‘Music connects people’: New documentary explores Indigenous music and language

We get the details on an upcoming national music documentary featuring performances by Indigenous artists.

A new documentary, “Rhythms of the Land,” follows artists from Indigenous communities across Canada in hopes of keeping Indigenous languages alive through music.

“Music is such a part of our culture, and we wanted to make sure that people connected with this,” the director of the Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages (OCIL), Georgina Liberty told CTV Morning Live’s Crystal Garrett Wednesday morning.

The OCIL, which commissioned the documentary, set out to find artists who perform in their respective Indigenous languages.

“It was such a great honour to be able to find 16 artists across this country who still could sing in their mother tongue language,” Liberty said.

The documentary was filmed across the country, which Liberty said was important so the artists could perform where they were most comfortable. Most of them decided to perform in their communities or on traditional lands.

“Our production crew, which is pretty much 90 per cent Indigenous, went across the country from coast-to-coast to interview and record the artists,” Liberty said.

“Rhythms of the Land” is about the connection Indigenous people have to their land, culture, traditions, and to their languages. Music is also about connection, Liberty said.

“Music connects people, it’s universal,” Liberty said.

The documentary will be premiering on CTV July 12.