Whitefish River First Nation brings attention to Anishinaabemowin in national spaces
By Rick Garrick
WHITEFISH RIVER — Whitefish River First Nation’s Mary Bryton Nahwegahbow is creating a professional recording of her trilingual version of O Canada in English, French, and Anishinaabemowin, and making it available for free for schools and communities across Turtle Island. Nahwegahbow is working with Jayson Stewart, producer for the trilingual anthem recording project and a teacher with the Rainbow District School Board, on the recording at a studio in Sudbury.
“I’m really excited to honour Indigenous language and show that Anishinaabemowin belongs in national spaces, and I hope to foster a sense of connection and respect across cultures,” Nahwegahbow says. “The goal is to create something lasting and widely accessible for everyone.”
Nahwegahbow says it has been a great experience to see her trilingual version of O Canada garner “more and more attention” since she entered it into the Little NHL anthem contest in 2017.
“It’s great to see it evolve over time and see audience reactions and a growing demand from past performances and helping to raise funds for Indigenous youth charities,” Nahwegahbow says. “I was thrilled when I got the news I was chosen to sing for the Little NHL and it slowly progressed from there into the 2017 NAIG (North American Indigenous Games), and then I auditioned for the NHL and slowly I got more requests to sing the anthem over time.”
Nahwegahbow has performed her trilingual anthem during Indigenous Heritage Nights with the Toronto Blue Jays, Toronto Rock, Ottawa Senators, and the Barrhaven Canada Day celebration. She has also performed her trilingual anthem at major conferences such as the 2025 Federation of Canadian Municipalities Conference and Trade Show, 2023 APEX Leadership Summit, 2022 IG Wealth Management Inc. Conference, the 62nd Annual Meeting and Regional Policy Forum for Council of State Governments, Royal Agricultural Fair’s 100th Anniversary Gala, 2022 Canada’s Walk of Fame Under the Stars event, 2022 Bruce Cockburn Hometown Star Award Celebration, as well as at the 2025 MP Swearing-in-Ceremony, 2023 Canadian Honours Ceremony, and the Institute for Canadian Citizenship Oath Ceremony.
“I think the vast majority of viewers are moved, impressed, supportive,” Nahwegahbow says. “A lot of the comments are really culturally affirming and they’re emphasizing the importance of language revitalization and the emotional and cultural impacts. Some of them talk about how they love their home and Native land, and how it sounds more and more like a national anthem, which is really moving.”
Nahwegahbow says she had help from her mother, who knew the anthem in Anishinaabemowin, and her grandfather, who helped with the translation and refining of some of the pronunciations of lyrics for her trilingual anthem.
“They encouraged me to combine Anishinaabemowin with English and French, and it sparked everything,” Nahwegahbow says.
Stewart says he was impressed when he first heard Nahwegahbow singing her trilingual anthem at the 2025 MP Swearing-in-Ceremony.
“The look in the eyes of some of the MPs was, ‘Oh my gosh, this is new, this is different,’ and it was neat to see that kind of growth within the song,” Stewart says.
Stewart notes they will be recording the trilingual anthem on August 12 at Dustin Moore’s Moore Film and Sound studio in Sudbury.
“He is giving us time that day for a much reduced rate to support this project,” Stewart says. “We will be recording the trilingual version, as well as a full Anishinaabemowin version, which we will then have mastered and made available to all First Nations and all schools across Turtle Island that want it. As a high school teacher myself, we play the national anthem every day and I’m going to be very excited to hear this version opening up our day at our high school and hope that other schools will follow suit.”
A crowdfunding campaign has been set up to raise $4,000 to cover the recording, mixing and mastering, and the creation of educational materials to teach the Anishinaabemowin lyrics and their meaning.
“The response so far has been fabulous,” Stewart says. “We have $600 raised and we have only been running the (crowdfunding) campaign for a short while. There is definitely a buzz in the community locally here for this project to continue on.”