Students at a grade school in Chateauguay, Que., are enjoying the unexpected accolades that come with producing a hit youth anthem, which incorporates English, French and Mohawk languages.
The music video, dubbed “Dreamchild,” is the brainchild of music teacher Caroline Bouchard, who drafted 10 students at St. Willibrord School for the project. Students drew upon their personal hopes and dreams to write the script, which Bouchard helped them record and set to music for the four-minute, 35-second video.
The song incorporates all three languages and was partially shot on the Kahnawake reserve where one-third of the students at the school live.
“We wanted the group of students working on the song to be representative of the school… so they’re all so different and unique in their own ways,” Bouchard told CTV Montreal on Tuesday.
“It made me proud to be Mohawk,” said Lexi, a student who appears in the video.
Her fellow student, Alex, said his mother forced him to do it, but he ended up “really liking” the project.
“I learned how to say I love you – konoronhkwa – that’s how you say I love you in Mohawk,” he said.
The video has been seen more than 16,000 times since it was posted in late November, and even captured the attention of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The PM shared the video on Twitter, calling it a “beautiful way to celebrate diversity.” https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/934466249995644929
Student Keenan Williams, from Kahnawake, says he enjoyed learning to rap for his part of the song. “I thought it was just going to be a little thing,” he said. “But it’s getting really big.”
