Being called to a deeper awareness of what is happening in the world is a noble undertaking for art, and вЂњSecret PathвЂќ urges us not only to learn more but to do something with that knowledge. This perhaps is true, but I donвЂ™t see it as a drawback вЂ“ some works of art and music require knowledge of context, and that is no bad thing. So Gord DownieвЂ™s message is one that we definitely need to hear.ДЄ recent review of вЂњSecret PathвЂќ points out that the lyrics are really only meaningful if one knows the broad outline of Chanie WenjackвЂ™s story. According to the Pew Research Center, one in four Native Americans and Alaskan Natives lives in poverty. The recent crisis of suicides faced by CanadaвЂ™s native communities is mirrored here in the United States as well. The current standoff over the Dakota Access Pipeline. King PhilipвЂ™s War, in seventeenth-century New England. We here in the United States have our own abhorrent history of relations with indigenous peoples: Over 500 broken treaties (as of this writing). This isnвЂ™t a conversation that only Canadians should have, however. The recent release of Gord DownieвЂ™s вЂњSecret Path,вЂќ together with a graphic novel and a film that can be viewed on CBCвЂ™s website, has sparked what hopefully will be not only a conversation about CanadaвЂ™s relationship with indigenous peoples, but also a movement for change that, as Downie has said, will ensure that Canada really can вЂњcelebrate the next 150 yearsвЂќ (referring to next yearвЂ™s sesquicentennial of Canadian confederation).

Gord downie secret path