Nipissing First Nation Youth plant musical seeds as medicine
By Kelly Anne Smith
NIPISSING FIRST NATION—The sizzling fire in the teepee at Big Medicine Studio kept the Youth4Music committee warm as cold winds whipped over Lake Nipissing on a Saturday afternoon. Inside, there were flip charts full of strategic ideas with more folded charts in boxes.
Cole Forrest Stevens has taken the lead in Youth4Music with Nipissing First Nation Youth representative Kelsey Borgford and Nipissing First Nation Youth Ambassador Brooklyn Sawyer on the Ngamwag Shkinweg development team with Youth4Music assistant Sharon Tikiryan. Keneshia Eschum is involved as well.
Youth4Music advocates for music to be in everyone’s lives. It is a national coalition of music educators promoting music programming in communities and schools.
Forrest calls music a medicine and says he became involved to give back to his community.
“I want to really do my best to build youth programming in the community.”
Forrest explains his work in developing Ngamwag Shkinweg, which means the youth are singing in Anishinaabemowin.
“It’s the translation from Youth4Music to Ojibway and then back. That was given to me by Tory Odjik/ Tory Fisher.”
The intent of Ngamwag Shkinweg is to inspire Indigenous youth, elevate youth leadership, and connect Indigenous youth from on and off-reserve communities, through the power of music.
Forrest’s work involves meeting with Indigenous youth.
“We are in our very early stages. It’s really all about meeting with youth and developing what do we want to do. What do we want to see? What kind of programs? And how can we enhance what we are already doing?” explains Forrest. “In the fall, that’s all game plan, to get that all together. In the spring, we are looking to come back to Nipissing and have a full event on reserve. And then we will be back for Music Monday on reserve. It’s going to be really fun and a way to elevate and engage the community in a musical way.”
He says the Saturday meeting was about collaboration and steering into the future.
“From this small gathering here in the teepee, we are looking to bring on a mentor to help steer us in a good direction.”
Forrest explains all genres of music are welcome.
“It can totally be traditional with the drum and singing. We are always open to all forms of music, in terms of contemporary Indigenous musicians.”
The Ontario Trillium Foundation is helping to fund Ngamwag Shkinweg says Forrest.
“This grant was to develop an Indigenous initiative for the coalition. I was brought on to do this work.”
His role with Youth4Music continued into Saturday night as Forrest screened his documentary, My Grandfather was a Big Drum (2018), at the Near North Mobile Media Lab in North Bay. My Grandfather was a Big Drum was filmed in Nipissing First Nation.
Forrest discusses the film.
“That documentary is all about stories from youth, Elders and adult musicians of Nipissing sharing the songs, sharing stories about their songs, and either their personal or community histories,” Forrest explains. “Maybe like where the powwow came from and how it has evolved throughout the years to where it is now, to say, to community members lost. And how they dealt with those emotions. And what would they say to future and upcoming Indigenous musicians. That’s mixed with poetry and experimental elements.”
Forrest’s cousin, Josh Stevens (J.W. Stevens), played a featured part in the documentary as a country musician. He performed before the film.
“We screen the film and then have a conversation about the film,” says Forrest. “That’s a part of my work, to develop a video every year pertaining to what I am doing. That film is a good way of putting into context what I am doing.”
Cole Forrest Stevens attends George Brown College for Video Design and Production.