provincial police and, later, the Canadian military was over a contested area of land known as the Pines northwest of Montreal. In solidarity, Kahnawà:ke blocked the Honoré Mercier Bridge that connects the South Shore to the island of Montreal. 

Penny Berg-Patton, the music teacher at Kateri, said even though her students were born well after those events, it was important for them to incorporate the truths and experiences of their parents, grandparents and community. 

"The truths are difficult," said Berg-Patton.