William Prince, Aysanabee and More Honour 10 Years of Secret Path in Toronto

Secret Path marked 10 years on Oct. 23 with a concert at The Concert Hall in Toronto. The evening brought together artists, community members and supporters “to honour Gord and Chanie’s legacies and the ongoing work toward reconciliation,” the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund said.

William Prince, Aysanabee, Amanda Rheaume, Drives the Common Man, Julian Taylor, Natasha Fisher, Nimkii and the Niniis, Sebastian Gaskin, Thea May, Tom Wilson and Thompson Wilson, and Wolf Saga performed as special guests. Mike Celia on guitar, Anna Ruddick on bass, David Engle on keys and Jeremy Elliott on drums backed them.

Secret Path is Gord Downie’s 10-song album and Jeff Lemire’s graphic novel, later adapted into an animated film. It shares the story of Chanie Wenjack, a 12-year-old Anishinaabe boy who died in 1966 while trying to return home after fleeing Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School.

“Chanie’s story is the heart of Secret Path, but his experience also reflects that of the over 150,000 Indigenous children who were taken from their families and communities and sent to residential schools,” Harriet Visitor, a founding board member of the Fund and Chanie’s niece, said in the Fund’s anniversary announcement.

“Ten years later, Chanie’s story has reached people and communities across the country and helped inspire more than three million meaningful actions that move reconciliation forward,” said Mike Downie, a founding board member and Gord Downie’s brother.

The Fund says 750,000 students have learned about residential schools and the richness, strength and diversity of Indigenous cultures through its Legacy Schools program, and 11,600 educators have been equipped to teach Indigenous histories, cultures and perspectives in their classrooms. It also counts 145 Legacy Spaces, created for learning and conversation about reconciliation, and 3 million reconciliACTIONs, its word for meaningful actions that move reconciliation forward.

Ticket sales from the concert support the Fund’s programs, campaigns, events and initiatives, the Fund said.

Ten years on, its anniversary message ends with the call Gord Downie made to everyone in Canada in 2016: “Do Something.”

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The National Indian Residential School Crisis Line offers 24-hour support to former students and their families at 1-866-925-4419.