CD featuring original art inspired by the music of Shadows Insight by LP Ross - lpae38.com. Photo by Sam Gehrke photography www.samgehrkephotography.com.
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Includes unlimited streaming of Shadows Insight
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~ Half of the download proceeds of this song will go to Columbia Riverkeeper, a local clean water advocacy group.~
This song came through on the banks of what most of us now call the Columbia River. I had just returned from Squamish, Canada, and passed many rivers and creeks along the road that listed the First Nations name on the signs above the English name. It struck me that this very simple sign of respect and recognition is not something I had ever seen during my travels in the US, and that I didn't know one Indigenous name for the river flowing at my feet.
I learned that one name is N'chi Wána, the Big River or Great River, in the Ichishkíin language of the Yakama, Umatilla, Walla Walla, and other tribes. There are only about 100 native speakers of this language left.
What a sign of respect, to name the river for what it is - one of the largest by volume on this continent - rather than named after a boat named after a man who colonized and brutalized the original inhabitants of this continent.
Then I thought about the salmon swimming in the waters below, whose numbers continue to dwindle due to damming, rising sea temperatures, and pollution. There is a superfund site just downstream of where I sat that day. These powerful creatures, who spend their lives in the ocean and swim thousands miles to return to their birthplace to spawn, now face even more obstacles. I thought of people who honored them by burying their bones back in the river after they feasted, instead of treating them as a boundless "resource" to "harvest" to near extinction.
The chorus, "Let your salmon guide us upstream, got to keep your waters clean, let our lives feed the next generation", reflects the salmons' sacrifice of their own bodies after spawning, and their nutrients feeding the forest and their offspring. I find it a powerful parallel to the sacrifices we now need to make to allow our future generations to thrive or even just survive.
I hope this simple song honors the river, the salmon, and people who once lived in greater harmony with all our relations...I hope it is an invitation to continue to educate ourselves...I hope it is an inspiration to live our lives in a way that will feed our next generations.
lyrics
We feel your power, Great River
N'chi Wána
We feel your power, Great River
N'chi Wána
Let your salmon guide us upstream
gotta keep your waters clean
let our lives feed the next generation
Let your salmon guide us upstream
gotta keep your waters free
let our lives feed the next generation
We will honor your name
Great River, we feel your power
we surrender to your flow
may your current guide us home
to our ancestors' bones
Buried when we could drink the water
Buried when we could feast from this stream
Buried before the rivers burned
Can we awaken this dream?
Let your salmon guide us upstream
gotta keep your waters clean
let our lives feed the next generation
Let your salmon guide us upstream
gotta keep your waters free
let our lives feed the next generation
let our lives feed the next generation...
credits
from Shadows Insight,
released August 8, 2017
Annie Sea - Lyrics, Vocals, Baritone Ukulele
Chris Hale - Bass
Rafael Otto - Percussion
Ryan Powell - Flute
Adam Sweeney and David Paulik - Mixing assistants
Special thanks to Gregory Sutterlict of Heritage University for his help with proper Ichishkíin pronunciation
Featured on 350.org compilation album - Songs and Stories of the Pacific Northwest
Annie Sea sings acoustic soul anthems to energize and empower her audience. Whether she is leading a band or weaving a solo live looped soundscape, her velvet voice and lively melodies deliver compelling stories of transformation.
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