Free classes in Vancouver offer anyone a chance to learn First Nations song. Pictured here: A First Nations performance at Thompson Rivers University. Photo credit: Thompson Rivers | Flickr

Ready to belt out a few songs in Kwak’wala?

That’s the language spoken by the Kwakwaka’wakw First Nation people of northern Vancouver Island and Alert Bay.  Through June, free workshops in Kwak’ wala are being offered at community centres across the city, giving anyone a chance to brush up on First Nations song and dance.

The workshops are being taught by a member of the Kwakwaka’wakw First Nation as part of the Indigenous Artist in Communities Project, which marks the year of reconciliation over the dark legacy of residential schools.  Attendees have the chance to learn nine songs and a chant in the Kwak’wala language, then perform the routine at Trout Lake Community Centre on National Aboriginal Day, June 21.

Each of the songs would have been learned by a child in Kwakwaka’wakw culture, according to a fascinating article by the Vancouver Sun’s Kevin Griffin.   Continue reading:
Free Classes to Learn First Nations Singing in Vancouver