Voices of Nature school music programs started back in 1999 The Artist Response Team has been producing Voices of Nature school music programs since 1999. We developed a methodology for working with elementary-aged children and their teachers. Educators' handbooks tied cross-curricular activities together with the song lyrics. Culminating concerts brought in the entire school community--a cross section of adoring adults who paid attention to the messages being delivered by their children. We developed a "never fail" recipe. The kids embraced the songs because they are up tempo, rockin', and they know they are singing about something really important that they care about. Teachers are happy because their students are engaged. Schools, school districts, sponsors all gathered round to support concerts with giant choirs of youth singing out for the Earth. Water For Life concert in Edmonton, Nov 24, 2015 The same basic approach worked with the Imagine High students.

  The kids who chose to be part of the Rock Band Learning Community   Kevin, Jonny, Sulisulwut and I did several sessions with the Rock Band students. They picked up their instruments and we thrashed around together...seeking to find musical expression the way stream water runs down hill. One day we were in the band room and these students were playing their guitars.  It was such a gift to see them all engrossed in what they were doing, playing their instruments. Their teachers, Matt Slykhuis and Michael Buhler played a huge roll in bringing the "Listen to the Stream" song into being. Matt had his hands on the pulse of their energy, guiding and steering in a subtle way that always let students make their own choices, yet kept them on track. Michael had a great song sense, and great suggestions for where to go with it. And the students graced us with their attention and effort. 

  Imagine High students in the Stream Restoration program At Imagine High students choose a Learning Community that they want to be part of, for a semester. These students enrolled in the Stream Restoration program. They participated intensively in many ways. They dipped their shovels in the ground on the S.A.Y. lands--of the Skowkale, Aithchelitz and Yakweakwioose First Nations. They planted trees. Removed invasive species. Learned about watershed stewardship and the impacts of colonialism on Stó:lō lives, culture and wellbeing. Their learning was intensive, broadbased and multifaceted.  They expressed their learning in many creative ways. The depth of their learning about stream restoration and Indigenous world view created the space for them to be open to singing Good Medicine Songs, and collaborating to create a song in Halq'eméylem and English. 

  Our Good Medicine Songs team at Imagine High (l-r) X ótxwes Jonny Williams, Kevin Wright, Holly Arntzen, Sulisulwut Bibiana Norris, and Dr. Siyamiyateliyot Elizabeth Phillips (not pictured.) We introduced ourselves in an assembly in the Imagine High theatre in early April 2023. We gathered with students from the Stream Restoration and Rock Band programs. Our Spiritual Guide, Dr. Siyamiyateliyot Elizabeth Phillips was with us too. Her grandson,  X ótxwes, explained to the students how she was the last person who was fluent in Halq'eméylem, the last person who grew up with the language as their mother tongue. The boisterous group of grade 10 students became silent and attentive.  We sang Chowiyes-Xwithet/Rise Up-Wake Up and told its story of being inspired by the discovery of 215 unmarked graves in Kamloops. We sang St'et'il te Temexw Xwela ye Sqeltel/The Land is Lonesome for the Language. Jonny told of Siyamiyateliyot's loneliness to hear the language being spoken, as ...

Ey St'élmexw St'elt'ílém/Good Medicine Songs performers in concert.  From left: X ótxwes Jonny Williams (in blue vest), Kevin Wright (cajon),  Holly Arntzen (dulcimer), Lori Kelly (vocals.) Good Medicine Songs (GMS) was formed in 2019, and has done four Songwriting Retreats annually. We have developed a process, a methodology for writing bilingual songs in Halq'emélem, the upriver dialect of the Stó:lō First Nations, and English. This methodology allowed us to work with the teachers and students at Imagine High, to collaborate to create Listen to the Stream/Xwelelam te Stótelō. This video gives background on GMS.   

Susan Mide-Kiss, Vice President Community Engagement, University of the Fraser Valley, being interviewed after the Listen to the Stream concert. This Storytelling Journey came into being as a result of a conversation with Susan. We described the miracle unfolding at Imagine High. The students embracing the Halq'eméyelem project. The emergence of this beautiful song. How it was going to be performed in a concert to celebrate National Day of Indigenous Peoples (June 21, 2023.) She responded, "Is there any way for UFV to help?" Under the guidance of Dr. Jenny Arntzen, we developed a plan to tell the story of the project in several chapters. This Intro Video gives an overview of the ingredients for the project--the recipe, if you will.

Shredding in the foyer before school When Kevin and I arrived at Imagine High for our sessions at 8:00am, we'd walk in to the strains of guitar licks from songs by AC/DC, Metallica, Guns n Roses, Van Halen roaring and flailing down the hallways. Mack and Magnus and others would going at it full tilt, with attendant groupies. Every morning, no fail, 8am sharp, for a good while (15-20 min.) This is no small commitment...the guitar playing saturated all the way down to the office. BTW...the office is not called the "office". It's called the "Welcome Centre".  The first time I heard the shrieking guitars in the Welcome Centre, I knew this was a special school. Imagine High creates the space for students to express themselves in diverse ways. This is a big part of why this project worked.  

   Transformative education is happening today at  Imagine High  (Imagine High Integrated Arts and Technology Secondary School, Chilliwack, BC).  Since the beginning of the 2022 - 2023 school year there has been a groundbreaking collaboration for enriched, empowered and enhanced learning at the school. Administrators, teachers and students have been collaborating with knowledge keepers of the Stó:lō Nation, the Artist Response Team (Holly Arntzen and Kevin Wright) and a stream restoration initiative led by S.A.Y. Lands (Skowkale, Aitchelitz, and Yakweakwioose First Nations). The students are having an unprecedented opportunity to learn about Indigenous Knowledge, Ecology Science and Music as active collaborators in their learning. They are writing songs, learning language, restoring a stream, and preparing to perform what they have learned and created for family and community. This initiative is not only providing the community at Imagine High to experience new ...

   Concert Poster: Listen To The Stream/Xwelelam te Stótelō IMAGINE HIGH INTEGRATED ARTS & TECHNOLOGY SECONDARY - Chilliwack, BC Listen to the Stream/Xwelelam te Stótelō - June 21, 2023 The world pays attention Yesterday we had the dress rehearsal in the Imagine High Theatre. As the early morning unfolds, it's like the phoenix rising from the ashes. Figuring out where everything and everyone is going to go--the 60+ students, the drums, the keyboards, the electric guitars, the bass, the djembe, the choral core singers, the introducers, the slide show, the cajons, Good Medicine Songs folks...etc, etc, etc. Everything is being done for the first time. Yet order emerges as the morning goes on. The media world is paying some attention. APTN was there filming the dress rehearsal. Katie Hyslop is publishing an article in The Tyee on Wednesday. Shaw Multicultural will be filming the concert tomorrow. The Chilliwack Progress ran an article. This feels right and good.  This med...