"It's historic, in many ways," Fiddler said of Downie's trip to the Northern Ontario community, and his commemoration of the young boy who had died nearly half a century before. In advance of the release, Downie visited Wenjack's sisterĪlvin Fiddler, Grand Chief of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, accompanied Downie when he visited the home of Chanie's sister, Pearl Achneepineskum. But it could be just such a first great attempt from us." 4. Why can't we do anything? Because it's really frigging big and huge and impossible to imagine. I think it bugs everybody a little bit deep inside. "The weird thing is I think everybody in this country cares about this. "We are hoping to bridge the gap, ultimately, between us and them," said Downie in a CBC interview. Proceeds from the sale of Secret Path are going to the Gord Downie Secret Path Fund for Truth and Reconciliation through the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation at the University of Manitoba, which was created to ensure the dark legacy of the residential school system is never forgotten. All proceeds from the album and book are being donated to help fund Truth and Reconciliation An animated film version also aired on CBC-TV.ģ. The album was accompanied by a graphic novel, also called Secret Path, which was written by Downie and illustrated by Jeff Lemire. It was recorded over two sessions at the Bathouse in Bath, Ont., during November and December 2013. Charles Spearin and Ohad Benchetrit of BSS and Do Make Say Think, Kevin Hearn of Barenaked Ladies, and Dave "Billy Ray" Koster also performed on the album. Downie was accompanied by some well-known friendsĪll of the vocals and guitar parts were written by Downie all other instrumentation was by Broken Social Scene's Kevin Drew and the Stills' Dave Hamelin. Downie first heard of Wenjack's story from Downie's brother Mike, who showed him a 1967 Maclean's magazine article called " The Lonely Death of Charlie Wenjack". He died alone from exposure and hunger next to a CNR railroad track. Wenjack began walking home, not realizing his family lived more than 400 miles away. Initially, Downie wrote Secret Path as 10 poems, inspired by Wenjack's story, and how he died running away from the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School near Kenora, Ont., in October, 1966. Secret Path began as 10 poems inspired by a 1967 magazine article The album is one of this year's Polaris Music Prize nominees, and over the next several weeks, we're sharing five things you might not know about each one. Secret Path also won accolades from Indigenous communities for shedding light on the legacy of residential schools and racism in Canada. Downie won songwriter of the year for the songs "The Stranger", "The Only Place to Be" and "Son". The album won two Juno Awards in 2017, for adult alternative album of the year and recording package of the year. Broadcast nationwide, their final Kingston concert was a moment fans won't soon forget.ĭownie also released Secret Path the same year, an album about Chanie Wenjack, a 12-year-old Ojibwa boy who died trying to walk home after escaping a northern Ontario residential school. In 2016, Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie shocked fans when he announced he had terminal brain cancer, and later in the year the band set out on a cross-country tour. (9:30 NT) on CBC-TV or via cbc.ca/arts/secretpath at the same time. 21, 2016, with more than 30 members of the Wenjack family in attendance, it also features live performances with Kevin Drew (Broken Social Scene), Josh Finlayson (Skydiggers), Dave Hamelin (the Stills) and Charles Spearin (Broken Social Scene). Gord Downie's Secret Path in Concert, a one-hour, commercial-free special of Downie's 2016 Toronto concert, will make its broadcast premiere this weekend, commemorating the 51st anniversary of Chanie Wenjack's death.įilmed at Roy Thomson Hall on Oct.
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