Isaac Brock students’ Cree anthem a hit at Jets game

Photos courtesy of Winnipeg Jets Hockey Club/Jonathan Kozub

Students from Isaac Brock School’s Cree Bilingual Program once again became ambassadors for their language and culture with a singing performance at a recent Winnipeg Jets game.

Fifteen students (from Grades 1 to 5), teacher Lorraine George and Elder/Residential School Survivor Percy Ballantyne performed a Cree version of “O Canada (O Kanata)” on-ice prior to the Jets’ April 2 game versus the Los Angeles Kings.

“It shows that the students are taking their language back,” said Ms. George, who has been a teacher in the Cree Bilingual Program for three years. “I keep reminding them we are doing this for residential school survivors, because they never had that opportunity to learn their language. Now, we are the generation that will carry the language forward, so it doesn’t disappear.”

The importance of the moment wasn’t lost on students.

“We were proud, because we got to be there doing something that people before us couldn’t do,” said Grade 4 student Anna Sklavenitis-Laramee.

The students gave a confident performance in front of thousands of live fans and even more viewers on a national television broadcast.

 “I wasn’t that nervous, I just closed my eyes and sang, so I didn’t see how many people there were,” said Grade 5 student Jordana Anderson.

Grade 3 student Jordyn Ballantyne said students have gotten used to singing in Cree in front of live audiences: “We’ve played at other places, a couple of years ago we even sang the anthem at a Manitoba Moose game.”

The Isaac Brock students and staff received many compliments on their performance during and after the game.

“I was proud of the students and I was proud to stand with them,” Ms. George said. “After they performed, people told them what an awesome job they did and how nice it was to see them singing in their own language.”

As part of their preparations for the performance, one of the grandparents at the school sewed traditional ribbon skirts for the girls that featured Jets colours. The True North Foundation covered the cost of materials, clothing and the honorarium for making the skirts. The school asked and received permission from the hockey club to use the Jets’ logo on the dresses.

After the performance, Ms. George and several of the Isaac Brock singers were waiting in the lobby at Canada Life Centre. Recognizing the girls by their ribbon dresses, a young boy gave them the thumbs up.

“Right there, that showed me Reconciliation happening, from a little three-year-old child,” Ms. George said. 

The April 2 game was part of the Jets Annual WASAC (Winnipeg Aboriginal Sports Achievement Centre) Night; the Moose held their annual Follow Your Dreams Day game the same weekend.

Earlier in the week, Isaac Brock students were invited to a March 29 unveiling of the new WASAC and Follow Your Dreams jerseys.

“The staff from the Jets and WASAC were very helpful the whole week, we had wonderful hospitality. They were a great bunch to work with,” Ms. George said.

The live performance was the culmination of a busy Spring Break week for both students and staff.

“It’s an excellent example of the one school vision we have at Isaac Brock,” said Principal Chris Goring. “That vision is rooted in our relationships with each other, ourselves, our community and the natural world. Through those relationships, we are really chipping away at redressing the legacy of residential schools and colonialism…and ensuring that Indigenous children have their rightful place in today’s society.”