Métis singer-songwriter partners with CUPS for Songs of Justice Project
Along with other voices of social justice for Canada’s Indigenous people, Métis singer-songwriter Craig Ginn’s latest album was released before the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
The Songs of Justice Project was born out of anger towards the uncritical eye and admiration some continue to use toward Canada’s first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, despite a legacy of trauma. Yet, the album also includes songs that are celebratory of Indigenous traditions.
Ginn, a Senior Instructor in the University of Calgary’s Department of Classics and Religion, picked up his guitar after hearing a colleague overlook severe criticism of Macdonald in an archived CBC debate.
“(I hope) we’ll rethink the uncritical veneration that is given at the expense of the memories of Indigenous people,” he said, noting he wishes for people to speak honestly about Canada’s past.
On one song, Let Justice Roll, Ginn sings of Colonial Man, “they will not judge his past sins by the virtue of today…”
The 10-song album is free to download, yet any voluntary donations go towards CUPS. Ginn learned about CUPS, which assists people living with the adversity of poverty and trauma in becoming self-sufficient, from his wife Carla. Concern for others is “central to the DNA of CUPS,” he said.
The U of C’s Faculty of Nursing, where Carla is an Assistant Professor, has long engaged with CUPS as a partner, particularly through the work of Dr. Karen Benzies.
“It’s caring for people in a wholistic way, and I honour and respect that,” he said, noting CUPS, which has been in operation for 32 years, is engrained in the fabric of Calgary as a trauma-informed service.
As for the song, In the Blood, it speaks to “pride and strength” through embracing Indigenous lineage, Ginn said. Growing up in Manitoba, he said it was a time when people did not speak about being Métis.
“Macdonald was the hero and (Louis) Riel was the traitor,” Ginn said.
People whose lineage came from the Métis of the Red River were silenced, he explained. In fact, Ginn said his grandmother intentionally kept his own heritage from him as a form of protection. Yet, it was his uncle who gently pushed back that it was important for his nephew to know.
“(In the Blood) comes out of Riel’s poetry where he embraces his own heritage, looks back to his grandmother and her advice for him to be strong,” Ginn added.
Another song, Voice of Tradition, is a celebrative vow that First Nations people will no longer be silenced. The lyrics were co-written with Michael Hart, Vice Provost of Indigenous engagement at the U of C. The song is a vow… a promise… “We won’t participate in silencing the goodness of the knowledge that has been passed on through Ancestors, Elders and Knowledge Keepers,” Ginn said.
As for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30, Ginn shared that he’s approaching it from a position of hope, combining opportunities for commemoration, as well as solutions. “It provides space to be contemplative, (as well as) active,” he said, noting this is a day to consider Indigenous people who have been, and continue to be victimized in our society, and think toward hope and healing.
Please visit https://www.songsofjusticeproject.com/ to download the album, or donate to CUPS.