Under the branches of a Cottonwood Kym Gouchie spoke of the surroundings that inspired her latest song - a chant that reflects a local woman's efforts to cleanse the Highway of Tears.
"It felt like it came from the trees, it felt like it came from the ground and it came from the sky and it just filled the drum and the voice filled the space I was walking it," said Gouchie as the National Aboriginal Day entertainment thrummed in the background.
Gouchie joined Brenda Wilson-John on the last leg of her long journey from Prince Rupert to Prince George along Highway 16. During one five-kilometre stretch, the Lheidli T'enneh singer brought her drum.
"All of my songs come from a place that is beyond my conscious level," she said.
Through the minute-long song, Gouchie chants on repeat: "We are cleansing the Highway of Tears, as we walk, as we walk."
It started as an incantation on the road but the song came together Sunday on the river bank, where she sat with Wilson-John and the Khast'an Drummers, who also played the song.
"Fluidly it all came together," said Gouchie, adding it had special meaning that Wilson-John helped finalize the piece.
"We sat down and she said this was the song that came to me," recalled Wilson-John, who walked more than 700 kilometres in memory of her sister, Ramona Wilson. "First it was just the chant. It was just amazing and I was like 'Yes, that's it.'
"It's very simple and right to the point and it is very powerful at the same time."
The song is exudes both sadness and strength.
"Right now it's a victory, it's a success, it's a celebration, it's National Aboriginal Day, but if we were to be singing this in any other situation it would have a much sadder tone to it," Gouchie said. "Having (Wilson-John) walk on the stage in her little fluorescent vest, it was very emotional but it was also very empowering... It just shows how strong we are as a people and especially as women."
Music is the best medium to speak to that dichotomy, both to honour the missing and murdered and empower those who remain.
"It's universal," said Gouchie. "It's like a smile. Music can heal a heart. Music, especially when you have a drum and you have your voice, is the highest form of prayer."
